With fungi appearing, the temperature dropping and daylight hours growing shorter, getting outside and making the most of this season’s natural wonders is even more important. Take a look at our October wildlife sightings and see what you could spot.

Mere Sands Wood

Mere Sands Wood is a haven of autumn delights, with fly agaric, deceiver, collared earthstar and shaggy pholiota mushrooms all emerging from the woodland floor last month. Higher up, one of our visitors spotted a robin’s pincushion gall. These fuzzy looking galls form on wild roses when, after a tiny gall wasp lays its eggs in the plant, its larvae start feeding on the plant.

It was wonderful to see bramblings feeding high up in the trees and the number of shovelers and other ducks growing on the lakes. Most excitingly, with bird breeding season out of the way, we were finally able to start work on the new bird hide that will replace the Cyril Gibbons hide we sadly lost to arson in 2020. We hope the work will be completed by the end of November.

Brockholes

From the UK’s smallest bird, the goldcrest, to one of our largest, the whooper swan, there was no shortage of birds to spot at Brockholes in October. Nuthatches shimmied up trees in Boilton Wood, herons fished on Meadow Lake and jays flew noisily overhead as they hunted for nuts to cache. One lucky visitor even spotted our resident kestrel, Kevin, hunting the common darter dragonflies still clinging onto the warm October days.

But the common darters weren’t the only insects on the wing – we had a hornets nest in an old bird box! These fascinating insects are larger than wasps and have chestnut-brown markings rather than black. They build their papery nests in hollow trees, so it’s no surprise this colony took a liking to our empty bird box. Though they look fierce, hornets are actually less aggressive than their smaller cousins.

Insects aside, Brockholes’ other October wildlife sightings were distinctly more autumnal. Starlings tentatively began murmurating, common puffballs and slime moulds appeared in Boilton Wood, and blackening waxcaps decorated the grassland. Redwings arrived to feed on bountiful berries and the lakes filled with gadwall, wigeon, shovelers, pochards, teal and the first goldeneye of autumn. We counted around 20 whooper swans dropping in to rest up before continuing their migratory journey, as well as good numbers of curlew, oystercatchers, snipe and even the odd green sandpiper.

One of the most exciting sightings came from lucky visitor, Andrew Lancaster, who captured the moment this otter (above) slipped out of the Ribble and onto the bank.

Foxhill Bank

We had a taste of spring at Foxhill Bank nature reserve with the delivery of early flowering primroses, cowslips and violets. These were planted on the reserve with help from the fantastic Union Road Community Church Youth Group, and will provide a crucial source of early nectar for the first emerging bees and butterflies next spring.

Little Woolden Moss

October was spider month at Little Woolden Moss nature reserve in Irlam. Regular visitor, Dave Steel, spotted an orb spider chowing down on a black darter dragonfly it had caught in its intricate web. Then, our Greater Manchester Wetlands Trainee, Lorna, put her recent spider identification training to the test and found:

• Foliate orb-web spider
• A wolf spider of the Pirata species
• Wolf spider: Trochosa ruricola
• Wolf spider: Arctosa perita, which changes its colour to blend into its surroundings.

Astley Moss

As of October, there are now 2.4 million carnivores at Astley Moss! We’re talking about lesser bladderwort, of course – a rare aquatic plant brought back to the reserve by the wonderful Joshua Styles of the North West Rare Plant Initiative. From just a few reintroduced strands in 2018, the plant has completely flourished and we’re delighted to see it colonising the bog pools.

We also spotted some beautiful scarlet elf cups at Astley Moss last month. This peach and red fungus grows on decaying sticks and branches and is associated with some pretty magical folklore. As the name suggests, it was thought that elves would use the ‘cups’ to drink the morning dew.

Winmarleigh Moss

There was quite an unusual wildlife sighting at Winmarleigh Moss in October – nodding bur-marigold was found growing on this peatland nature reserve for the first time. It grows beside fresh water and in the margins of dry ponds, canals and reservoirs, and blooms with bright yellow flowers in summer. We think it’s a great addition to the species richness here.

Lunt Meadows

Autumn walks at Lunt Meadows are always memorable, as overwintering birds start arriving. In October our visitors, staff and volunteers spotted whooper swans and bearded tits alongside a couple of marsh harriers. The bearded tit is a particularly strange and special bird – not a tit at all, but a family of its own. The males have impressive black ‘moustaches’, and the birds feed on grit during winter to grind down the tough reed seeds they survive on through the leaner months. In spring and summer, they change their diet to insects.

More unusual was the arrival of a white morph snow goose (above)! These enchanting birds breed in Greenland, Arctic North America and Siberia and have an air of magic about them – unsurprising that one was chosen as the witch Serafina Pekkala’s dæmon in the His Dark Materials trilogy.

Snow geese from Greenland regularly spend their winters in Scotland, so it could be that this one dropped by to rest and refuel on its journey.

Wildlife aside, there were some interesting discoveries during the archaeological digs at Lunt Meadows. Volunteers from our Merseyside team, Museum of Liverpool and Soroptimist International Crosby unearthed two tiny but important tools – a microlith that would have been used for needlework or an arrow or spear tip, and a blade for cutting soft material like plants. It’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that we were the first people to see and touch these items in 9,000 years!

Seaforth

If you want to watch some snipe, one of the best places is Seaforth Nature Reserve in Liverpool. Though it sits within the busy Port of Liverpool, last month the reserve attracted snipe into double figures, sparrowhawks, little egrets, herons, redshank, bar-tailed godwits, curlew, oystercatchers and lapwings. And with winter on the horizon, this count will only grow, as Seaforth is a major roosting and feeding site for a spectacular variety of waders, seabirds, ducks and small birds.

Middleton Nature Reserve

Middleton Nature Reserve was still one of the best places to see dragonflies in Lancashire, with migrant hawkers and common darters on the wing. If that wasn’t enough, staff heard a water rail calling and volunteers ringed a tree sparrow during one of their sessions – not a common bird here.

Four male Cetti’s warblers were heard singing around the marshes, the No Swimming Pond and the Tim Butler Pond.

Heysham Moss

Heysham Moss is one of our lesser-known reserves but a complete hidden gem, further illustrated by the fantastic mix of species spotted here last month.

The October rains refilled the pools between the peat, attracting teal, mallards, grey herons, a green sandpiper, and as many as 55 common darter dragonflies in just 100msq of the reserve! The trees were occupied by great spotted woodpeckers and, one morning, a noisy mixed tit flock, while a sparrowhawk and a raven were recorded tussling up in the sky.

What have you spotted at our nature reserves during recent visits? Click one of the icons below to let us know on social media.