Whilst September is technically an autumn month according to the meteorological calendar, experience suggests it usually provides plenty of scope to savour the last vestiges of summer. According to the astronomical calendar, summer ends on 22nd September this year – and with the mixed bag of weather we’ve had so far this year, I’m planning to eke summer out as long as possible.
Whatever the weather, the fact that September marks the segue between seasons is clearly signalled by Mother Nature. Our hedgerows are heavy with a bounty of berries, busily sought out by birds seeking sustenance ahead of migration and mammals seeking to build up reserve for bleaker months ahead. In addition to migratory birds busily storing energy for arduous journeys, migratory species, such as terns, curlews and dunlin that have spent the spring and summer in the north of the UK, and beyond our northern shores, can be seen stopping off to use our wetland sites much as we might call in at a motorway service station for a bit of R and R.
Here in the Trent Valley, we are somewhat spoilt for choice when it comes to fabulous wetlands to watch wildlife, from Attenborough, Skylarks and Netherfield Lagoons in the south of the county, Besthorpe and Langford Lowfields beyond Newark and Idle Valley and Beckingham Marshes Nature Reserves in the north. Now is a great time to visit to see birds on migration. Species travelling south on autumn migration often seem in less of a hurry than those heading north in spring – meaning they may well hang around a little longer for us to enjoy the view. The other benefit of watching birds on autumn migration is that their numbers are swelled by many first-time migrants – juvenile birds with markedly brighter plumage than that of the world-weary adults that have expended so much energy rearing them to the point of readiness for their first long-distance journey.
Young willow warblers are well worth looking out for, being noticeably brighter yellow than the adults. If you’re headed to the seaside this September it is worth looking out for groups of willow warblers feeding along hedgerows or in patches of scrub as they gather at the coast ready to take the next step on their long trip to Africa to spend the winter. Along with a huge variety of other bird species, you might spot willow warblers feasting on elder berries.
Although principally insect eaters, like many species, they will readily take advantage of berries on offer at this time of year – as insect numbers traditionally start to all. Whilst the berries of this ubiquitous scrubby tree are not to our taste and are usually left for the wildlife – they are palatable to a wider range of birds, possible more than any other berry – and the small individual berries pack an energy packed punch – just when birds preparing for migration need one.
Image: Common Turn, Richard Rodgers