I have been fortunate to be outside on most days over the last week or so. This reminded me that autumn is one of my favourite times of year. I love the colours, the smells and even the variations in temperature and precipitation. Right now, in addition to the autumn colours of the trees there are multi-coloured fungi and lots of berries and seeds. As well as the orange one in this photo, I have seen red, purple, white and fluorescent yellow fungi.
However, one of the things that I really look forward to is the return of winter migrant birds to Binfield. As I write this, a male blackcap is having a stand-off with a robin in our garden. Although both species are found in Binfield throughout the year, these particular individuals probably spent the spring and summer further north.
I have already seen a number of redwings but have yet to see my first fieldfare. One of the natural spectacles that comes with the arrival of winter thrushes is the noisy gatherings that they form in some of the bigger trees around the village. As dusk approaches, redwings, fieldfares, starlings, mistle thrushes and the odd blackbird and song thrush gather in the oak trees to the west of Murrell Hill Lane or on the Ryehurst Lane side of the football club. You can hear the chatter of the birds from some distance away and it always fascinates me that these different species seem happy in each other’s company.
The RSPB recently highlighted these gatherings as one of the things for nature-lovers to look out for. Their list also included a few other bird-related spectacles that we might be able to see without going far from Binfield:
Look out for roosting pied wagtails in our town centres. One bush or tree can contain hundreds of these character-full black and white birds. They are surprisingly tolerant of human hustle and bustle as they seek out somewhere warm to roost. Last year they chose one of the trees between the banks in Bracknell town centre. If you hear a bush cheeping after dark in the town centre then look closer.
I’m sure you have noticed that it is a good year for acorns. It has also been a good year for beech-mast in the Chiltern woods. This means that it should be a good year for bramblings. If you go for a walk in a beech-wood then look out for these larger pastel coloured versions of chaffinchs feeding on the ground with other finches.
The other bird that it should be a good year for is the hawfinch. These over-sized finches with unfeasibly large beaks are surprisingly secretive. A couple of years ago I spent several autumn lunchtimes failing to see one at a nature reserve and then learning that it had been there just before I arrived or just after I left.
I hope that you are able to get outside and enjoy the autumn. I would love to know if you see bramblings or hawfinches in our area. I’d also love to know if you have a favourite local seasonal nature spectacle.