Autumn’s bounty

Autumn is harvest time and also time to get ready for winter. It is when the squirrels gather their food for the winter months: acorns, hazelnuts, chestnuts are all in abundance at this time of year. We are lucky nature has given us more than just these at this time of the year – we can also collect brambles, mushrooms, crab apples and sloe berries. But, always make sure you know what you are picking as some species are toxic.

Autumn is also the time for geese and ducks.  We can see Pinkies and Greylag geese flying overhead with their distinctive flight pattern and calls. Sometimes we are lucky enough here at Balcaskie to see them land in open field and stubbles in small and larger gaggles. The collective noun for a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team, or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump.

On the same stubbles we can observe the brown hares and their “boxing match” or chasing each other. Once this seasonal display comes to an end they will go back to their gentle and calm nature.