Local Wildlife Sightings, September 2025

 With low pressure dominating for the first time in months, the start of autumn was decidedly different to the vast majority of summer. It was (relatively) cool, it was breezy and there were rain showers which were particularly lively on the 3rd, when over an inch (28mm) fell in the day, including a torrential shower in the early afternoon that deposited 15mm in around 20 minutes. More rain fell on the 3rd than in the whole of May, or the whole of June, or the whole of August. There was still a little butterfly activity when the sun came out between the showers, but my macro lens was becoming redundant as I switched to local bird watching. A visit to Phillup's Lake on the 2nd produced at least one Little Grebe, a single adult Coot, three Tufted Ducks (one male) and, a local 'first' for me, two Teal. 

There was no mud, and consequently no waders, at Phillup's Lake, but there was plenty of mud at Dernford Farm Reservoir where the water level was still, despite the rain, extremely low on the 2nd. I counted at least six Ruff and five Common Sandpipers feeding around the reservoir, as well as a Common Snipe that flew off as soon as I appeared. A single Yellow-legged Gull was with the (resident?) Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls. The Tern family had departed, but large numbers of juvenile Tufted Ducks were seen after what has clearly been a very successful breeding season. As usual, the reported Ruddy Shelduck was nowhere to be seen. More gulls (mostly Lesser Black-backs) were seen when I went on a short (rain shower clouds spotted) 'there and back' walk east along the Icknield Way from the A505 layby, again on the 2nd, and they included a Herring Gull.

Ruff, Dernford Farm Reservoir, 2 September

Juvenile Tufted Duck, Dernford Farm Reservoir, 2 September

Record Shot of a distant Teal, Phillup's Lake, 2 September

I made a further unsuccessful attempt to see the Black Redstart at the Baldock model aircraft field on the 5th - this is obviously going to be this year's 'bogey bird'. On the same day, a Wheatear was seen at Thrift Farm, near the bottom of Church Hill. I found a couple of almost pristine Adonis Blues on the Old Rifle Range the following morning.

Wheatear at Thrift Farm, Therfield, 5 September

Adonis Blue, Therfield Heath (Old Rifle Range), 6 September

A holiday in the Spanish Pyrenees (I may publish a future blog post) kept me away from my local patch for the better part of two weeks. The holiday included plenty of hill walking, and on my return I decided that I was fit enough to go on the extended walk round the villages of Reed and Therfield (8-9 miles) on the 19th, for the first time since early May. Passing through Hatchpen Farm I encountered three more Wheatears. There was an obvious visible southerly migration of Swallows (40+) and House Martins (8-10) through the farm, and a single Yellow Wagtail was seen amongst them. A 'record' four Little Grebes were seen at Phillup's Lake, where a Cormorant was swimming and diving. Also seen here were four Tufted Ducks. Further on, I encountered another Wheatear at Park Farm (Therfield). A total of 43 bird species were recorded (37 seen). Although I must have heard 30-40 Robins on the way round, none were seen! Another surprisingly 'heard only' species was Goldfinch.

Cormorant at Phillup's Lake, 19 September

One of four Little Grebes seen at Phillup's Lake, 19 September

Another Wheatear, this one at Hatchpen Farm, Reed, 19 September

High pressure once again dominated the scene in the second half of September, with most of the rain having fallen in the first week of the month. Insect life dwindled, with the exception of the thousands of Ivy Bees, that awaken in late summer to take pollen from the many flowering Ivy bushes in the area. However, whilst butterflies have had a much better year in 2025 than in 2024, I have seen far fewer grasshoppers, shield bugs and bush crickets than in previous years. Whether this is a consequence of the very dry spring and summer I don't know. Anyway, here are a few images of insects that I did manage to photograph in late summer, including a mystery insect (tentatively identified as an Ichneumon Wasp), which was noted rapidly flickering its antennae. I suspect that there will be very few insects left to photograph in October....

Ivy Bee on Ivy, 25 September

Ivy Bee on Ivy Leaf, 25 September

Box Bug, Royston, 22 September

Unidentified insect (Ichneumon Wasp??), Royston, 25 September

UK Wildlife Sightings, September 2026

 Poor weather (but with welcome rain) and a whole load of admin. jobs restricted my activities in the first week of September. The appearance of a juvenile Grey Phalarope at Rutland Water on the 3rd, however, was too good an opportunity to miss and I decided to risk the trip to see it that evening, despite only being able to set off at 5.30pm. Heavy rush hour traffic slowed me down but I got to the Sykes Lane car park at 6.45pm, to find that it was closing at 7.00pm. I decided to dash down to the northern end of the dam, where the bird was located, at least see the bird and then dash back. Fortunately, the phalarope was only three minutes away, typically picking up tiny invertebrates from the rather windswept water, and had been located by another photographer, virtually on the shore line (phalaropes tend to be very confiding birds and rarely stray far from the edges of lakes and reservoirs when migrating cross country). I managed to take 37 photographs of it in a little over five minutes before dashing back to the car and exiting less than 15 minutes after I arrived (and hence not having to pay a parking fee!). Although this was the briefest of 'twitches' and very unsatisfactory, I would still prefer it to the 3.5 hours that I sat waiting for the Zitting Cisticola to give decent views (and no photographs - see last month's blog).

