I can’t wait to…

…SEE MIGRATING GEESE

Part of the set-change of autumn is the arrival of migrating geese from northerly domiciles like

Siberia and Greenland. If you grew up thinking of geese as dorky farmyard swans, think again. Even the language seems to: on the ground a group is known as a gaggle but in the air in they’re more fittingly called a skein.

Hundreds of thousands are on their way – white-fronted, pinkfooted, barnacle, brent, greylag,

Canada and more – to spend winter eating seeds, grasses and invertebrates; and to help me steel myself for the long cold months. If it’s worth flying 3000 miles for, it can’t be that bad.

Guy Procter, Editor

…SPOT SHOOTING STARS

If I’m going to stay up til the early hours, standing in the cold craning my neck to the sky, I like my meteor showers to be reliable.

That’s why the Orionid is a favourite – it’s one of the most dependable showers in the calendar. Every year, in October, Orionid meteors enter our orbit as Earth passes through the stream of debris left by Comet Halley. So shooting stars aren’t really stars… more glowing rubble. These radiate from the constellation Orion the Hunter (look east), hence the name. This year, the timing of the full moon might make the peak harder to see, but I have faith in this one.

Marie Marsh, Production Editor

…FIND SPINDLE BERRIES