What to Look for in October: 10 Signs of Autumn in the British Countryside
October is one of the best months for taking the same familiar walk several times, because the landscape can look different from one week to the next. The bracken changes colour, fungi appear after rain, acorns gather beneath the oaks and the earlier sunset alters the time at which birds, insects and other animals are active.
Some of the most interesting things are also among the smallest. A strange growth on an acorn, a tangled ball on a wild rose or a crowd of insects feeding on ivy can easily be missed when we are concentrating on the wider view, but once you know what to look for, an ordinary hedge contains far more than you first realised.
Here are ten things to notice during an October walk.
1. Orb webs made visible by dew
Spiders’ webs are present throughout much of the year, but damp autumn mornings reveal their full structure as water collects along the silk. Look between gorse branches, bramble stems, fences and gaps in hedges, particularly early in the day before the droplets have evaporated.
The garden spider, also called the cross spider, is one of the most familiar orb-web spiders in Britain. Its colouring varies from pale brown to reddish brown, but the white markings on its abdomen often form a recognisable cross. Mature spiders are particularly noticeable in late summer and autumn, when a female may be found sitting in the centre of her circular web.
Try photographing the web from several angles rather than disturbing it. Moving only a small distance can make the difference between the silk disappearing into the background and every strand becoming visible.
2. Robin’s pincushions on wild roses
While looking for rosehips, check the stems and leaves for a tangled growth that resembles a small ball of moss. This is a robin’s pincushion, also known as a bedeguar gall, and it is produced by the wild rose in response to a tiny gall wasp.
The gall begins green and may turn pink, red or rusty brown as the season progresses. Inside are a number of chambers in which the wasp larvae develop. Although it looks like part of the plant, it is quite different from a flower, fruit or seed head.
Leave the gall attached rather than cutting it open, as it may still contain developing insects. A close photograph or sketch will allow you to record its colour and structure without damaging it.
3. Knopper galls among the acorns
Acorns do not always develop into the smooth, familiar shape we expect. A knopper gall forms when another species of gall wasp causes the acorn to develop a ridged, folded growth around it.
Young knopper galls may be green and slightly sticky, while older ones become hard and brown. They often fall with the acorns during autumn, so the easiest place to search is beneath a mature oak tree. Pick up a few ordinary acorns for comparison and the altered shape becomes much easier to recognise.
Once you begin noticing galls, you may find several different kinds on the same oak. Some appear as small round growths on twigs, while others resemble flat discs beneath the leaves.
4. Ivy flowers full of late insects
Ivy is often noticed for its leaves and winter berries, but mature ivy also produces rounded heads of small greenish-yellow flowers during autumn. On a mild October day, these flowers may be covered with bees, hoverflies, wasps, butterflies and other insects.
At a time when many summer flowers have finished, ivy provides an important source of nectar and pollen. The ivy bee is especially closely associated with it and can remain active into autumn.
Stand beside a flowering patch for a few minutes and see how many different visitors you can count. Mature flowering ivy has less familiar, unlobed leaves around its flowers, so it can look surprisingly different from the climbing shoots lower down the plant.
5. Spindle fruits opening in the hedge
Spindle is easy to overlook for much of the year, but its autumn fruits are difficult to mistake. The bright pink capsules open to reveal orange seeds, producing one of the strangest colour combinations in the October hedge.
The fruits are useful for identification, but they are poisonous and should not be eaten. Photograph them where they are and leave them for the wildlife that uses the hedge.
Spindle leaves can also turn red during autumn, although the strength and timing of the colour varies according to the plant and the weather.
6. Fungi following the rain
October rain and cooler temperatures bring a noticeable increase in fungi across woodland, grassland, gardens and moorland. Look around old stumps, beneath trees, among fallen leaves and in undisturbed grass, but remember that much of the fungus remains hidden as a network of mycelium beneath the soil or inside wood.
Photograph the cap, stem, underside and surrounding habitat if you hope to identify what you have found. A single view from above often leaves out the most useful details.
Never eat a wild fungus on the strength of an app, photograph or social-media identification. Many species look similar, and safe identification requires proper knowledge of the whole specimen and its habitat.
7. Jays collecting acorns
Jays can be difficult to see during summer, but they often become more noticeable in autumn as they gather acorns. Their harsh call may reveal them before you spot the bird itself, followed by a flash of white on the rump or the blue barred feathers on the wing.
A jay may carry several acorns away and bury them for later. Not every stored acorn is recovered, and those left behind can grow into new oak trees.
If you find acorns scattered unusually far from the nearest mature oak, a jay or another animal may have carried them there.
8. Bracken changing across the moor
Bracken begins to lose its summer green during autumn and passes through yellow, bronze and brown before the fronds collapse. On Bodmin Moor this change can alter the appearance of a whole hillside within a relatively short period.
Rather than recording autumn colour as a single event, photograph the same patch once a week and compare the results. You will begin to notice which exposed areas change first, where green remains longest and how rain or dry weather affects the fronds.
Old bracken can also conceal uneven ground, stones and ticks, so stay on familiar paths where visibility is poor.
9. Owls heard during the longer evenings
October’s earlier darkness makes it easier to hear nocturnal wildlife without having to stay outdoors until very late. Tawny owls are among the most recognisable voices, although the familiar “twit-twoo” is usually a combination of calls made by two birds rather than a single owl completing the whole phrase.
Listen from a garden, lane or footpath where you can remain safely without shining lights into trees or trying to approach the bird. Recording the time, weather and direction of the call in a nature journal may help you notice patterns over several evenings.
You may also hear foxes, rustling leaves, late-flying insects and birds settling into ivy or dense hedges.
10. The changing time of sunset
The earlier sunset is one of the clearest changes during October, but it can pass almost unnoticed when most of the day is spent indoors. Choose one or two evenings each week to record the sunset time, the direction of the light and the weather.
You do not need an uninterrupted horizon or a dramatic photograph. The last light behind a familiar hedge, roofline or stand of trees provides a useful record of how rapidly the season is progressing.
If you keep a nature journal, add the sunrise and sunset times alongside a note about the weather and three things observed that day. By the end of the month, you will have a simple record of October where you live.
A few things to gather, make and enjoy
October is also a good month for making use of familiar seasonal ingredients. Apples can be baked with blackberries, nuts and spice, rosehips can be made into syrup, and sloes can be gathered for later recipes once you are completely certain of their identification.
On days when the weather makes a long walk unappealing, sort through your photographs, draw one of the things you have found or add a page to your nature journal. The purpose is not to produce a perfect record, but to notice enough detail that you begin recognising the same plants, insects and changes when they return next year.
You can find seasonal recipes in the [Hedgerow Kitchen], browse the [Hedgerow & Moor Nature Journal], or explore the current [Almanac collection].
A note on responsible looking
Only gather plants, fruits or fungi when you are certain of their identification, have permission to collect and know that gathering is allowed at that location. Take small amounts for personal use, avoid rare species and leave enough for wildlife.
Galls, webs, nests and fungi can all be studied without being removed. Often a photograph, drawing and a few written observations will tell you more than taking the specimen home.