Towards the end of August I watched as the swallows chattered excitedly on the telephone wires, probably sharing experiences of the migration to Africa with this year’s youngsters.
This year I counted over 30 which is almost double the amount I counted in 2010, obviously a good year.
I expected to see them fly before September, but apart from a few days with only a fleeting glimpse of them, most appeared to stay until after the recent big storm. Were they telling me something?
It would suggest so as the storm didn’t herald the start of autumn, merely that start of an Indian summer, which in turn appeared to be the catalyst for the swallows to depart.
As we basked in 30c and wall to wall sunshine, so the swallows made their exit and other animals made the most of a late harvest as blackberries ripened in the hedgerows and insects continued to flourish.
The weather has certainly helped my tomatoes ripen and also have a positive effect on my peppers, carrots and chillies.
In the last week I’ve had over 100 cherry tomatoes ripen and I’m expecting at least double that in the next week or so, despite the weather actually starting to behave like October.
The summer has been patchy at best, but it appears to have been good for the wildlife. The blackbirds have raised at least two broods, as have the robins.
I’ve recently heard the blue tits and watched a number of great tits on the feeders, some of which must be this year’s brood from the nestbox.
Talking of the nestbox, I’ve not see any activity in there since the great tits left in early summer and I’ll soon be clearing it out ready for any roosting birds over the winter.
The breeding birds of the summer have shown signs of fatigue as the end the post-chick raising moult, I even saw a male blackbird with a grey head, but this has gradually turned black again.
Finally my pond has helped form a place for a frog to spend time but has produced no tadpoles this year. This winter I’ll be filling it in as my daughter is now walking and exploring everywhere.
In its place I’ll continue the rockery and have a boggy wildlife area until such time as I can have the pond back.
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