We all love autumn don’t we? It’s that special time of year when the weather begins to get discernibly cooler and the nights noticeably longer.
Autumn heralds the transition into the cold, dark and desolate winter months, and the natural world puts on a final flurry of amazing activity before slowing down until the warmer sunshine of spring returns.
And the UK is no exception, boasting some world-class wildlife spectacles.
So if you're not too hot on autumn, here are ten fantastic reasons why you should be.
After the warmth of summer and dampness of autumn there is an explosion of mushrooms and toadstools happening right across the country, from woodland floors to decaying logs and meadows. What we see on our fungal forays are the fruiting bodies preparing to release their spores that give rise to the next generation of ecological recyclers.
Fungi are quite different to both plants and animals and have their own kingdom. Here in the UK there could be as many as 15,000 species, with a great diversity in size, colour and shape. However, many of these are extremely poisonous and should only be identified with a reliable guide, or better still, an expert guided walk which will help you get the most from this seasonal highlight. Find a fungal foray with the Wildlife Trusts.
One of the perks of the cooling temperatures, longer nights and increased moisture in the air is a walk in the countryside on a misty autumnal morning. The UK has some stunning fields, parks and open spaces just ripe for an early morning excursion. So there’s no excuse for not heading out before the sun has had time to burn off all the lovely mist! Visit one of the UK’s 15 National Parks early one morning – your early rise will be worth it.
The pulsating clouds of hundreds of thousands of starlings all swirling and turning in jaw-dropping unison can only be described as an ‘awesome wildlife spectacle’. These murmurations happen during autumn and winter over fields, woodlands and reedbeds as they seek out their communal roosting site for the night and so are best viewed just before dusk.
Why do they put on this magnificent display? It’s certainly not just for our delight; it’s thought that starlings gather together for protection from predators, as it is harder to pick out individuals from within an amorphous, hypnotising cloud. They may also congregate to keep warm at night and pass information about good feeding sites. There are great places for spectacular views throughout the country, including Brighton Pier of all places. Find out where to experience a starling murmuration near you with the RSPB.
Autumn could be described as the time of plenty with fruits, nuts and seeds everywhere. There is a dazzling array of colours, shapes and methods that plants employ for spreading the next generation for the following year. These delights are gratefully harvested by many species looking to build up their fat reserves for migration or hibernation – and they’re also popular with us!
But don’t worry as there’s usually enough to go round. Many animals and birds love fruits such as blackberries, rose-hips, sloes, crab apples, elderberries and haws, while acorns are a firm favourite of jays and squirrels, which they store, or 'cache', for the winter. Don’t forget the school yard classic, the conker. The rich brown coloured seed of the horse chestnut tree provides hours of childhood fun. Discover the top nuts, seeds and berries to forage for in September from the BBC Countryfile magazine.
Some of the most extraordinary sights and sounds of autumn come from a grey seal colony because this is when thousands come ashore to give birth to pups. Baby seals can be incredibly cute and very noisy when calling for mum, but please observe them from a safe distance so as not to disturb them. The bond between mother and baby is very fragile and the pup is dependent on its mother’s milk to survive.
Once pups have been weaned it’s time to mate again and leads to another of nature’s great spectacles: bull seals fighting. Males take part in vicious and bloody fights for territory and access to harems of females. Find out more about where to watch marine wildlife.
Recording seasonal signs with Nature’s Calendar can help scientists assess the impact of climate change on our wildlife and track how the seasons are developing across the country.
