October could be known as the month of departures and arrivals. This is because as we say goodbye to our summer visitors like the swallows and the martins going to Africa we welcome the winter migrants like the redwing and fieldfare birds from Scandinavia. It is also the month to change the clocks so by the end of the month the evenings are much darker and with those darker nights you will hear the Tawny owls making their customary to “to-whit-to-wooo” sound.
October View
The farmers will be ploughing and re-seeding for next year. Hopefully in some places the young shoots of wheat in the fields are just poking their heads up above the ground. Some landowners will start laying their hedgerows. Hedge-laying is an age-old practice that ensures the hedge can keep livestock in.
Black Bryony
We would like to see the farmers refraining from cutting back all the hedges before January. This will ensure that numerous blackberries, hazelnuts, hawthorn berries and sloes can be left as food for the animals and birds such as Goldfinch and Chaffinch. Another thing is for farmers to leave one metre margins or more beside hedgerows to allow seed producing plants to be fed on by the birds too! In the orchards, if the windfalls can be left, it benefits birds and animals during the winter months when food is not so plentiful.
On our heaths, look out for the Tormentil (Potentilla erecta). This is a very good nectar source for insects before the winter sets in because it can withstand wet as well as mild weather. At night, the flowers close up and it can, if necessary, self-pollinate itself without the help of insects. This is a useful tool to have if the year had few insects. The name Tormentil is supposed to have derived from its old use: the roots were used to lessen the torment of toothache. Another name it was known by was “Blood Root” and this was because the roots were used for dying clothes red.
Fly Agaric
Another use was for tanning hides as an alternative to oak. The plant usually has four petals and grows on sandy soils. Most of the other related Potentillas have five petals like the Creeping Cinquefoil. Another brightly coloured thing to look out for is Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). This is probably the most distinctive looking fungus in the country. They are found in association with the birch tree which is common on heathland. It has a bright red cap with white specks over the cap unless the rain-washes them off. The bright colour warns that it is poisonous. The name comes from the medieval practice of breaking the cap up and adding it to milk, in order to draw flies away from food. It not only attracts the flies but it stupefies them. In Lapland it is used to attract reindeer herds when they are being round up. Reindeer are attracted to them because of their hallucinogenic properties. Many Lapps have used them too and reported that they felt a sensation like they were flying. Old records in this country tell us that witches did the same. However, this fungus like I said is poisonous and if you took too much you could end up very ill if not dead, so leave well alone! Another beautiful but poisonous plant to look out for at this time of year are the bright red berries of Black Bryony (Tamus communis) and the heart-shaped leaves trailing through the hedgerows looking like necklaces.
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Fallow Deer
In the woods the badgers have been busy and will continue to be dragging new bedding into their setts in preparation for the winter. Dormice, hedgehogs and our reptiles will start looking for good places to hibernate this month. You may come across the red Beefsteak Fungus( Fistulina hepatica) that is edible when fresh. When found growing on oak it makes the timber a darker and richer colour and goes by the name of “brown oak”. This is of economic value to foresters who can sell it at a good price. Some thing you may hear whilst in the woods this month is the clash of Fallow deer antlers or even the bark and grunts of a male Fallow. This is the mating season for the fallow (Dama dama). To see two male deer competing for the females is well worth seeing.
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Beef Steak Fungus
In the Wetter areas, this is a good time to carry out necessary pond clearance before the frogs and toads begin to hibernate. It is always a good idea to clear only a third of the pond and pond edge in each year but when more drastic clearance has to be carried out then always leave twenty percent of the vegetation on the pond edge. By retaining enough vegetation it will ensure enough habitat for amphibians and wintering dragonfly larvae to survive. It is also a good time to clear ditches but again it is good practice if only one side is cleared in a year to give the plants and animals a chance. It is also better not to dump the ditch waste on unimproved vegetation next to the ditch. This ensures that rarities within the long established plant communities along the side of the ditch are not damaged.
Pond
In our meadows and pasture fields look out for mushrooms and toadstools. One of the commoner species that can be found is the Lawyer’s Wig or Shaggy Ink Cap Coprinus comatus. They can also be found growing on disturbed ground, in grass by roadsides, on rubbish heaps and lawns. They are edible when fresh but do not eat them if you are unsure or when they are a few days old or else, you could end up poisoning yourself.
Shaggy Ink Cap
Up on the Downs many of the flowers have died back but you may see the odd lingering Devil’s-bit Scabious or Autumn Hawkbit. However, if you find an old area of chalk grassland you may be lucky to find the prickly flowers of the Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris). This plant used to have the name of “Boar’s throat” because of the resemblance to the rough hair around a boar’s throat. The flowers were hung above doorways to ward off evil spirits and it helped ward off bad luck too! The flower was also collected because of its antiseptic qualities. These flowers last so long that they were collected as dried flowers. However, today they are far too uncommon and should not be collected from the wild.
Deadly Nightshade
Another plant to be found on the downs is Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna). This plant can still be found in flower but more usually at this time of year it has impressive black berries. This is one of the most poisonous plants to be found in the countryside. Any part of this plant is very poisonous because of the deadly chemicals it possesses. Because of its reputation, it has long been associated with witchcraft, witches potions and Halloween. Its Italian name Bella donna means “beautiful woman”, which derives from its old use which was to dilate the pupils in a woman’s eyes thus giving the woman a seductive appearance. It was also thought to mean a beautiful lady with the kiss of death. Other names given to this plant were “Devil’s Berries”, “Satan’s Cherries” and “Devil’s Rhubarb”
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Carline Thistle
Have a good Halloween and I will talk to you next month.
