What to watch out for in September
The garden is quieter: birds are no longer singing to mark their territory. Summer residents are returning to wintering grounds, while winter migrants, such as waxwings, redwings and fieldfares, are starting to arrive. Borders are shrinking back into them
You may spot toads returning to their overwintering grounds. Seen from March to October, toads can be told apart from frogs by their warty, dry skin, amber-coloured eyes and preference for crawling rather than hopping. They spend less time in water than their wet-skinned, browneyed, hopping cousins, so you might find them taking shelter beneath your shed or among stones or logs, rather than in your pond. However, they do breed in ponds tending to choose larger bodies of water, particularly those where fish are present. This is because toad tadpoles, like the adults, are slightly poisonous, meaning predators such as fish and newts tend not to eat them, thus they have the advantage over frog and newt larvae. Unlike frogspawn, toad spawn is laid in ribbons and wrapped around the stems of submerged pond plants. Their tadpoles are superficially similar to frog tadpoles but have shorter tails and larger heads, and are darker. They’re more loyal to breeding and wintering grounds than frogs. In spring they’re often seen travelling to their breeding ponds, the smaller males piggy-backing on the females. In autumn, you may see them returning to their overwintering grounds, under log piles or in compost heaps. Found throughout England, Wales and Scotland, they’re absent from Ireland. They’re widespread but are thought to be declining rapidly, partly due to the filling in of ponds in rural areas.
Also be on the lookout for…
Red admiral butterflies feasting on the last of the Verbena bonariensis. Ivy bees feeding on ivy flowers. Hedgehogs taking advantage of mild evenings to fatten up on beetles, slugs and caterpillars, before entering hibernation. Garden spiders erecting huge cobwebs between shrubs and across paths.
And don’t miss...
The Wildlife Gardening Conference, in Bristol on 29 September. For more information visit