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The great autumn bird migration is now underway with the swifts having already left.\u00a0 Keep an eye out for flocks of swallows, house martins and sand martins as they start to mass ready to head south. As these migrants leave, our winter residents start to arrive. The black-headed gulls started to get their winter plumage in August (they lose their black heads !). The single great-crested grebe returned to the lake in August after being absent for much of July. Juvenile moorhen and coot can be seen on the lake as they move through Stover to disperse, and the four cygnets are almost fully grown. Kingfishers, herons and herring gulls were recorded on several occasions last month. The male mandarins are starting to grow back their colourful plumage after their moult. The Spring broods of mallard ducks, moorhen and coot are now fully grown. The last chick to hatch out was a moorhen on 22nd<\/sup> August. The first of the winter tufted ducks usually arrive at the end of August, but this year a group of around 8 didn\u2019t depart to North Scandinavia and Russia as they should have in the Spring and numbers have been growing ever since. Three tufted duck ducklings survived from the second brood recorded and are nearly fully grown. Six tufted duck ducklings in total were successful so we can add Tufted Duck to the Stover breeding birds list. A little egret was spotted on 7th<\/sup> August, three female gadwall on the 27th<\/sup>, with two little grebe staying throughout the month. Common sandpipers are usually spotted at Stover in August on their journey south to overwinter in Africa, but none were recorded this year. A few remain in the South of Britain providing winter sightings.<\/p>\nAdders basked in the sun on the heath on the hotter days of August and grass snakes were seen swimming in the lake. Young newts will start to leave the lakes and ponds this month. Now that the breeding season is over many animals are now foraging and feeding in preparation for winter. Badgers extend their setts in September and their young become independent. Young weasels will also start to disperse along with young mink. The latter rarely have territories of their own and so move around the countryside. To avoid meeting adult territory holders at night, when they are hunting, young mink will hunt during the day making them easy to spot. Keep an eye out for dead shrews on the paths in the woods. Unfortunately, autumn is the peak time for adults to die as they only live for just over a year. Harvest mice are usually associated with arable farmland. However, Stover has a healthy population that make their ball-shaped nests in the reeds in the marsh and amongst the tall grasses in the meadow areas.\u00a0 They continue to breed well into October and the young from these late litters that survive the winter form the majority of next years breeding population. As the vegetation dies down during the autumn the breeding nests become more visible. Hedgehogs breed well into September and will become more visible in daylight hours as they actively feed to put on weight before the winter.<\/p>\n
![\"Fleabane](\"http:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/stovercountrypark\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2024\/12\/Fleabane-300x264.png\")
On sunny days there are still plenty of butterflies and dragonflies about. There have been numerous sightings of clouded yellow and painted lady butterflies this summer \u2013 definitely both a painted lady and a clouded yellow year ! Painted ladies complete one of the longest insect migrations in the world travelling up to 9,000 miles from Tropical Africa to the Arctic circle and back. No individual completes the whole journey, but is a series of steps by up to six successive generations. Clouded yellows migrate from Southern Europe and North Africa when conditions are favourable, so they\u2019re not seen every year. The second generation of Stover\u2019s butterflies are now on the wing and as many species hibernate it is vital to have a late supply of nectar in order to survive. That is why the late flowering plants such as fleabane, heather, scabious, ground elder, mint and yarrow are so important for many insects. Ivy flowers in the autumn and produces berries in the Spring; providing nectar and pollen at just the right time for hibernating insects to build up their reserves.<\/p>\n
Keep an eye out for the varieties of fungi, which should start to appear. Even though fungi do not require sunlight to create their food, they do need heat to be able to decompose their hosts effectively, so this Summer\u2019s consistently hot temperatures will mean the Autumnal display of fruiting bodies, which are the toadstools, should be spectacular.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The leaves on the elder trees are just starting to turn yellow indicating that autumn has finally caught up with Stover. Horse chestnut and beech are usually the next trees to don their autumn colours, however horse chestnuts among with … Continue reading ![\"Southern](\"http:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/stovercountrypark\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2026\/09\/Southern-Migrant-Hawker-dragonfly-Andy-Swash-300x200.png\")
Southern, common and migrant hawker dragonflies are now on the wing. The most abundant dragonfly usually seen during September is the common darter, along with emerald and azure damselflies. July and August has seen unprecedented dragonfly sightings at Stover, and in Devon as a whole. The first ever Southern Migrant Hawker was spotted at Stover on 2nd<\/sup> August, with three individuals regularly seen throughout the month. Black darter numbers were up with over six recorded regularly, when only two have been sighted before just in 1992 and 1995. The lake level is very low and many of the ponds have dried up, but 2026 will be remembered as an exceptional dragonfly year. Many grasshoppers and crickets are continuing to sing.<\/p>\n