A hot August ensured the summer holidays weren’t the wash-out that June and July proved to be. Much hotter weather, it seems, is a common feature of September now, with the North Sea reaching record temperatures at this time of year. A quick dip at Winterton Beach was not the refreshing experience I anticipated, it was as warm as bathwater! Well almost. September, for me, is a rather tired month. Grass stems are dead and bent double with their heavy payload. Meadow flowers are waning, with ragwort stripped of their leaves by the gold and black banded cinnabar caterpillars.

Thistles shake off fairy-winged seeds, to be carried wherever the summer breeze chooses. A visit to one of our wetland reserves finds fen plants still in flower. With their feet perpetually soaked, they grow tall; an attempt to compete with the reed. The height at least gives their flowerheads a fighting chance amongst the massed ranks of reed stems. Yellow and purple loosestrife is blooming, as is willow herb, meadowsweet and hemp agrimony. The Broadlands speciality, the marsh sowthistle, can make eight feet before finally popping open its yellow flower buds!           

Horse-chestnut tree leaves are already crisp brown, causing some concern that it is a sign the trees are diseased and dying. This ‘early-turning’ of horse chestnut trees is actually due to the arrival in the UK, some decades ago, of the horse-chestnut leaf miner moth. The moth’s caterpillar creates meandering tunnels inside the leaf, so by August the leaves have had enough and die-off. The horse-chestnut tree is non-native, having been imported here from the 18^th century onwards. It was used as an ornamental tree for parks, estates and village greens across the country. The species was originally from the mountain regions of the Balkans, and was probably transported here as conkers or small caterpillar free saplings. The tiny leaf-mining moth has travelled slowly across Europe for 250 years, arriving in the UK about thirty years ago having finally caught up with its host. Our familiar conker tree has had a clear run for several centuries, but the arrival of its evolutionary buddy doesn’t appear to cause any lasting or significant harm.   

At NWT Thorpe Marshes in Norwich, a rare and seldom seen plantbug adelphocoris ticinensis was identified. Matt Wickens, Urban Reserves Manager, said “This scarce insect is a particularly interesting find”. This ‘true’ bug was identified by sharp-eyed volunteer Susan Weeks, and is the first record for the reserve. Matt continued “There are a few records on the National Biodiversity Network Atlas further downstream on the Yare at Buckenham and Rockland”. The species is found in scattered locations in south-east England, particularly the Norfolk Broads. Its main food plant is greater birds-foot trefoil, and the increasingly rare marsh pea. With a wonderful plant rich wet meadow and lots of ditches at Thorpe Marshes, the bug will no doubt continue to thrive.       

NWT Hickling Broad and Marshes saw spoonbill settle to nest again this summer. With last year’s chicks believed to be the first on the Norfolk Broads in over 400 years, we were delighted to find two nests this season, with three chicks in one and two in the other. Fledging should be mid-month with the young birds hanging around for a week or so before moving off.

The coast also saw an impressive influx of cattle egret during August with a maximum count of twenty-nine at NWT Cley Marshes alone. Reserve Warden George Baldock said, “they have been putting on quite a display in front of the hides and visitor centre”. With great white egret, purple heron and glossy ibis across the county too, Norfolk is becoming more like the Camargue! Greater flamingo anyone?       

Top Tips for September

A visit to one of NWT’s heathland reserves in September will find the heather still in magnificent purple bloom. These vast swathes of colour are particularly stunning at NWT Roydon Common and NWT Buxton Heath.

Bird migration is also underway, and it’s a great time for migrant butterflies and dragonflies. And keep your eyes peeled for some of Norfolk’s spectacular large moth species, as they’ll be on the wing in September too.