October in the Valley

What you can expect to see...

Flocks of migrants arrive from Scandinavia this month including Starlings, Redwings, Fieldfares and Blackbirds feasting on the many hedgerow berries, so get out your binoculars and send us details of any of your sightings. Also keep a look out for the Little Owl our bird of the month.

October usually brings the first spell of bad weather, which means the end for many adult insects. Dragonfliy species such as the Common Darter and Common Hawker are end-of-year specialists outlasting many more cold-sensitive species. They will be spending the last days before the first frosts laying eggs in mud and vegetation at the water’s edge that will carry the species through to next year.

Ivy is one plant that is completely out of step with our seasons as it is in flower now and fruits in spring. When you pass by Ivy you may notice the musty-scent of its flowers which are now at their best, secreting drops of nectar at dawn that attracts swarms of insects, including late season bees, wasps and butterflies.

 Blackberries are now well past their best, but those that remain will be leaking purple juice attracting the last Red Admirals, Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells, so look out for them especially on any warm, sunny days

  Continue watching for bats  
  feeding this month. Although
  they are not usually associated with this time of year, it’s not because they have hibernated as they are still very active. It’s because you tend not to see them, with the longer nights they can afford to emerge after dark and still have plenty of time to feed. In fact with the young bats on the wing there are more to be seen and they are busy fattening themselves up to give themselves the greatest chance of surviving hibernation. A moonlit night and a strong torch will greatly help a search of ponds and lake edges looking for bats. For the less adventurous look around street lamps where bats may feed on moths and other insects attracted to the light.

One heavy frost is all that it takes to bring the Ash leaves fluttering to the ground. Ash is the only native forest tree with a two-stage leaf-shedding process. The leaflets fall first, although the actual leaf stalks remain on the twigs for a day or two longer. Ash seeds - the familiar keys - remain on the tree until spring. Some Ash trees are all-male producing pollen only and at this time of year it’s easy to spot them as they are the ones with no keys.

DID YOU KNOW?
The wood of the Blackthorn was used for marquetry, to make the teeth of hay-rakes and for walking sticks. It is also used to make the Irish shillelagh or cudgel.

  Bird of  Month
   The Little Owl   >>>

 October sightings  >>>
 

 October events   >>>

 
The hedgerow harvest

As you go out and about
this month you’ll see
the fruits and seeds of
trees, shrubs and plants everywhere you go.
The main purpose of these seeds is to get transported away from the parent plant to start a life of their own.

 The seeds come in all
shapes and forms, from the shiny conkers of the Horse Chestnuts and familar
acorns of the Oak, through to the berries of Hawthorn and Dog Rose, Dogwood and Blackthorn, to the delicate wind-dispersed seeds of
Wild Clematis and Creeping Thistle.

Blackthorn berries, known as Sloes, have got to be one
of the most deceptive hedgerow fruits around.
Their deep dark purple colour with a bluish surface bloom suggests they should be as tasty as plums, but their bitter taste make them virtually inedible. It’s only after a hard frost that they become edible, although
even then birds tend to ignore them.

It’s said that roasting sloes makes them more palatable, but probably their main virtue is for making sloe gin.

Gather the ripe sloes and prick or crush the berries and half fill a bottle. Add sugar, cover with gin and seal. Gently turn the bottle
once a week and you can enjoy the fruits of your labour at Christmas.