
We had a dry, dull, calm day with the odd bit of light drizzle to start off this month, the river level was still settling back to around the four feet mark (above summer level) before we got a short rise in levels again to around the six feet mark before the first week was over.
This did not last long before it started to slowly settle back again. Butterfly numbers have remained poor, but we have seen the odd ones that we don’t usually see, with a Speckled Wood and a Wall appearing.
We took the opportunity on one of the drier days to pick and store a few crates of apples,
these will be used over the winter months at some of the bird feed stations when the harder weather kicks in.
As is always the case at this time of year, the various types of fungi
that we see keep appearing in all shapes and sizes in different locations all over the place!
The weather took a turn for the colder in the mornings as the month progressed and it got a bit foggy at times too, there is more of an autumnal feel about it now as the leaves are beginning to turn on some of the trees.
The Apivar strips were back out again as our beehive got its annual course of varoa mite treatment,
the bees are still very active during the odd warm spells of weather that we are still getting, and there are still plenty of wildflowers about for them to forage on.
Out on the river we are still seeing the odd boat and canoe passing by as they make the most of what decent weather we have been having at this time of year.
On the wildlife front we are seeing the geese flying overhead in large numbers now; there are a lot more teal about and we are also seeing the odd snipe. There was a juvenile great crested grebe in about, but it was gone again by the next day. The seals and the otters can be seen most days, and the smaller birds are all beginning to flock up now. We are seeing more buzzards than usual just now, maybe it has been a good season for them breeding!
There was the odd frosty morning as the month drew to a close, and on the last day we had some heavy rain with the river sitting steady about the nine-inch mark above summer level.
Dago