August was mainly noticeable for the extreme heat with occasional heavy rainfall – not enough to stop the hosepipe ban.
It is a quiet time of year with the main breeding season finished – birds putting on weight and starting to defend or look for territories.
Mixed flocks of small birds i.e. Blue, Great and Long Tail Tits in gardens and woodland.
Butterfly and Dragonfly were very limited.
September was most noticeable for how the Cygnets had grown and the Egyptian Geese youngsters have moved on leaving Erica and Ernie to have some peace.
Looking back through some of my old Facebook posts I found one of my first of Eric with his companion Maurice the male Muscovy Duck – 7 years ago. The Swan was always chasing the pair of them and since Maurice was a poor flier the Swan nearly drowned him. Nikki and Brian got him out and WRAS took him to a sanctuary with no Swans. It was a few years before Erica flew in.
End of September, leaves started shedding and turning colour plus Fungi starting to appear – and thousands of Acorns littering the ground. Apparently this abundance of Acorns is a 4-year cycle called a "mast" and produces enough food for the wildlife and also enough to grow new saplings.
The Indian Flame Rain Tree, planted 3 years ago, had stunning yellow flowers in the spring and now has Chinese Lantern type pods which contain seeds. I note that a second tree has been planted so it will be interesting to see when that first blooms.
