While the sun of last weekend did bring butterflies, insects and (maybe) a last barbecue of the summer, the weather is now turned wet and windy, and the leaves are starting to turn. Bird-wise the last 2 house martins were still over the house this morning, but Chiffchaffs joining the tit flock and the first Lesser Redpoll mean Autumn has arrived. On my Garden Birdwatch, which I’ve been doing for a couple of years now, I’ve had my first ever sparrow-less weeks, as the usually-resident House Sparrows have gone - presumably they will be back though, after a short stay-cation out in the hedgerows.

Other signs of Autumn moving on are the craneflies appearing in the house most evenings and spiders, like the European Garden Spider (or Cross Spider) and this this lovely False Widow found in my sons Wellington boot. Pruning back shrubs in the garden, this pair of earwigs needed re-housing, but in general, apart from spiders, insects are few; though there are still plenty of snails & slugs..