September has been largely filled with mowing and raking but the end of it is finally within sight. We’ve got all the meadows done, as well as the verges. This included the gargantuan task of cutting the vegetation in one of the compartments where we’ve had northern dairy shorthorn cattle grazing in recent years. This area has some fairly rough terrain as well as a large amount of birch and willow saplings, which our machinery would struggle to cope with. To tackle it, we brought in some big kit in the form of a robomower. This is essentially a giant remote-controlled tracked mower, but it still took a week for the mowing to be completed. As we move into October we’ll now be focusing on sprucing up around the hides and the viewpoints to ensure that visitors can enjoy our lovely views!

This time of year is great for spotting members of the less glamourous biological kingdoms, slime moulds and fungi. You may see the aptly named dog sick slime mould attached to plant stems, or shaggy parasol (below) poking out from the undergrowth. Please do remember to keep to the paths, particularly when fungi spotting, and don’t pick or take any specimens from the site. 

A less stationary species we’ve also been lucky to spot at Whisby is the clouded yellow butterfly. They don’t get to us very often, having migrated all the way from North Africa and Southern Europe, but 2026 has been a 'clouded yellow year', with records all over Lincolnshire, including at Gibraltar Point and up the coast to Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes, Far Ings and in the heart of the Wolds, as well as here on the edge of Lincoln. 

We’ve finally been able to provide the kestrels with a much-needed replacement home. The roof of their old residence collapsed earlier this year, not that the kestrels seemed to mind all that much as they could still be seen roosting in it! The new kestrel box can be viewed from the western section of Magpie Walk.

Lastly, we’ve had an amazing response to our ‘Bag it, bin it, be a friend to wildlife’ campaign. Thank you to all the responsible dog owners who have cleaned up after their dogs, making the reserve a more pleasant place for everyone. As always, thank you for helping take care of our wildlife!