Well, there were some big changes in September. And who would’ve thought we could cope with them after everything else we’ve been through. New government, new monarch and then an absolute political explosion to finish it off. By the way, if you haven’t been following some of the potential environmental impacts of the UK government’s plans (because, let’s be real, there’s enough of everything else to focus on right now instead), I’d strongly encourage you to check-out the RSPB’s Twitter feed.
So it’s fair to say, like many months in recent times, I wandered around with an internal ‘Say whaaaat?!’ on repeat this September. It may explain why I’ve been staring into space on so many walks. And sometimes even humour can’t make things feel 100% better. But this month also reminded me that the smallest things can fascinate. And there’s a lot of joy in that. Thank you for reading!
Green orb
And I’ll start with one such example. After an overnight work trip to London, I was ready to get home. It had been interesting and enjoyable, but there had been an awful lot of socialising for my liking!
So when I alighted at Moreton-in-Marsh station and headed to my car, I pretty much collapsed straight inside and focused on getting home as fast as possible. A small green spider had other ideas, though. It was teeny tiny, had brown legs and a brown head and, relatively speaking, a pretty sizable round body. Which was bright green!
I’d never seen anything like it before. Spiders aren’t the most popular critters and I’ve been training myself to override my initial disgust to the large meaty house spiders. Luckily I’ve never really had a problem with small ones. So, before trudging back home, I watched it crawling along the inside of my car door and took some photos before transferring it to a safer place. Some research later in the evening suggested it was a cucumber green orb spider. Fascinating!
Wildlife spots
I reckon I might’ve seen a hobby this month. It was right at the very beginning of September when I went for a long walk to RSPB Otmoor. I’m semi-confident about this so I’m not sure whether to note it down. No new butterflies but some of them have been out in abundance – red admirals, commas, small whites, large whites and even a brimstone!
Otherwise, I’d say I’ve spent most of the month saying goodbye to some of our summer birds. Swifts already left a little while ago. They quietly disappear as summer draws to a close. Swallows, on the other hand, were still around for some of the month. I saw them in the fields on the Otmoor walk, for example. I also looked after some young swallows at the wildlife hospital. One thing I’ve learnt about swallows – unlike other, similar, birds – is that they are freakin’ easy to hand feed. They are always ready to take a waxworm from you.
House martins are a different story. One of my favourite birds and the entire reason why I ended up volunteering at the wildlife hospital in the first place. They are extremely difficult to hand feed and I had some stressful moments with these little birds. They’re with us the longest over summer and, even by the very end of the month, there were a small handful of house martins flying around the estate. The majority were long gone though. I hope they have a safe journey and I’m sure I’ll crave their return in no time.
Tysoe it’s your birthday
I couldn’t post this blog without mentioning an incredible walk near a small village called Tysoe. I drove up to the village on a day off in the middle of the month. It was a blustery, grey day, but I fancied a change of scenery.
I started in the village, but it wasn’t long before I was climbing into a small wood. The trees was still so green and the area was bursting with blue tits, great tits and robins. I found myself stopping to peek into the trees and shrubs to try and spot them, but, to be honest, it was enough of a treat to hear them. They’d been so quiet over the summer and I could feel the muscle memory waking up – I know these songs. It was a beautiful walk.
(Oh and this subheading should be said to the tune of ‘Lisa it’s your birthday’ from The Simpsons. If you have to ask, you’ll never know!)
A lil’ tidy
I’ve been battling with a moral dilemma. A dilemma that I think my friends, family and colleagues have found somewhat entertaining. I know I would in their position!
Basically, after leaving the garden to go wild in ‘No mow May’, I was like: but when do I mow the lawn again… So I concluded that I couldn’t mow it over the rest of spring/early summer. That would be obscene. Just think of all those bees, butterflies and moths! I decided instead that the time to do it would be towards the end of summer.
But then I had another problem – all of those bees, butterflies and moths might’ve laid eggs in that grass. So I waited until the very end of September and did a minimal tidy up. A very quick trim that I hope will have left those eggs intact. Oh and I put out a few autumn flowers!
New art; new friends
Finally, September brought the end of my Sunday evening volunteering at the wildlife hospital. It was hot and messy, but a couple of the other volunteers really helped me out and took me under their wing (or wings?) They answered my questions and made me feel welcome so, to say thank you, I took some time towards the end of the month to make something for each of them.
I painted/drew a jay for the first volunteer because she loved the resident jay at the hospital. It’s true that she loved all of the animal there and she was the person who first invited me to help feed the badgers and foxes, but the jay was the first animal she showed me.
The other volunteer was all about feeding and weighing the baby hedgehogs. She would always call them “little buggers” – especially if they refused to eat or, more likely, pooped in her hand – but I knew they were her favourite. So it was a watercolour hedgehog for her.
