September approaches, and the hay meadows have been cut, now that most of the flowers have gone to seed. However some do remain; yellow Ragwort, and the few remaining purple Knapweed, both emergent above the sward. Common Restharrow grows low against the turf, sprawling out, and decorated with its pink pea-like flowers.
The towering Woolly Thistles have gone over, replacing their spikey bulbous flowerheads with silky white seed hairs. Between all the brown dry grasses, you have to look a little closer to spot some of the more subtle late-season flowers. Such as the Carline Thistles on the Lighthouse green, and growing alongside the short-thin spikes of Autumn Ladies Tresses.
Around the remaining flowers, you’ll find plenty of insects still in abundance; Common Carder Bee, White-tailed Bumblebee, many Meadow Brown butterflies, and countless Grasshoppers and Crickets - which take flight before you get chance to identify them. A lovely Seven-spot Ladybird buries itself in the white flowers of Yarrow.
The bird-nesting season has also drawn to a close, with autumn migration in full swing, as birds fly back South for winter. Swallows trickle overhead in twos and threes, alongside the more occasional rare sightings, such as the Icterine Warbler sighted on Monday. That was a good day for birds, as I also saw two Yellowhammer out on the downs.
It’s not just birds which migrate, with some butterfly species still pushing northwards. Painted Lady and Clouded Yellow are spotted, both of whom travel North through Europe from Africa with a succession of multiple generations each season.
Lastly, what really offers a growing autumnal feel, are the hedges and scrub which have become laden with fruit. Reds are abundant across the crimson Haws, ruby Rosehips, and ripening Blackberries, though blue Sloes fill the Blackthorn branches too.