Although day length shortens through October, the weather can be anything from sunny and settled or windy with showers to misty and damp. Whatever the weather, there is plenty to see in October as hedgerows display their berries, tree leaves change colour, more fungi appear and different species of birds arrive and depart before the onset of winter.
Autumn's larder
Wander along a hedgerow and notice the range of food available to birds, mammals and some insects. Elderberries, favoured by many migrant birds, are mainly over but brambles still have much fruit on offer and hawthorn, holly, rowan and guelder rose provide red berries whilst the black berries of dogwood and wayfaring trees add further variety.
In addition traveller’s joy or old man’s beard, so-called because of its fluffy seed-heads, can be found draping itself over hedgerow plants across much of the county, and particularly on calcareous soils.
Spectacular autumn leaves
As temperatures and light levels decrease, the leaves of deciduous trees loose the green chlorophyll that enabled them to capture sunlight to produce sugars for summer growth.
The varied yellow, orange and brown hues of carotenoids previously masked by the chlorophyll are now exposed as birch, aspen, sycamore, ash, horse chestnut, beech, oak and many others offer their spectacular autumnal displays.
The stunning reds and purples seen in ornamental maples are rather different because in this case the leaves manufacture new pigments called anthocyanins, which also give colour to cherries and strawberries.
Spare a thought for the earthworm!
Eventually all these leaves fall to the ground and whether we enjoy kicking our way through them as kids or bemoan the task of raking them up in our garden, spare a thought for the earthworms that recycle them to provide nutrients for new plant growth.
Earthworms pull the leaves into their burrows, eat them and then produce castes on the surface which improve soil fertility. Their burrows also create passages to aerate and drain the soil. On fertile farmland up to 1.75 million worms per acre have been recorded, and hence the weight of worms under the surface can be more than the weight of livestock above it!
Fabulous fungi
If you’ve taken your camera with you to record the autumn colours on a sunny day, use the opportunity to photograph some autumn fruiting fungi which, like earthworms, perform an essential role in the decomposition of plant material, including twigs, branches, tree trunks and stumps.
The range of species is astounding from field mushrooms, shaggy inkcaps, and waxcaps to woodland ceps, chanterelles and bracket fungi, including sulphur polypore.
Arrivals and Departures
Although some swallows, house martins and chiffchaffs are still moving through Dorset and heading south this month, many winter visitors are arriving in numbers.
Listen out for the high pitched ‘seee’ of migrating redwing at night and the ‘chak-chak’ of fieldfare. Both arrive from Scandinavia (with further redwing from Iceland), but in addition, many of the blackbirds we see in our gardens over the winter have also made the journey from Scandinavia and the adjacent Continent of Europe.
Winter refuge in Dorset
In October, Poole Harbour plays host to increasing numbers of black-tailed godwits from Iceland and avocets arriving from their breeding grounds in Eastern England.
These large and distinctive waders provide a fantastic spectacle whether feeding or in flight and our own Dorset Wildlife Trust reserve on Brownsea provides an important winter refuge for these and many other wading birds.
Similarly, the important coastal wetlands provided by Christchurch Harbour, Poole Harbour and the Fleet offer sanctuary for the progressive build up of winter waterfowl such as wigeon, teal and pintail.
Autumn gold and fire!
Finally, October offers the birdwatcher a chance to see one of our less common migrants. Alongside its diminutive relative the goldcrest, who could fail to be thrilled by the sight of a firecrest with that striking facial pattern of stripes and golden crown.
Why not look at this months plant, Sea Buckthorn
Written by John Wright
Dorset Wildlife Trust Member & Volunteer
What now?
Make sure you have a look at our special Autumnwatch webpage, and you can now send your Autumn photographs to our free Flickr Group.
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