“False autumn” is a phenomenon that is relatively self-explanatory as we look around at the autumn leaves seemingly falling early and the abundance of early berries already weighing down what is left on the branches of trees, shrubs, and bushes around us. If you’ve noticed it too, then you’re likely to be unsurprised to know that it is due to the heat and drought stress our natural world has gone through this summer. At the same time, I’m personally a little concerned for our birds who rely on berries to get through the winter. Many of the blackberries are already seemingly going over, never quite reaching full delicious plumpness and I wonder if there will be enough for them to feed on. In terms of blackberries at least I heard recently that it is bad luck to pick them after autumn equinox so its time to move on to slows I reckon! I recently put a few (de-seeded) in an apple crumble and found it quite pleasant as they are not too sweet.
As someone who tends to lean toward evidence-led thinking, I must caveat that at this stage I am merely talking from an anecdotal point of view. Despite this, there is still plenty we can and should be doing to support our wildlife through these strange autumn months.
Firstly, leave the leaves on the ground wherever possible! It is not just hedgehogs that appreciate piles of crispy leaves, in many leaf curls moths, bees and butterflies are just some examples of the creatures that will use them as homes over winter. In turn, many birds will pick through the leaf litter for over-winter food.
If you have a bee hotel, by the end of this month most bee activity will have died down so it will be time to bring in your hotels and store them over winter. Any uninhabited holes in the hotel can be cleared out before you store it away.
Similarly, dead flower heads and plant stems will also become inhabited by invertebrates over winter, while those flowers who set seed will be providing food, crucial this will be natural food that limits disease hotspot issues posed by artificial feeders.
On this topic you might see differing advice around feeding birds this winter. The key points to remember is that birds undoubtedly need food, this includes a diverse array of small and large seeds, as well as invertebrates - this is what is natural. But equally as important is remembering the threat many birds are facing with the spread of disease - as many of us come down with seasonal flu, the kinds of flu our avian friends receive is arguably far more deadly and so we must do our best not to make this worse. Feeders are hard to maintain as clean places for feeding and this is why natural seeds, berries and insect rich areas are the most important. This can come in the form of hedges, areas of flowers left alone, and uncut grasses.
I have been particularly blown away by the array of colourful berries on the bushes this year from hawthorn and rosehips to holly and lime what berries can you see near you?