What to Look Out For in September

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RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

What to Look Out For in September

Post by RachelMC »

What to Look Out For in September:

It may feel like we've not had a Summer this year and Autumn has already made it's early mark, but during September, great changes will be brought about.

Horse-chestnut trees (Aesculus hippocastanum) have been showing signs of the changing season for several weeks, already with their large palmate leaves browning at the edges. The hedgerows are full of ripening berries such as red Hawthorn haws (Crataegus monogyna), while Sloes (Prunus spinosa), Blackberries (Rubus fruticosus) and Elderberries (Sambucus nigra) are midnight black. Some trees yield their seeds up with wings such as Field Maple (Acer campestre), Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus). The wings help the seeds to float away from the parent tree where it has more chance of germinating with less competition. Acorns have no such help and fall directly below the parent. Jays and Grey Squirrels will pick these up and stash them in the ground to get them through the harsh winter to come. Not all are found again however, and they may germinate to grow into new oak trees.

Certain insects are noticeable at this time of year. Around the time of the harvest in August onwards the craneflies or daddy-long-legs (Tipulidae oleracea) appear in their greatest numbers. On sunny days on riverbanks and in areas of wetland, a real highlight of early September are the large dragonflies. The stunning Common Darter dragonfly (Sympetrum striolatum) can be quite tolerant of close inspection and this group is less restless than the hawkers, but approach quietly. The enormous hawker type dragonflies, such as the Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea), are always on the move and are more wary.

Many butterflies are still on the wing from the second or third hatchings. However they may well be ragged and this is their last month as adults. The male Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) sets up territories along hedges where the nectar-bearing plants of marjoram, mint, wood sage and bramble attract the adults. The attractive Wall butterfly (Lasiommata megera) can be found basking in the sun on rocks and stones. It will actually fly ahead along a path and settle only to fly again in a way that makes it feel like you are chasing it.

Ivy (Hedera helix) is one of the few late flowering plants and the nectar forms an important food sources for bees and wasps. There are seven different wasp species in Britain. Common (Vespula vulgaris) and German wasps (Vespula germanica) seemingly suddenly appear in September but this is because their pattern of obtaining food has changed. Their summer pastime of killing insects to feed to the larvae in the nest has come to an end (the larvae provide a sweet saliva in return). This is because their queen has now stopped laying eggs and the food incentive has gone. As a result they then move onto other sweet substitutes, such as the sugars of fallen fruit.

The yellow Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) and Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica) flowers grow in scattered clumps in road verges. The Lesser Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) is still making headway climbing up any available shrub or through the stems of the grasses. In general though, the verges are looking ragged with dead grass seed heads, etiolated Common Nettles (Urtica dioica) and the skeletons of Cow Parsleys (Anthriscus sylvestris) and Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium).

Meadows are likely to have now been grazed for several weeks. Grasses have an Autumn surge of growth and the white flowers of Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), with its feathery highly dissected leaves, may escape the cattle. Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), which has become a scourge of the river bank, is at its peak. This invasive introduction has spread widely along river corridors and smothers everything in its path. It is a tall pink-flowered plant which may well be smelt before it is seen, as its pungent sweet sickly smell is powerful. It spreads its seeds by way of explosive seed pods which project their contents for several feet, sometimes into the river itself. A number of other waterside plants are also still in flower. Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) has striking spikes of pink flowers that penetrate the otherwise monotonous green river fringe. The white flowers of Greater Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) and the umbellifer Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris) attract Honey Bees and hoverflies. The yellow flowers of Common Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata) can also be found growing in dense stands of vegetation in damp marshy ground.

Of the many fungi of note, one that you may smell before you see, is the Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus). Follow your nose to seek out this species in the woodlands where it thrives. The rancid smell attracts flies which feed on the sticky tip and carry off the fungus's spores to a new location. A rather more attractive species is the edible Giant Puffball (Calvatia gigantea) which can be found, if you are lucky, littering permanent pastures, by the dozen. This species grows to an enormous size and eventually dies to yield its many spores when it is ruptured, maybe by a passing cow!

The birds have now stopped moulting and are in their winter plumage. Family groups are often still together with some young pestering the adults for handouts. Many small birds however such as tits (Paridae), Chiffchaffs (Phylloscopus collybita) and others move through countryside together in flocks helping each other find food. Whilst this month there is no difficulty in uncovering insects, later in the year food will become harder to find. By moving together, prey is disturbed out of its hiding place and anything missed by one bird will be found by others. On warm days it may be possible to hear warblers such as Willow Warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus) sing once again.

(Notes compiled by Rachel with acknowledgement to: When to Watch Wildlife)

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