September carries with it a rare quiet. The buzzing of bees and the stridulating of grasshoppers fade, leaving space for the subtle voices of nature to be heard. Gentle breezes stir reedbeds into whispers, while the sound of running water grows more distinct in the stillness. Birds, too, slowly return to song—robins ticking, blackbirds tucking, and blue tits chiming lightly in the garden. Jays, wrens, and woodpeckers punctuate the hush of the woods, while swallows, martins, and skylarks add fleeting notes in open skies. As twilight falls, tawny owls call, foxes bark, and the night carries strange, passing cries. September is a month of quiet music—soft, scattered, and fleeting.
Don’t miss the next step in nature’s story—check back on September 11th!
Article
Sounds
September is a quiet, serene month. The hum of bees and chirruping of grasshoppers is heard less as we approach the end of summer. The Greeks and Romans regarded grasshoppers and crickets as the happiest of creatures and there is definitely something about their stridulating that is easy on the ear and reminiscent of sunny days. The general quietness makes the sound of any running water more pronounced and if there is some wind, whispering sounds come from reedbeds. Many birds are starting to become more vocal again and they are usually responsible for breaking the general silence. In gardens, tits are starting to be heard again particularly blue, great and long-tailed tits. There is plenty of ‘ticking’ from robins and ‘tucking’ from blackbirds. Occasionally a hedge sparrow or song thrush attempts a song but it is usually just a short burst with none of the vigour that we heard in the spring. Greenfinches and chaffinches are also now starting to join in, the latter being only tempted if it is good weather. The repeated vocal demands of fledglings so typical of last month is now greatly diminished.
In woods we now tend to hear brief excerpts from jays, magpies, wrens and perhaps the occasional nuthatch. Woodpigeons are usually still quiet, not even drawing our attention with their wing clapping.
Any chiffchaffs or willow warblers that have chosen not to fly south can still be heard singing. There are also always the staccato calls of green and great spotted woodpeckers that break the silence as well as the raucous calls of parakeets and Canada geese. With luck you may hear the far more delicate creaking calls of bullfinches as they wander through gardens looking for one of their favourite foods, young ash keys.
In more open areas noisy rooks and possibly skylarks could still be heard. Wherever any swallows or martins are still collecting, their attractive twitterings may also be heard. The famous delicate purring of turtle doves and reeling of grasshopper warblers in late summer now seems to be a thing of the past, although there may still be a chance of hearing the latter in the Ingrebourne valley. Wherever there are a lot of ivy flowers the soft hum of insects, especially flies, will be heard and at night tawny owls are beginning to hoot once more. Other eerie sounds in the night may include foxes or the occasional passage migrant passing over.
