I DON’T know if it’s something only I experience, but come the onset of September, there seems to be a noticeable change in the air, bringing a sense of melancholy.

Of course, this could be enhanced by the tired appearance to the plants growing in the wildlife garden –the way the leaves of the flag iris hang lazily over the pond or the rusty brown colour of the drooping thistles that once stood tall and green.

This sense of seasonal change is increased by the sight of swallows as they start to gather on the telegraph wires, resembling rows of dolly pegs on a washing line and, as I observe them preparing for their journey back to warmer climes, I often wish I was leaving with them to spend the winter in the heat of Southern Africa, far away from the cold and ice.

However, unlike the swallows, I am unable to spread my wings and take to the air, so I have to find a positive view of things. This I do by focusing not on what we are losing but on what we are gaining. Soon the winter visitors will be arriving. There will be fieldfares, redwings, bramblings and a whole host of waders to look out for. Plus the starling murmurations, where thousands upon thousands of birds put on an aerial display that is breath-taking.

So, the flag iris may droop lazily and the wild grasses may hang limp, but the swallows – well, they’ll be back in the spring.

LB Loxley