Nature Notes - August 2025

Sickleholme Nature Notes - August

 

Although the summer heatwave carried well into August, the latter part of the month developed an autumnal feel. There were subtle colour changes to many trees, early leaf fall due to the dry weather, lots of red berries on our Rowan trees, and a nip in the air on some mornings. More predictably, the Swifts that feed over the course departed early in the month. Apart from Cuckoos, adult Swifts are the first summer migrants to depart although their young remain to  feed up for a few days more, until able to make their own flight southwards.

 

Swifts are a fascinating species since they only land to visit their nest sites (in our case, several houses close to the entrance to the club), being able to sleep on the wing (when half of the brain closes down and they just drift) and mate on the wing. Swifts are much in focus currently because of changes to buildings that reduce suitable nest locations, and support groups are working hard to provide nest boxes, Swift bricks, and the protection of existing nests. Golf with the late John Ellicock was always more interesting when hearing of John’s multiple artificial nests and his experiments with a “Swift Tower”. I have never satisfactorily photographed a Swift in flight, so this month’s image is courtesy of RSPB.

 

Some other birds were seen less often during the month. Blackbirds and Dunnocks, for example, are two of the species which moult their feathers at this time of year and prefer to stay hidden whilst flight is more difficult.

 

Sickleholme produces a good annual list of butterfly species but one more may be close. Silver-washed Fritillary is a large, showy butterfly which has been working its way northwards. The first modern Derbyshire records were in the Trent Valley, but David Rouse reported their presence on the Thornhill Trail and Alan Kydd has seen them near Ladybower, so that is something that we should definitely be looking for next year.

 

Others, Alan Card and Chris Littlewood in particular, know a lot more about our trees that I do but I was interested to hear of a visitor’s comments. He had highlighted the fact that before completing the first two holes, he had observed mature and impressive examples of Oak, Lime and Horse Chestnut. Perhaps, we should be mapping our trees from the other parts of the course too.

Bryan Barnacle