Autumn is definitely upon us. It seems to have sneaked up on us in the last couple of weeks. I was away for a few days at the very beginning of September and I came back to find conkers on the roads, crisp yellow leaves blowing in the wind and a definite chill in the air. It’s almost as if the winds have brought in the change.
Many people think of Autumn as the end of summer and the start of a downhill slope to dark evenings and bare branches. I’ll admit this may be true but it doesn’t stop autumn being my favourite season. As trees turn to beautiful reds, oranges and browns and hedgerows are peppered with vivid red berries, it surely is the most magical time of the year.
Last week the very last of our swallows nesting on the visitor centre fledged. I felt quite maternal towards these little birds as I had watched them grow up. They fledged on Friday, my guess is that they were waiting for the wind to die down a bit before making the leap. As I opened up the shutters in the morning they danced around me in the wind, some struggling to push against it.
I have my fingers crossed for this family of swallows. Not only did they choose to fledge during the tail end of an Atlantic storm, they now only have a couple of weeks to practice flying before setting off on their long journey to Southern Africa. To complete the journey they have to fly over 200 miles a day, that’s the distance from London to Leeds. I struggled cycling 6 miles into work today! You’ve got to be tough to be a swallow!
I’ve just come back from the visitor centre. On the reserve today we’ve got little stints, a Temminck’s stint, curlew sandpipers and over 100 ruff. It’s a beautiful early autumn day minus the wind, definitely worth a walk but remember to wrap up warm. A hat might also be a good idea, although the windswept look never goes out of fashion, right?!