September Nature notes.

Birds

September has been even quieter than the preceding months. The hour long bird count that I do at the start of each month came up with the grand total of two great tits (Parus major). Apart from the tits there is a flock of sparrows and the odd goldfinch. There is only one starling (Sturnus vulgaris) that comes to the feeders. This starling looks like it still has some down from it's juvenile coat.

Mammals

The squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is in the garden burying some chestnuts. One hare (Lepus capensis) was spotted in the garden. Apart from this there was a dead rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and a few dead mice.

Insects

I'll end on a positive note with a picture of a shieldbug that was crawling up the back door.

Woundwort Shieldbug (Eysarcoris fabricii)