Autumn! Misty moisty mornings; dew-spangled spiders webs; tawny owls hooting; ivy flowers awash with late butterflies and wasps and a kaleidoscope of rich vibrant colour from reds and russet through to gold among fading leaves, while berry-laden bushes and trees are ready to be targeted by birds later on.

Birds are trading places. Our summer visitors are leaving while redwings and fieldfares are already arriving from Scandinavia. Hopefully waxwings will fly in too.

Horse chestnut trees seem slightly less afflicted by leaf-miner moth this autumn and conkers are plentiful and of a good size.

When all their leaves finally drop they will reveal their 'sticky buds', vases of which used to adorn our school nature study tables among other exhibits.

Do any schools bother to display nature tables in classrooms nowadays? If not they should, for the earlier children learn to understand and appreciate the natural world the more they will be inclined to look after it.

One of the white species of butterfly namely the green-veined, finally redeemed itself somewhat in its late brood and flew well into September.

Red admirals too are still around and will either hibernate here or attempt to undertake a reverse migration and fly south to France and beyond.

Then of course there is the bellowing-belching of red stags and the softer coughing-burps of fallow bucks to enthral us in the Royal parks as they battle to claim their harems.

A wonderful season with so much to savour before winter sets in.