Late Summer Wildlife – What to Watch and Photograph Before Autumn Arrives
August and early September are often thought of as a quiet time in nature. Spring has long gone, the energy of fledgling birds has faded, and autumn’s drama of migration and rutting hasn’t quite arrived. But look a little closer, and late summer reveals itself as one of the most rewarding times to be outdoors with a camera or a pair of binoculars. Fields are alive with insects, woodlands are heavy with fruit, and many animals are busy preparing for the seasonal change.
In this post, we’ll explore the wildlife highlights of late summer in Britain, with ideas for what to look for, and some practical tips for photographers wanting to capture this fleeting moment before autumn takes over
The Insect Peak – Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Grasshoppers
Late summer is a golden time for insect life. Meadows and field edges still hum with activity, though the season is already beginning to tip towards decline. Butterflies such as red admirals, peacocks, and painted ladies feast on late nectar sources like buddleia, thistles, and knapweed. If you’re lucky, you may even catch sight of migrant clouded yellows or hummingbird hawk-moths drawn in from the continent.
For photographers, this is the season to carry a macro lens or close-focusing telephoto. Early mornings, when dew clings to grass and insects are sluggish, are the best times to capture detailed close-ups without startling your subject. Later in the day, try wider shots that show butterflies or dragonflies in their habitat, using flowers or reeds as natural frames.
Around ponds and rivers, dragonflies and damselflies are at their most spectacular. Emperor, migrant hawker, and brown hawker dragonflies patrol open water, while banded demoiselles flit in sunlit shallows. A polarising filter can help cut glare from the water, revealing both insect and reflection in a single frame.
Hedgerows Heavy with Fruit
Late summer is also the time when hedgerows sag with berries—a vital food source for birds and mammals. Blackberries, elderberries, and rowan are among the most obvious, but keep an eye out for hawthorn, sloes, and the first hazelnuts ripening in woodland edges.
For naturalists, these fruiting hedgerows are fantastic places to watch interactions between species. Warblers and thrushes descend to feed, small mammals like bank voles forage at ground level, and foxes will happily take windfall fruit.
Photographers should think about the storytelling potential of berry scenes. A bird framed against a branch heavy with elderberries tells of abundance and preparation for migration. Shallow depth of field works well here: focus on the bird or mammal, while letting the berries form a colourful wash in the background.
Mammals Preparing for Change
Although autumn is the season most associated with mammal drama, late summer offers some subtle but rewarding encounters.
Red deer are feeding heavily ahead of the rut. Stags are beginning to test their strength against rivals, locking antlers in practice bouts that can be photographed if you’re patient and distant enough not to disturb. Young calves are growing.
Badgers are especially active on warm evenings, foraging for earthworms and fallen fruit. Watch sett entrances quietly from downwind at dusk for the chance of family groups.
Foxes are often visible in late summer fields, especially at first light when they patrol margins and hedgerows. Cubs born in spring are now almost adult-sized, and playful interactions can still be seen.
For photography, long lenses (400–600mm) are often essential to keep a respectful distance. A beanbag or low tripod helps steady shots in low light at dawn or dusk. Importantly, fieldcraft should come first: approach with care, avoid disturbing natural behaviour, and accept that some animals are best admired without a photograph.
Birds on the Move
While the main autumn migration rush is still weeks away, late summer already brings changes to the bird world. Swifts, the masters of the summer sky, depart in August, often vanishing in a matter of days. Watching their screaming parties fade from towns is a poignant marker of seasonal change.
Meanwhile, waders such as green sandpipers, black-tailed godwits, and curlew sandpipers appear on estuaries and reservoirs as they pass through on migration. These sites are also excellent for late summer photography: wide open landscapes, shifting light, and flocks of restless birds make for atmospheric images.
Try using a shorter lens for environmental shots—a flock silhouetted against a setting sun can be more powerful than a single close-up. Always keep disturbance in mind: feeding or roosting waders need energy reserves for their journeys.
Fungi and the First Signs of Autumn
By late August, especially after rain, fungi begin to appear in woodlands. Though the great flush comes in October, the earliest fly agarics and boletes can already be found. Photographing fungi is an excellent project for late summer, encouraging you to slow down, look closely, and experiment with compositions at ground level.
Bring a small tripod or beanbag and experiment with low-angled shots that place fungi in the context of the forest floor. Backlighting can highlight translucence in caps, while a shallow depth of field helps isolate a single fruiting body among the leaf litter.
Practical Tips for Late Summer Photography
Work with the light. Late summer sunsets are earlier and softer than midsummer, giving long golden evenings perfect for wildlife.
Use wide angles as well as telephotos. Insects on flowers, deer in landscapes, or flocks of waders against a sky often tell a bigger story than close crops.
Carry a sit mat and patience. Much late summer wildlife is best watched by waiting quietly in one place—at a pond edge, beside a hedgerow, or overlooking a meadow.
Think ahead to autumn. Use this time to scout sites: deer parks, estuaries, or woodlands you’ll revisit in weeks to come.
Why Late Summer Matters
It’s easy to overlook late summer, caught between the crescendo of spring and the spectacle of autumn. But in truth, it’s a season of subtle richness. Insects are at their most abundant, fruiting hedgerows sustain countless species, and mammals and birds are busy with the work of survival and preparation.
For wildlife photographers, it’s a time to balance close detail with wider storytelling, capturing not just the species themselves but the sense of transition in the natural world. For naturalists and conservationists, it’s a reminder of the delicate timing on which wildlife depends—nectar sources, migration windows, and fattening diets all playing their part in survival.
So take your camera, or simply your own attentive eye, and head out in these warm weeks. Whether you find a dragonfly skimming a pond, a fox at dawn, or the sudden silence of swifts gone south, you’ll be witnessing one of the most poignant and beautiful phases of the year: the turning of summer into autumn.