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Early signs of autumn
A Nature UK article by Ella Davies, 7 September 2010
Welcoming the changing seasons
As August gives way to September there are some big changes underway in the natural world. Green's no longer the 'in' colour as leaves begin to change, nights draw in and temperatures fall. Plants and animals alike put on a final show before the cold winter months so it's a great time to get out and enjoy nature's fireworks.
While you're enjoying the spectacle why not give scientists a hand? Scientists can use recordings of natural phenomena to see how seasons change over time and that's where you come in.
As part of their Nature's Calendar survey, experts at The Woodland Trust and CEH want your observations to help them track how the seasons are developing across the country. You can also take part in surveys to improve our understanding of wildlife behaviour throughout the year.
Here are some of the big events you can see and report from September onwards.
Fruit, nuts and seeds
Blackberries ripening
Early in the autumn plants across the country look to the future: dispersing their seeds through a number of techniques so that they can spread and grow next spring.
From September onwards you're likely to see lightweight seeds like sycamore 'helicopters' travelling by air. Prickly specimens such as beech nuts hitch a ride on animal coats. Acorns appeal to mammals and birds alike as both squirrels and jays bury them to provide meals through the cold winter. Inevitably they don't remember the location of all their stashes but it's win-win for mother nature as the neglected nuts develop into new trees.
Plenty of plants use fruit to make sure their seeds are spread far and wide too. The phrase 'blackberry picking' conjures up childhood memories of sticky red fingers and smiling faces for many of us. Of course it's not just us who enjoy the ripening fruit at this time of year, everything from foxes to wasps will reap the sweet benefits too.
If you're out and about searching for crumble, jam or wine ingredients record your first ripe fruit sightings for Nature's Calendar
As well as the first sightings, surveyors are interested in whether it's been 'a good year for berries'. It's much more difficult to make these subjective assessments but if you know your local patch well you might be able to tell whether there are fewer or more berries than previous years.
Fungi
Fly agaric mushrooms
Through a combination of the summer warmth and autumnal damp, there's an explosion of mushrooms starting in September each year. Mushrooms are the fruiting part of fungi and appear throughout autumn to spread their spores and establish new kingdoms.
A word of warning however, some species of mushroom are fatally poisonous. If you're a budding mycologist on the look out for mushrooms make sure you take a good field guide and be completely certain of a mushroom's identity before touching any. Better yet, take an expert guide or join a guided mushroom walk and just enjoy the sights.
You can record the first iconic red and white fly agaric of the season to Nature's Calendar too.
Turning leaves
As the summer sunlight wanes trees stop producing chlorophyll for photosynthesis and leaves begin to change colour. The timing of this colour change varies by species and location. Over at Nature's Calendar they want to know when you first see the leaves starting to tint and which species transform first.
Leaves in 'full tint'
Over the past few years the leaves of horse chestnut trees have been turning much earlier than expected. In many cases this isn't down to an early autumn but because of an infestation of moth larvae.
The Cameraria ohridella, or horse chestnut leaf miner, lays its eggs deep in the leaves and its voracious appetite quickly turns leaves brown and decrepit. Scientists are really interested to know where these moths are so if you've seen any suspicious horse chestnuts register your sightings in the alien moth survey.
Later in the year, you can also report the first full leaf tint (when every leaf turned yellow, brown or red), the first leaves falling and the first bare tree to Nature's Calendar.
Animal behaviour
A dormouse nibbles a hazelnut
Falling temperatures trigger mass migrations as birds seek sunnier climes with better buffets. The favoured 'winter sun' destination of northern European birds is Africa. Again, Nature's Calendar are interested in tracking this so if you keep a record of the birds leaving your area please let them know. They also want to know if/when you see winter arrivals like redwing or fieldfare.
The BTO are seeking your reports too for their BirdTrack survey into migration and distribution.
Squirrels and jays burying acorns aren't the only British inhabitants to behave differently in the run up to winter. You may find you have a few extra house guests as butterflies and ladybirds seek warm spaces to sleep through the colder months. Please report any ladybird findings to the UK Ladybird Survey.
Hedgehogs, dormice and bats will be piling on the grams gorging themselves on fruit, nuts and insects respectively to build their body fat for hibernation. Dormice have a very particular way of chewing hazel nuts, leaving very distinctive tooth marks. As a species under threat, it's important to know where they still survive. It's a lot easier to find nibbled nuts before leaves start to fall so now is a great time to join the People's Trust for Endangered Species's great nut hunt.
Stags head to head on Autumnwatch
It's not all comfort eating and snuggling down of course. It's the busiest time of year for many including deer, boar and bats who are seeking mates. For our larger mammals it can be a violent, dramatic affair as fans of Autumnwatch's deer ruts will know. If you want to witness this behaviour, remember to stay a good distance from the action so you don't disturb them.
Rather than muscular power struggles, bats take the more traditionally romantic approach of serenading potential mates. It's possible for the human ear to hear these songs but a bat detector is more reliable. Early in the autumn you may see swarms of Daubenton's and Brandt's bats around the entrances to tunnels and caves, singing for the attention of females inside. You can help scientists learn more about bat behaviour by taking part in a variety of surveys with Bat Conservation.
