Late Summer on the Local Patch

Ah, the glorious long days of late Summer, the rose tinted, sun filled times you remember for the rest of your life. Yes, every day was so sunny, life was so blissful, and may it never end. The fields turn golden as the wheat and barley come to fruit and are then harvested, its a bountiful time of year as well, an important time for the countryside.

And that's what it feels from the beginning of this period, July, to its end mid August. Mid-August still feels like Summer but in wildlife terms its very much Autumn. By August birds have bred, flowers have flowered and butterflies have fluttered, and its very much an ending of a phase of the seasons. Face it summer's over.

Male LINNET

I do a lot of birding on the Patch. Several times a week I'm out looking for wildlife, armed with bins and a camera. Most of the times I see nothing, but then there are the days when everything clicks together and I get some decent shots which you see up here. Landscape shots are easy to take so I have more to choose from, whilst bird shots are difficult and I only have a few to choose from. Its amazing there is so much to photograph even in somewhere as unremarkable as the Local Patch.

On the Patch its great how a place that is situated on the out skirts of a large town can suddenly take you away from people so quickly, how I can end up miles away from any road, any din of civilisation, to be out in the natural quietness of nature all within a short walk.

GARDEN WARBLER with a bramble berry

As with all nature the weather plays a important part in how the season unfolds. This Summer has been a mixed bag, carrying on the weather from June. In July although I was expecting very hot days,in fact it couldn't be more different. There was a lot of rain, a lot of overcast days, mixed in with sun, very much unlike what it should be. And then came August. Under blistering sun the Patch was baked. In that August there was the hottest week ever recorded. Its hard to predict what the effects of this strange weather has on nature, there is no normal anymore.

This farmer is a crow killer

As Summer ends, the Local Patch tends to be fairly quiet for birds. The breeding season has come to a close and the movement of birds, which marks Autumn migration has yet to fully begin. At the moment most of the movement so far has been from local birds banding together soon after nesting.

Bird-wise, the highlight of this period is the successful raising of the BUZZARD brood. One bird is always on territory on the Suffolk Punch Field throughout the year, and their persistence has payed off and they have raised a family there. On 15/7 the calls of two chicks could be heard echoing round the field as they have left the nest but couldn't yet hunt on their own. Soon they will begin lives of their own, to find a nice wood in a field to live and raise their own broods. Such is the circle of life.

The local farmer is a First World War enthusiast, he has created some of his own bunkers, which have been used as a film set in the past.

GREEN WOODPECKERS have had a successful breeding season with a juvenile seen in the hedge of the Poppy Field, the bird has a grey head compared to the cream and red of the adults.

Giving the Poppy Field that name is a bit ironic because six years ago when the field was first brought out of arable production the whole area bloomed red with poppies, which was a beautiful sight. However the next year the farmer sprayed it and everything died, and nothing grew, just dead brown grass. It is only now just recovering.

The arable Second Field

Late Summer brings together the FINCH flocks, where local birds and their newly raised young band together for protection and to find food. The areas of set aside with their many thistle seeds provide adequate sanctuary. GOLDFINCHES and LINNETS are the main culprits travelling around the area looking for food.

Also of interest was a flock of 15 MISTLE THRUSHES in the Suffolk Punch Field which is a sign of a good breeding season locally.

YELLOWHAMMERS could be heard singing late into the season. There is no real need to do this except for their love of it, and provides some welcome distraction to me as I wander the Patch.

Juv GOLDFINCH (they lack the red face of the adults)

Of course on the Patch there is a lot of  records of other wildlife than just birds. One magical sighting on the 24/7 was of a female ROE DEER and fawn, in the old horse fields. They were only seen briefly as they moved quickly through the long grass, and then disappearing from view through the thick hedge. I was just able to get the record shot. Its amazing to think that this shy, humble animal is living only half a mile from the outskirts of Ipswich. Its great how quickly wildlife recovers away from humans, if we let it, how nature can easily come back to our countryside with just a little help.

Doe ROE DEER and fawn, Old Horse Fields

From mid July the flowers die off as the days become hotter and shorter. The First Field, left to go fallow, at the beginning of the period, was a riot of colour, full of thistles and hawkweed, common flowers, but so important to insects. The Buddleia bushes also came into flower, attracting many butterflies to them, by far the most common being PEACOCKS.

The Orchid Patch wasn't mown early this year so around twenty spikes of PYRAMMIDAL ORCHID flowered. This little patch, on the Second Field, is a sanctuary for meadow plants in an arable area, somewhere that needs to be looked after better than it currently is.

BROWN ARGUS

With the flower and bird season ending attention turns to BUTTERFLIES which are most common in July. On a nice calm, sunny day, even arable places like the Patch can attract these beautiful insects. The best find was a small colony of BROWN ARGUS in the Poppy Field. Despite its name and appearance its actually a relative of the blue butterfly family. Its not that common, but not rare and this is my first record for the Patch.

 

One day whilst out photographing the Patch I took a picture of a tractor ploughing a field. When the driver saw me he stopped and got out. I was thinking to myself 'oh god, here we go' thinking as per usual the farmer had taken offence of me taking pictures of him. When he came over to me he was actually really friendly, gave me his number and asked me to text him the photos. He then allowed me to get closer views of him ploughing the field. A nice little situation that came from a little ramble.

Hedge in the fallow First Field, good for FINCHES and the local SPARROWS.

So ends another period of the year, when nature comes and goes to the rhythm of the seasons. Sure, nothing much really happens on a place like the Local Patch no massive changes in the wildlife, just subtle differences. In the end its just a load of fields, with a few hedgerows and some trees, not much to really experience nature in. But its my place, I know every corner of the Patch, and as my life changes so I mark the changes on the Patch as well. Nature is awesome.