Forever autumn

It’s hard not to feel a tinge of regret as the warm glow of summer subsides. The nights draw in and it can feel ominously gloomy. But each season has its attractions, each offering something distinct and special. Autumn brings an invigorating early-morning sharpness and cool mists that hang loose over fields and hedgerows, blurring the sharp edges of the landscape.

Masses of plant material begin to break down at this time of year. This natural process is carried out by invertebrates, fungi and bacteria and is an essential part of the biological cycle, replenishing the building blocks of life. The smell of decay fills the air, a strangely agreeable scent of decomposition and of earth-elements returning to the soil. Extreme recycling in action. And those autumn smells provoke intense memories of bonfires, Catherine Wheels, conkers, floodlit football, soggy duffle coats and reflective armbands. Autumn is the most exquisitely melancholic and bitter-sweet season.

Birds of a feather

The habits of many of our most familiar birds change in autumn. Birds that only recently were in tight pairs, defending territories for a growing family, set aside old rivalries, pool resources and come together in flocks in search of a common goal. As food resources will diminish in winter, it makes sense to work together, move as a unit and pass on information about good food supplies. Flocking together provides safety in numbers as small birds are vulnerable to predation in the bare trees. If a bird of prey approaches small birds will give off an alarm call recognised by all other species. Look out for flocks of Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tit, often joined by Treecreepers and Goldcrests.

Bright red hipsters

Glossy scarlet rosehips add flaming decoration to hedgerows in autumn. The fruits of the Dog Rose were nicknamed “itchycoos” by children and made famous by the Small Faces hit Itchycoo Park, one for the teenagers there. The fruit was well known to playground rascals, who would tear open its flesh, prise out the furry seeds and deposit them down the shirts of classroom chums as a cheap and extremely effective itching powder.

Rosehips would have been very well known to children during the second world war as rosehip syrup became a rich, readily available source of vitamin C at a time when citrus fruits were almost impossible to come by.

Owl action

Nature is always one step ahead of us. So it is that Tawny Owls are starting to get rather vocal, already thinking about the next breeding season, about attracting a mate and defending a territory. Now, all school children know that a tawny owl goes “tu-wit tu-woo” right? Wrong. The “tu-wit tu-wooing” is in fact the sound of two Tawny Owls communicating with one another.

All Tawny Owls go “tu-wit” (in fact more accurately described as “kee-wick”) as a
contact call, but only the male bird goes “tu-woo” (in fact more accurately described as “hoo-hoo-oooo”) as its territorial call. So, more often than not, the “tu-wit tu-wooing” (in fact more accurately described as “kee-wick hoo-hoo-ooooing”, keep up now please) is a male bird responding to a female in a blissful domestic conversation along the lines of “Alright, my love?” answered caringly with “All good with me, you’re a smasher and this is a top place to live and start a family”.

Image Credits: Barry Yates , Caroline Legg CC .