Autumn is here - nature notes for September

September has been rather a lovely month here in this part of Cambridgeshire. There has been lots of sunny and warm weather, with things cooling down a little in the last week or so of the month. Autumn is definitely here!

I had a very pleasant afternoon walking round Paxton Pits nature reserve one sunny day. I was sitting sketching a Meadow Cranesbill flower when along came a hornet - very impressive! I watched as it spent a good few minutes thoroughly investigating the many nooks and crannies in the curled up and drying out leaves of a hedge bindweed plant that was growing up the fence. I guess it was looking for a meal, but it eventually left unsuccessful in its search. Despite their fearsome reputation I have always found hornets to be quite laid-back insects that just get on with whatever it is they are doing - wasps are much more bothersome!

A walk around the fields one damp afternoon saw me treading very carefully - there were loads of huge slugs! Another nature journal spread, and lots to learn...

I often see wildlife, and notice the roadside/pathside plants, while I'm out running - and I think keeping a nature journal makes you more attentive of what's around you. Out for a run one afternoon a couple of weeks back, I kept spotting things to include on a little map page, starting with the various crowds of house sparrows along the way, to a small flock of lapwings and a low-flying buzzard. Another day and another run, along the same road, I saw a peregrine falcon - the first I've ever seen on my 'local patch' - that was quite exciting (literally stopped me in my tracks)!

And so the year marches on. I'm seeing our summer visitors less and less, with very few swallows and martins around by the end of September, and I'm enjoying watching some bright and smart-looking chiffchaffs picking their way through the shrubs. I guess it won't be long before I hear the calls of the redwings arriving in the darkness, and the fieldfares will be here soon enough to feast on the berries on the rowan tree.

There's always another wonder of nature to look forward to!