OCTOBER IN THE COUNTRY

PICTURES WILDLIFE PEOPLE & PLACES COUNTRY KNOW-HOW FOOD

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TRUE COLOURS

Autumnal leaves in a riot of rich rusts, deep ochres and vivid golds frame the spectacular Falls of Clyde in Lanarkshire, Scotland. These vibrant shades are the leaves’ hidden colours; when summer sunlight fades, trees gradually stop producing chlorophyll, a chemical that gives leaves their green pigment and helps them absorb sunlight. The carotenoid pigments of yellow, orange and red that are always present in leaves are then able to shine through.

SAY ‘CHEESE’

This wonderful image of a whiskery family of field mice in autumnal leaves by Geoffrey Hill was picked to illustrate the month of October in 2010’s Countryfile Calendar. If the calendar is always on your wishlist, don’t miss this beautiful new book

Countryfile: A Picture of Britain (William Collins, £25), where John Craven and Matt Baker pick their favourite viewer images for each month of the year. It’s published in aid of BBC Children in Need.

CALL OF THE WILD

In an excited flurry of hoots and calls, a large flock of pink-footed geese make a dawn departure from their overnight roost on a loch in Berwickshire, Scotland, on their way to daytime feeding grounds. Large flocks of these visitors from Iceland and Greenland arrive in autumn to overwinter on our shores, creating one of our most thrilling seasonal spectacles.

GREEN GOBLETS

Autumn is the time to look out for the rare, goblet-shaped fruiting bodies of the green elf-cup fungus (Chlorociboria aeruginascens), found on bark-free dead wood of oak, beech or hazel trees. Wood infected with the fungus is stained green and has been long-prized for decorative woodwork, including marquetry.

STOCK THE LARDER

They may seem hard to spot, but red squirrels in the Highland forests are just particularly busy at this time of year, gathering, storing and nibbling on the seasonal abundance of mushrooms, berries, seeds and nuts. These clever granivores will shake a nut before opening it; if it rattles, it’s probably rotten or too small to bother opening.

GALACTIC GAZING

With up to 400 billion stars, gas and dust in a spiral galaxy that’s about 100,000 light years across, the vastness of the Milky Way is almost unimaginable. Low light pollution and a dark and clear autumn night, such as this over Ramsey Island off the Pembrokeshire coast, provides the perfect conditions to gaze on our home galaxy in all its celestial glory. Celebrate the stars at Exmoor’s Dark Skies Festival, 16–31 October; socially distanced events include dusk safaris and guided night walks. exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk