6 signs that Autumn is coming to Cheshire
Daresbury Sunrise by Andy Light - Credit: Archant
We’re at the end of summer and our readers have captured the many changes taking place in the countryside.
Hay Bales near Dunham Massey by Gillian Baker - Credit: Archant
Haybales
Cheshire’s farmers are busy harvesting their crops after a difficult summer.
If you’re out and about you will see many giant bales of crop in the fields across the county.
Sunset over Alderley Edge by Hugh Thompson - Credit: Archant
Orange Sunsets
When the sun is very low in the sky, it means that the sunlight we see has travelled through a much thicker amount of atmosphere.
The shorter wavelength blue light is scattered further, as the sunlight passes over a greater distance, and we see the longer wavelength yellow and red light, which results in those beautiful orange and red sunsets.
Bridgewater canal, Lower Walton by Anthony Marsh - Credit: Archant
Carpets of leaves
It wouldn’t be autumn without that carpet of brown leaves underfoot, a sure sign that the colder months are coming, a great time for a woodland walk.
Before that, we see the trees full of bright colours as a result of the reduction in chlorophyll, the pigment that produces the green colour of leaves is lessened with daylight hours shortening and temperatures cooling.
A questionable starling murmuration at Woolston Eyes by Anthony Marsh - Credit: Archant
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Migrating Birds
Autumn is a great opportunity to spot all types of birds. The reduction in daylight hours sees swallows, house martins, sand martins and countless warblers decide that the time is right to head south.
One fantastic sight that you may be lucky enough to see are the starling murmurations that begin in September, these formations of thousands of birds usually occur in the evening, before they roost for the night.
Autumn in Tatton Park by Pete Lawless - Credit: Archant
Rutting Deer
September is the beginning of rutting season for deer, when stags compete with each other over does by fighting with their antlers or rubbing their antlers on trees.
Cheshire has a few great estates to view a number of different types of deer, but you should keep your distance from them at this time of year as it can be very dangerous.
Grey Squirrel at Walton Hall Gardens by Anthony Marsh - Credit: Archant
Funghi and Chestnuts
Hibernating animals are busy squirrelling away their supplies for the winter months, just like this friendly chap spotted at Walton Hall Gardens.
But there’s also a great amount of nature’s bounty available to view such as bizarre looking funghi and those chestnuts that were worth their weight in old in the playgrounds of our childhood.
Some berries and fungi look wonderfully appetising but if eaten can make you very ill. Don’t assume a fruit is safe because you see birds and animals eating them.
What early signs of Autumn have you seen in Cheshire?
Upload your images to our reader photo gallery or tag us in your images with @cheshirelifemag in Instagram.
