Red Admiral                               Clematis vitalba                                    Acorns 

 This month in the Valley

Wildlife happenings taking place in October

Frost will soon transform the countryside sending insect numbers plummeting and leaves falling, so get out and make the most of nature’s colourful display whilst you can.

• Watch the leaves as they gradually change from green to orange, red, yellow and gold.
• Oaks are shedding their acorns so watch out for Jays, Wood Pigeons, mice and squirrels who will be both gorging and hoarding them.
• Long-legged Harvestmen are everywhere this month - did you know they are not true spiders as they have neither venom nor silk. 
• Winter migrants arrive from Scandinavia including Starlings and winter Thrushes such as Redwings and Fieldfares.
• Ivy is in full bloom providing an important nectar source for many insects.  
• Look for hedgerows festooned with the feathery seedheads of Traveller’s Joy Clematis vitalba, also known as old man’s beard because of the whiskery white tails on the seeds. 
• Many fungi are now bearing their fruiting bodies and launching millions of spores. 
• As the leaves disppear off the trees look for the multitude of different galls on the branches. They are mostly the result of minute gall wasps laying their eggs in the tissues of the tree, as the grub develops it distorts the normal tree growth causing the gall to develop.

More about October in the Valley   >>>

Things to do this month ....

• From walks to workshops have a look at our October diary of events to see what you can do this month. More details   >>>

Your sightings

• What have you seen in the Valley this month? Details of all your sightings   >>>

 
  Tell Us...
  ...about your wildlife sightings or anything else of interest that you see in the Valley.
  Submissions will be included on these pages so we can build up our own monthly wildlife 
  diary for the Valley. We would also love to receive any pictures.
  Please Email us with brief details, not forgetting to tell us where and when you made your
  sighting. Thank you to everyone who has sent us sighting details and pictures. Please
  continue sending them in.