Juvenile Grey Phalarope, Rutland Water, 3 September

Juvenile Grey Phalarope, Rutland Water, 3 September

Following on from my trip to Suffolk to see the Zitting Cisticola, the chance to see another UK 'lifer' arose on the 8th, when I visited the Norfolk Broads, where the UK's third (I think) Black-winged Kite had been showing, distantly, for a few days. Plenty of people were on hand to point the bird out to me at Hickling Broad NWT - it was sitting in one of several dead trees, perhaps 300 metres away. Being forewarned that it would be distant, I had brought my telescope - just as well, as it was a tiny speck in my (10x42) binoculars. Of course, I tried to get photos of what is a fairly small raptor anyway. If you look carefully at my 'best' photo below, you may just about be able to make it out as a black, grey and white blob in the centre of the frame.

Record Shot of a distant Black-winged Kite, NWT Hickling Broad, 8 September

After getting back from holiday in Spain (more anon) my next excursion was as part of an RSPB Local Group coach trip to Cley NWT on the 21st. As I wasn't leading this trip, I sneaked away along the coast in the afternoon to look for a long-staying Pectoral Sandpiper off the Iron Road in Salthouse. I was lucky, because the elusive bird (apparently one of two here) appeared briefly after about 15 minutes, before disappearing into the reeds again: some people had been there for two hours waiting to see it! There are no photos of the bird, I'm afraid. Earlier, with the wind having turned round to the north overnight, I had gone down to Cley beach to do some sea watching. I had hoped to see a few skuas and shearwaters, but it appears that I turned up a little too late. Instead, there was a distant stream of Gannets (mainly juveniles, which were shearing the water and looking like large shearwaters - if only!). I did see three Razorbills, a couple of Arctic Terns and a variety of flying ducks. A Spotted Redshank was seen on the reserve, but annoyingly I missed out on the Wood Sandpipers that virtually everybody else in our group saw! Hundreds of Pink-footed Geese had already returned to their winter quarters. Several Cattle Egrets were closely attending some black cattle. A Curlew Sandpiper and a Knot were on the same pool as the Pectoral Sandpiper. Insects seen included several Wall butterflies and Common and Ruddy Darter dragonflies. Some of the images that I took are shown below.

Cattle Egret with Black Cow, Cley NWT, 21 September

Two Cattle Egrets, Cley NWT, 21 September

Curlew Sandpiper, Salthouse, 21 September

Marsh Harrier (with Prey), Pink-footed and (far right) Greylag Geese, Cley NWT, 21 September

Wall Butterfly, Cley NWT, 21 September

I was back on the Norfolk coast, sea watching at Sheringham, on the 24th. By now the wind had swung round to the east but had dropped to a gentle breeze, so there was no great passage of sea birds, although I was able to add Red-throated Diver (several birds heading east) to my year list. I then headed up the coast to RSPB Titchwell, spending time photographing waders including some fairly confiding Knot, on the beach. More Wall butterflies were seen here.

Bar-tailed Godwit, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 24 September

Knot, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 24 September

After seeing reports of a Lesser Yellowlegs (an American wader) at the Etton-Maxey gravel pits complex north of Peterborough, I eventually decided to have a look for it in the late afternoon of the 26th. I had never visited these pits before, and took a bit of time to orient myself. The bird had been regularly reported from two pits, with the most recent sightings being from 'Pig Jaw Pit'. When I eventually found this pit, the bird was not present so I headed for the other pit, Rectory Pit. As I was approaching the pit, another bird watcher was coming the other way. He said that he had drawn a blank at both pits, and speculated that the bird had gone. Crucially, however, he mentioned that the Yellowlegs had been seen accompanying a Greenshank. Arriving at Rectory Pit I couldn't find anything initially. However, as I was about to leave I noticed a distant Greenshank. Surely the Lesser Yellowlegs must be with it! By walking along a bank to the other side of the pit I was able to locate the bird and get some record shots of it. I enjoy these kinds of 'twitches', where I have to work hard to find a bird, often on my own.

Lesser Yellowlegs, Rectory Pit, Etton, 26 September