I have often thought that September is a bit of an odd
month, it no longer feels like summer but neither is it properly autumn – it
sits somewhere between the two having an identity crisis. The days are
generally getting cooler and it starts to become sadly apparent that the long
hours of daylight are waning, but the crisp mornings typical of autumn, when
the sun sits blindingly low in the sky, are not fully present. The swifts have
packed up after their summer holidays and flown back to sunnier climes, and the
swallows gather on telegraph wires, readying themselves for the same, yet many
of our winter visitors have not yet arrived. Parks are ostensibly less buzzing
with bees and wasps, but some of the hardier individuals still cling on. Many
species of butterflies are no longer on the wing, yet Common Blues, Red
Admirals and Painted Ladies, to name just a few, can still be seen.
On the other hand, October is a much more satisfyingly
autumnal month. The leaves start to turn, the conkers that fall from the trees
now are plumper and more suitable for conker fights, and animals such as
squirrels, woodmice and jays can be seen caching food for the winter months
ahead. The agricultural fields come alive with flocks of fieldfares and redwings,
and if you’re lucky you might even catch a magnificent starling murmuration at
dusk on a fine evening – some brilliant places near us to see the latter are Fen
Drayton Lakes and Wicken Fen. Colder nights lead to dewy mornings when spiders’
webs hang illuminated by sunlight highlighting their delicate strands like lacy
decorations. October is also a great time to try your hand at fungi
identification – some of the most beautiful species, such as Fly Agaric and Amethyst
Deceiver, are looking vibrant at the moment.
With the days getting progressively shorter, October is a
great time to take advantage of autumnal nature activities while there is still
plenty of daylight. So while I may be mourning the fading of summer, I sure plan to explore the great outdoors this month and say goodbye to it properly.
