Rain, Spiders and One Very Good Woodpecker
Bug Girl’s September Notes from Harmony Woods
September has felt like a month of change at Harmony Woods.
After a long, hot summer, the air is finally cooler, the ground is damp again and the woods are beginning to shift into autumn mode.
The trees seem to have coped remarkably well with all that heat and, from where I’ve been standing underneath them, they’ve certainly earned their keep. They’ve provided some very welcome shade for bugs, small animals and one increasingly warm ecology intern.
The pond hasn’t had quite such an easy time. After weeks of heat and very little rain, water levels dropped and things were beginning to look rather sorry.
Then the rain came. And almost immediately, things started changing again.
When the rain returns
The pond has begun to bounce back to life, the woodland floor is softer and suddenly there are new things appearing everywhere you look.
Mushrooms! Snails! Damp-loving creatures!
It’s a lovely reminder that moisture can completely change what you find in a habitat. Things that seemed absent a few weeks ago were often simply waiting for the right conditions.
And while summer might be ending, the bugs certainly haven’t packed up and gone home.
In fact, the cast is changing.
We are very definitely entering spider season. Webs are appearing everywhere, particularly first thing in the morning when tiny drops of dew make them much easier to spot.
Wasps are still busy, earwigs are making themselves known and there seem to be more predatory and carnivorous bugs around too.
Autumn may feel quieter at first, but once you start looking properly, there is still an awful lot going on.
One last survey
September also brings the end of my main surveying season, which feels very strange after months of watching, listening, recording and occasionally crawling around looking for something very small.
I saved one of my favourites for last: the bird transect through the trees.
I love this part of the survey because you become completely surrounded by sound. Robins and great tits can make an impressive amount of noise for something so tiny, although actually spotting them amongst the branches is sometimes another matter entirely.
And my final bird survey gave me a particularly good send-off.
I saw a woodpecker!
Not a bad way to finish the season.
Surveying has taught me that sometimes the most interesting thing you can do in nature is simply stop.
Listen.
Look properly.
Give things time to reveal themselves.
You notice changes in sound, light, plants and animal behaviour that are very easy to miss if you’re simply walking through.
Growing next year’s wildflowers
We’ve also been busy planting wildflowers grown at the allotment. Furthermore, you can help plant them out at this year’s Community Day on the 10th October - book here. https://www.andovertrees.org.uk/events-list/octcommunityday
It’s another small but important part of helping increase the diversity of the woodland and creating more opportunities for insects and other wildlife.
Right now, they may not look particularly dramatic, but I’m already looking forward to seeing what establishes and returns next year.
Sometimes ecology requires quite a lot of patience!
A very special Peace Day
Wildlife wasn’t the only thing filling Harmony Woods this month.
One of September’s real highlights was our World Peace Day procession, when four local schools came together to parade their peace doves through Harmony Woods.
Pupils from Abbotts Ann Primary, Harrow Way Community School, Endeavour Primary and Knights Enham Juniors took part, filling the woods with young people and a very different kind of energy.
The procession marked the UN International Day of Peace, using the woodland as a place where children could come together and think about peace, community and their relationship with the world around them.
We were also pleased to welcome Hampshire County Councillor David Drew, Councillor Iris Andersen, Deputy Mayor of Test Valley, and a representative from Abel & Cole, Hildon and The National Lottery.
For me, it was another reminder that Harmony Woods is about much more than trees.
It’s somewhere young people can explore wildlife, learn, celebrate, ask questions and come together.
And seeing those doves being carried between trees that were themselves planted by local children felt pretty special. You can read more here https://www.andovertrees.org.uk/news-list/2026/9/24/andover-trees-uniteds-annual-peace-day-procession-unites-four-local-schools
What’s next?
As my summer surveying comes to an end, a different kind of woodland adventure is beginning.
October sees Tree Ents & Skylarks properly getting underway, our nature club for young people aged 12–15 who want to explore, discover wildlife and get hands-on with the natural world.
The next session on 10 October will turn everyone into Risk Detectives, exploring the woods, thinking like ecologists and beginning their journey towards the Junior Forester Award.
Even better, Tree Ents & Skylarks is free for ATU Junior Members to sign up https://www.andovertrees.org.uk/membership-2ndary-nav. For non-members, a seasonal block of six sessions costs £30.
Find out more and book Tree Ents & Skylarks
So although summer is disappearing, there’s no shortage of things to discover.
Next month I’ll be looking out for more fungi, spiders, tracks, feathers and whatever else autumn decides to leave lying around for me to investigate.
Until then, keep looking closely. The woods are changing every day.
And don’t forget to follow Bug Girl on Instagram for more wildlife discoveries, surveys and behind-the-scenes adventures from Harmony Woods