Published 7 September 2010
A Nature UK article by Ella Davies, 7 September 2010
Welcoming the changing seasons
As August gives way to September there are some big changes underway in the natural world. Green's no longer the 'in' colour as leaves begin to change, nights draw in and temperatures fall. Plants and animals alike put on a final show before the cold winter months so it's a great time to get out and enjoy nature's fireworks.
While you're enjoying the spectacle why not give scientists a hand? Scientists can use recordings of natural phenomena to see how seasons change over time and that's where you come in.
As part of their Nature's Calendar survey, experts at The Woodland Trust and CEH want your observations to help them track how the seasons are developing across the country. You can also take part in surveys to improve our understanding of wildlife behaviour throughout the year.
Here are some of the big events you can see and report from September onwards.
Fruit, nuts and seeds
Blackberries ripeningEarly in the autumn plants across the country look to the future: dispersing their seeds through a number of techniques so that they can spread and grow next spring.
From September onwards you're likely to see lightweight seeds like sycamore 'helicopters' travelling by air. Prickly specimens such as beech nuts hitch a ride on animal coats. Acorns appeal to mammals and birds alike as both squirrels and jays bury them to provide meals through the cold winter. Inevitably they don't remember the location of all their stashes but it's win-win for mother nature as the neglected nuts develop into new trees.
Plenty of plants use fruit to make sure their seeds are spread far and wide too. The phrase 'blackberry picking' conjures up childhood memories of sticky red fingers and smiling faces for many of us. Of course it's not just us who enjoy the ripening fruit at this time of year, everything from foxes to wasps will reap the sweet benefits too.
If you're out and about searching for crumble, jam or wine ingredients record your first ripe fruit sightings for Nature's Calendar
As well as the first sightings, surveyors are interested in whether it's been 'a good year for berries'. It's much more difficult to make these subjective assessments but if you know your local patch well you might be able to tell whether there are fewer or more berries than previous years.
Fungi
Fly agaric mushroomsThrough a combination of the summer warmth and autumnal damp, there's an explosion of mushrooms starting in September each year. Mushrooms are the fruiting part of fungi and appear throughout autumn to spread their spores and establish new kingdoms.
A word of warning however, some species of mushroom are fatally poisonous. If you're a budding mycologist on the look out for mushrooms make sure you take a good field guide and be completely certain of a mushroom's identity before touching any. Better yet, take an expert guide or join a guided mushroom walk and just enjoy the sights.
You can record the first iconic red and white fly agaric of the season to Nature's Calendar too.
Turning leaves
As the summer sunlight wanes trees stop producing chlorophyll for photosynthesis and leaves begin to change colour. The timing of this colour change varies by species and location. Over at Nature's Calendar they want to know when you first see the leaves starting to tint and which species transform first.
Leaves in 'full tint'Over the past few years the leaves of horse chestnut trees have been turning much earlier than expected. In many cases this isn't down to an early autumn but because of an infestation of moth larvae.
The Cameraria ohridella, or horse chestnut leaf miner, lays its eggs deep in the leaves and its voracious appetite quickly turns leaves brown and decrepit. Scientists are really interested to know where these moths are so if you've seen any suspicious horse chestnuts register your sightings in the alien moth survey.
Later in the year, you can also report the first full leaf tint (when every leaf turned yellow, brown or red), the first leaves falling and the first bare tree to Nature's Calendar.
Animal behaviour
A dormouse nibbles a hazelnutFalling temperatures trigger mass migrations as birds seek sunnier climes with better buffets. The favoured 'winter sun' destination of northern European birds is Africa. Again, Nature's Calendar are interested in tracking this so if you keep a record of the birds leaving your area please let them know. They also want to know if/when you see winter arrivals like redwing or fieldfare.
The BTO are seeking your reports too for their BirdTrack survey into migration and distribution.
Squirrels and jays burying acorns aren't the only British inhabitants to behave differently in the run up to winter. You may find you have a few extra house guests as butterflies and ladybirds seek warm spaces to sleep through the colder months. Please report any ladybird findings to the UK Ladybird Survey.
Hedgehogs, dormice and bats will be piling on the grams gorging themselves on fruit, nuts and insects respectively to build their body fat for hibernation. Dormice have a very particular way of chewing hazel nuts, leaving very distinctive tooth marks. As a species under threat, it's important to know where they still survive. It's a lot easier to find nibbled nuts before leaves start to fall so now is a great time to join the People's Trust for Endangered Species's great nut hunt.
Stags head to head on AutumnwatchIt's not all comfort eating and snuggling down of course. It's the busiest time of year for many including deer, boar and bats who are seeking mates. For our larger mammals it can be a violent, dramatic affair as fans of Autumnwatch's deer ruts will know. If you want to witness this behaviour, remember to stay a good distance from the action so you don't disturb them.
Rather than muscular power struggles, bats take the more traditionally romantic approach of serenading potential mates. It's possible for the human ear to hear these songs but a bat detector is more reliable. Early in the autumn you may see swarms of Daubenton's and Brandt's bats around the entrances to tunnels and caves, singing for the attention of females inside. You can help scientists learn more about bat behaviour by taking part in a variety of surveys with Bat Conservation.
Published 7 September 2010