October | What's in the Hedgerow?
- lucywebber
- Nov 6
- 6 min read
The official meteorological start of autumn may be the 1st September but the familiar seasonal signs of autumn are in full swing throughout October. Bold yellow chestnut leaves fan out around the spikey casing of sweet chestnuts, hawthorn leaves slowly turning red along with the brambles, and the golden orange beech leaves gently float to the ground like spring blossom. Although most of the blackberries have ripened and been picked by both humans and creatures, there are still plenty of juicy crimson and deep purple berries in the hedgerows, some to be admired and left for the birds, others to be turned into delicious treats. The sloe harvest is a favourite activity in our house, and it has become a fun autumn tradition to don the wellies, head out with the dog and carefully gather the fruit of the blackthorn bush to be turned into sloe gin, conveniently ready in time for Christmas consumption, even better if you leave it for the following festive season!
Another easy to forage fruit of the hedgerow are rose hips which can be cooked into a sweet syrup, a fantastic for a dose of Vitamin C, perfect for deterring those pesky colds - why not try making some yourself?
Not all seeds and fruits are for us to eat and make boozy treats, but can simply be enjoyed by simply viewing them such as acorns and conkers - do kids still play conkers? When I was at school in the 90's we all used to gather at one end of the play ground and gleefully launch our conkers down to the other end, frantically run to catch up and gather as many as we could, you could say a potential sneaky way to gain more if you only had a few, but we loved the chaos of it all! I don't think the teachers thought too favourably about hundreds of conkers smashing into the outdoor cabin classroom wall, especially if they were peacefully having a tea on their break... Even as an adult I still have a child like urge to collect conkers, although now I use to excuse of creating autumnal decorations for our home. Supposedly if you put conkers in the corners of a room they are good spider repellents which is another good reason to visit a horse chestnut tree.
The days are now shorter and with the leaves swiftly turning golden heralding cosy jumper season, it feels even more special when there is a break in the weather and you're greeted by a beautiful clear blue sky in the morning. With the green grass, azure sky and vibrant warm hues of the trees, nature becomes a rainbow!
On those special dry days why not get those binoculars out to see returning feathered friends from Scandinavian countries who, believe it or not, like to spend their winter holidays in the UK. Beautiful waxwings socially flock together to enjoy the juicy rowan berries up high, along with two other notable woodland birds, the redwing and fieldfare who are both part of the Thrush family. At a quick glance they look very similar but if you get a chance to observe either I find the easiest way to tell them apart is to simply remember that redwings have a red patch under their wings, thank you logical early ornithologists.
The hedgerow is an abundant feast for birds and small mammals at this time of year and is particularly important for those who hibernate during the winter months, such as the dormouse (from the French word ‘dormir’, which means ‘to sleep). During late summer/early autumn, these delightful golden mice climb about the trees feasting on nuts and berries to help put on enough fat to keep them warm during their winter slumber. Their nests largely consists of leaves and grass woven together like an encased birds nest which is often well hidden amongst the leaf litter, at the base of trees or under logs to protect them from the cold. It has been known for dormice to wake up multiple times during the winter and even build a
new nest if they're disturbed, but where possible please don't forget to check you garden leaf piles before you throw them on the compost heap.
Due to habitat loss, conservationists are working hard to protect these lovely creatures in many ways such as captive breeding and release schemes to rebuild dwindling numbers, building wooden nesting boxes to keep them safe from predators and improving habitats by how woodland is managed such as hedge laying, coppicing and planting new woodlands.
Another hidden world you can discover this autumn is the secret life of fungi, which happens to be one of my favourite parts of nature. Fungi, or mushrooms if you prefer, are actually present all year, if you look for them you will find them, but they are largely associated with autumn. The weather conditions make the natural surfaces a perfect temperature and dampness for the fruit of 'mycelium' to pop up above ground to spread their spores. Mycelium is the vegetative structure of fungi of an ever present underground network of 'fungal threads' if you will, and the fungi is what you see above ground with the purpose of spreading it's spores. It might all sound a bit disgusting, but mycelium is incredibly clever and plays an important role in an ecosystem. Firstly it is a fantastic recycler, it can break down toxins in the soil to make things healthier for the surrounding plant life (where there's fungi, there's healthy soil), it breaks down decomposing plant material hence why you often find mushrooms on fallen trees or in leaf litter. Mycelium can also interact with plant roots to help them absorb water. Oh and did you know that mycelium based materials are now being used as a sustainable alternative in construction materials? Mushroom bricks anyone?
Science aside, fungi are steeped in folklore and conjure many images of whimsy (another post for another time!) particularly the most common fungi known to all, Amanita Muscaria: the Fly Agaric which you will at least know it as the red toadstool often featured in fairy tales. It's iconic scarlet cap and white spots continue to captivate people and entice us to look closer to the ground for more unearthly discoveries. Often we walk right past them as some are so well disguised you need to actively look for them to see them, but fortunately there are plenty of bold, weird and beautiful fungi you can easily see such as the shaggy ink cap, parasol, chanterelle, bolete, turkey tails, and all hues of reds, purples, and orange. Fungi hunters beware though! I strongly recommend that you don't pick and eat them, no matter how delectable they look, a substantial number are in fact poisonous with symptoms of ingesting ranging from a bad stomach ache to death. For many fungi mishaps there is no known cure.
Instead why not treat fungi hunting as a visual treasure hunt - photograph or draw what you find, you could start a nature journal and note where you found them and what the environment was like. I will confess I am a fungi version of a train spotter and get a bit excited when I find one I haven't seen before....my phone is often full of mushroom photos this time of year, I can't help it! Like little brown birds (and there are many) a lot of fungi look very similar, another reason not to chance eating them, but with the help of books and even more convenient, the internet, people online are wonderfully helpful with identifying them. If you want to be even more up to date you could also try Google Lens, just snap a pic of your toadstool and hey presto, by the powers of ai you have a good chance of learning a new fungi.
A fantastic read for anyone with a fascination for this bizarre organism is 'The Secret Life of Fungi: Discoveries from a Hidden World' by Aliya Whiteley. It's a wonderful exploration into the life cycle and science behind mycelium, and I promise it's easy to follow!
Mushroom spotting is a wonderful excuse to get outside during the cooler months, we humans are prone to stay bundled up indoors and forget that like other organisms we need light and fresh air! When you're still in nature you become part of the scene.. I don't mean you turn in to a tree or sprout roots, but what is around you becomes acclimatised to your presence and will be less inclined to see you as a threat. In very special moments you are granted the privilege of witnessing wildlife in their world, undisturbed and beautiful. How magical it is to see a deer gracefully tip toe through the bracken, or amusing to watch a nuthatch bash an acorn against a branch. Just this morning whilst photographing the Candlesnuff fungi pictured below, I was crouched down by a tree stump focusing my camera when a mouse peeked out from the moss and hopped along the life litter.
October is an exciting time to explore outside, why not give it a try and see what you can find?
Goals for October:
Forage for sloes and rose hips
Have a good old fashioned conker battle
Discover a new fungi
Go for a wild walk to see what birds are near
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