Autumn colours are lasting longer this year as a result of sunny spells in late September and six months of sunshine in the weeks before.

However, this October is on course to be the coldest on record with winter arriving early? We will see!

But as we enjoy the golds, reds and russets of the falling fading leaves, it pays to glance beneath the trees to see that acorns are super-abundant this autumn as are sweet chestnuts, conkers and beech mast littering the ground, good news for much of our wildlife.

As evenings draw in, thousands of jackdaws fly over my house from late afternoon into dusk, 'chak chaking' to one another to keep in contact.

They fly in loose flocks from two, ten, twenty and a hundred plus winging their way rapidly and directly to roost, sometimes flying high and at other times just above rooftop height, always remarkable to witness.

With natural food becoming scarce as winter approaches, many birds such as blue, great and coal tits form small flocks because many pairs of eyes are more likely to spot a likely food source and keep a watch for opportunist predators.

Goldfinches now spend much time on my sunflower heart feeders and often stay for several minutes compared with the tit family who alight on the feeders and extract a seed all in the space of a few seconds before flying to the nearest tree to eat.