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Wildlife & Plants In the UK

September

Mid September brings us more...

Wildlife

Now is a good time to watch birds returning to estuaries, wetlands, gardens and parks after migrating from the north and growing their winter plumage. Other species have fattened themselves before embarking on the long journey to Africa. Preparations for winter begin and do not fully finish until November. Larger animals feast on the autumn harvest and create stores of food, such as nuts, to tide them over until spring.

What to See	Where to See and comment	What it looks like
Oystercatchers	Return from summer feeding grounds to spend the winter months with us.
Canada Geese	Estuaries, wetlands and rivers will see their return
Fieldfare	First of these start to return to feast on the autumn berries, and fallen apples in the apple orchards.
Redwing	start to return to feast on the fallen apples in the orchards.
Dragonflies	are still in wetland areas, but the occurrences of view are reducing as the on set of autumn starts to take grip.
Bees and wasps	feeding on late-flowering ivy
Hedgehogs	start to feed up ready for their winter hibernation and seek out shelter for the coming winter months.
Red Deer see also Where to Photograph Deer  Photographing deer	Red deer can be seen all year round in the UK at various deer parks and in the wild. However during the rutting season September-October the males are more impressive with their full gown antlers for the year and combat between competing males.

Plantlife

Hedgerows are full of berries, hips and haws while other fruits and fungi appear in abundance in woodlands, pastures and grasslands.  Many flowers fade, the leaves on deciduous trees change colour and fall to the ground.

What to See	Where to See and comment	What it looks like
Horse Chestnuts	Conkers fall from
Oaks	acorns
Sycamore	winged seeds
Ash
Maple
Himalayan balsam	which disperses its seed from exploding pods along the riverbanks
Stinkhorns	fungi start to appear above ground
Puffballs	fungi start to appear above ground
Field Mushrooms	fungi start to appear above ground

See Also

For a more in depth look at Wildlife photography in September.

Other species can be found listed in the Wildlife Section or within the topic index under

• Wildlife and Animals

• Nature, Flora and Countryside

• Wildlife & Nature within the reference section