The information on this page is intended to highlight specific features within the nature reserve
that would be of interest to the visitor.
To provide additional information on a subject, we frequently provide links from this page
to webpages produced by other organisations.
Note also that some links take you to websites to listen to recordings of bird sounds.
These links will only work if your computer has the necessary audio features.
To view a different period, click on the appropriate link in the table below.
Interesting Features to be seen in
October |
| October brings real autumn weather with cool winds and perhaps the first frosts. |
The leaves of field maples show up orange among the forest canopy and the birch leaves turn bright yellow.
|
Wild service trees also put on a good display, with a solitary tree
by the main ride and several more near the northern forest edge.
[This photograph was taken in October 2003 - after a few cool nights, the leaves will
provide a colour mix of golds and yellows.} |
Ivy comes into flower at this time of the year, and on a sunny day attracts a
surprising range of insects even in late autumn. Butterflies may include
red admiral
and
comma,
and there are likely to be wasps,
hoverflies and hornets all seeking a late feed of nectar on the yellow flowers. |
 The quarry looks very attractive at
this time of the year with rose hips showing red among tangles of the fluffy fruits of
old man’s beard. |
Hawthorn and sloes provide food for migrant redwings and fieldfares. Native song
thrushes and blackbirds are also joined by migrants from the north.
The occasional swallow and house martin may still be seen, but most have already
departed for Africa. |
Chestnut leaves are the first to fall, along with a hail of conkers. These views were taken
at Chestnut Meet in the centre of Sulehay forest.
Crab apples often cling to the branches as keen winds strip off their
leaves, heralding the onset of winter weather. |
|
As the leaves fall, the improved visibility allows better views of fallow and muntjac
deer among the trees. |
If the weather is suitably damp, a great variety of fungi will appear. [A list of fungus
species found in Sulehay is given on the Wildlife Reports page of this website].
Smaller plants such as lichens, liverworts and mosses also become prominent,
providing further texture and colour to the forest. |
Despite the onset of Winter, the
hazel is already preparing for Sping. As the leaves die and fall, catkins (the male flower)
can be seen that will mature over winter ready to pollinate the female flowers when they
appear in January or February. |
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