Seasonal slump

August and early September always feel a bit slow where nature is concerned. This is especially so if the temperatures are low and the insects aren't around. In the bird world the summer visitors are leaving, the winter ones haven't quite arrived yet and the locals have gone into hiding! Our walks are very quiet but if you look carefully there are still things to see. Conkers, blackberries, sloes and rose hips are dripping from branches, mushrooms are starting to appear and if the sun comes out the dragonflies and butterflies still take to the air. The cooler nights are bringing dewey mornings with slugs and snails and misty sunrises. Soon the leaves will start to change and the days shorten and nature will be back on its mission to survive another winter.

Amber Snail (Succunea putris) Fen Drayton Lakes, Cambridgeshire, UK