![]() And when people find themselves crunching through leaves and listening to the birdsong, he asks just one more thing: “Cherish it.” “Autumn is a wonderful time of year in Britain, with all the different migrating birds, the colours of the leaves, the bountiful fruits and fungi, and the vibrant lichen and moss,” says Webb. This year, leaf colour could persist well into November, according to Forestry England. In a YouGov poll of 2,271 people for the National Trust, nearly a third said watching leaves change colour and fall from the trees was their favourite aspect of autumn. They are suffering a lot anyway from loss of habitat and food, and if there isn’t cold weather to encourage them to hibernate, they’ll still be awake at the end of the season, looking for food – and that will be disappearing. Webb is particularly concerned about the impact of a mild autumn on hedgehogs. But, on the whole, winters are getting milder and autumns are smudging almost into spring in some cases.”Įarly ripening may leave some wildlife with less food to rely on in later months, especially if they fail to hibernate on time. Cold weather limits the spread and the impact of these diseases. “If it’s not really cold, then fungal infections increase and insects that are overwintering in a cocoon become more susceptible. His biggest worry is that there will be another prolonged autumn this year, which would be bad news for wildlife. Instead of migrating south to the Mediterranean or north Africa, he says, these birds are wintering here more often as well.įungi growing in Fulbourn Fen in Cambridgeshire. In the distance, accompanied by a robin, a great tit and a song thrush, a chiffchaff warbles its distinct, repetitive song. He hears a green woodpecker yaffling and stops to drink in the sounds of the forest around him. Because it’s milder farther north, they may not travel so far and instead winter nearer to their breeding habitats.” “When they migrate, they risk predation and exhaustion. At the same time, it is likely to be more difficult to spot Bewick’s swans, wild geese and other water fowl which would normally migrate south to Britain during the autumn. Mild weather means birds, such as blackcaps and swallows, which usually head south for the winter, are likely to linger for longer in Britain. “There are a lot of insects that have shown a massive change in distribution, heading north as weather conditions are becoming more favourable for them.” While it may be possible to spot rarer insects, like Roesel’s bush-crickets, tree bumblebees and ivy bees, on autumnal walks farther and farther north this year, this is yet another sign that the UK climate is changing. “There seem to be far fewer moths and spiders around this year.” He is also sad to note a decline in the number of insects, a long-term trend which he suspects was probably compounded by the heatwave. Iain Webb, conservation officer, The Wildlife Trusts ![]() ![]() They showed really suddenly and then stopped, because of the heat.” If it’s not really cold, fungal infections increase and cocooned overwintering insects are susceptible to fungal attack. “But now, where I live in Cambridge, there are very few blackberries of any quality around. “Usually, this is the time to go out blackberrying,” says Webb. Other classic indications of autumn’s arrival have been similarly disrupted: in June, the Woodland Trust (which runs Nature’s Calendar, a nationwide citizen science project which tracks the impact of climate change on wildlife by recording seasonal events) received some of its earliest ever reports of ripe blackberries. While some trees are retaining their leaves for longer, due to mild weather, others – including silver birches and rowan trees – have already experienced a “false autumn”, dropping their leaves while it was still summer, to try to retain moisture during the drought. “If there’s another drought next year, a lot more trees might suffer more severely.” It takes a lot of energy out of the roots, which weakens them.”Ī lush and prolific autumn season now will make these plants more susceptible to disease and arid conditions later. “Producing a lot of fruit can be a sign of stress. Hawthorn bushes laden with berries, heaps of acorns and conkers littering the ground, squirrels and nuthatches feasting on an abundance of hazelnuts – these can all be signs, he says, that plants are responding to a survival threat. Conservation officer Iain Webb in Fulbourn Fen. ![]()
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