I hope you had a good September – here’s my full wild list
Week 35 cont.
Thurs 1st Sept: Kicked off the month with an amazing walk from Islip to RSPB Otmoor. Think I spotted a hobby!
Fri 2nd Sept: Finished a watercolour and ink painting of a comma butterfly – inspired by the final wild encounters of August.
Sat 3rd Sept: Long walk to/from Todenham from home (10 miles). Spotted a small copper butterfly en route.
Sun 4th Sept: Started the Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett). Ever since I let the garden go wild, I’ve wanted to indulge my inner child and read this story.
Week 36
Mon 5th Sept: Spotted a robin in the tree on a walk. The first time I’ve heard them in a while. And also watched the house martins on the estate for a little while. They’ll be heading off soon.
Tues 6th Sept: And, what do you know, the robin in the Secret Garden made an appearance today: ‘when she stood still she saw a bird with a bright red breast […] and suddenly he burst into his winter song – almost as if he had caught sight of her and was calling to her’.
Weds 7th Sept: Early morning walk. Heard a chiffchaff for the first time since Spring!
Thurs 8th Sept: Read an amazing National Geographic article about the importance of birds and why we should protect them.
Fri 9th Sept: Morning walk to Honington. I loved the Autumn crocuses and flowers near the Honington Toll House.
Sat 10th Sept: Went to Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve with a friend. Saw a couple of herons in the pools.
Sun 11th Sept: Sounds morbid but I marvelled at the power of birds of prey today when I had to clean up a fresh kill outside the wildlife hospital. It wasn’t a patient luckily! Oh and I saw a hummingbird hawkmoth near my house!
Week 37
Mon 12th Sept: Started an art piece for a volunteer at the wildlife hospital – a jay!
Tues 13th Sept: Spied on Brandon Marsh sightings on Twitter. Apparently a lesser spotted woodpecker was ringed there recently. I’m not sure I’ll ever see one of these – they’re so rare now.
Weds 14th Sept: Had a little wander around the ponds at work. There were cygnets on one of them.
Thurs 15th Sept: Walked up the Hanson Track in Shipston after quite a difficult day at work. Nothing specific to note, but the fresh air helped clear my head.
Fri 16th Sept: One of the best walks I’ve had in a long time. In Tysoe, which is about 5 miles away. I thought I might’ve seen a spotted flycatcher but I’m not 100% sure. There were lots of blue tits, great tits and robins though.
Sat 17th Sept: Visited Charlecote with my mum and dad. We heard so many nuthatches which was a real treat!
Sun 18th Sept: My last shift at the wildlife hospital for the Summer. Fed a barn owl for the first time and helped with some pigeons.
Week 38
Mon 19th Sept: Frozen Planet II. Need I say more?! The highlight for me in this episode was the crested auklet in Russia.
Tues 20th Sept: Post-work walk around the meadow and into town. Blue tits, great tits and long-tailed tits.
Weds 21st Sept: Read a BBC Wildlife article while I was away in London with work. This one was about ‘teaching’ in the natural world. One type of ant apparently displays teaching behaviour…! They lead ‘pupil’ ants to a meal and stop on the way so that the ‘pupil’ can take in its surroundings. Interesting!
Thurs 22nd Sept: Spotted a small, bright green spider in the car when I arrived back from London. I think it was a cucumber green orb spider.
Fri 23rd Sept: You can really find colour and beauty everywhere. Today, it was a random snapdragon flower in the tarmac outside the local GP surgery.
Sat 24th Sept: Finally tidied up the garden a little. Though I didn’t make it too neat!
Sun 25th Sept: Channeling the Autumn vibes with a small autumnal piece. Might use it for a birthday card.
Week 39
Mon 26th Sept: Read a final short story in my Argentinian collection (A Perfect Cemetery by Federico Falco, translated by Jennifer Croft) – the imagery of the lost pine forests was powerful.
Tues 27th Sept: Wrote to my MP about the potential plans to reverse environmental legislation that protects wildlife and habitats. If you’re a UK resident, I’d urge you to write to your MP too.
Weds 28th Sept: Had a very, very short walk this evening. I’ve been battling a bad cold or mild flu so I wanted some fresh air to offset the headache. I saw some lovely flowers up Tileman’s Lane – pink garden cosmos.
Thurs 29th Sept: I’ve been reading quite a bit from my sickbed. I had a lot of British Birds articles to catch-up on. I’m always mesmerised by the Latin names that are included in the write-ups. Little egret is apparently Egretta Garzetta. Reckon I’ll remember that one!
Fri 30th Sept: Pondered over a crane snippet in BBC Wildlife Magazine. It’s amazing to see how successful they’ve been in the UK since 1970. Particularly in more recent years.
Ramblings of a (very!) amateur artist 