OUT AND ABOUT
impressive stands of beeches within the extensive parklands, and the bonus of gardens designed with the changing seasons in mind. It’s not just plants that reflect the changes into the autumn. Avian summer visitors such as swallows, swifts and an array of warblers move southwards as insect numbers decrease, while a wave of winter visitors – waders, wildfowl and berry-eating thrushes – arrive from the north and east to feed across wetlands and hedgerows. Hedgehogs feed voraciously through the night preparing for a winter hibernation, and on the woodland floor, fungi – the fruiting bodies of mycelial networks hidden beneath the soil and within decaying trunks and branches – emerge to release spores and reproduce. No matter our surroundings, urban or rural, there is seasonal change to observe and enjoy if, like Jenyns and Darwin, we keep our eyes and minds open.
FIND OUT MORE Turn to page 78 to learn about the Phenology Project that is underway at Cambridge University Botanic Garden.
BERRY GOOD In autumn, a variety of birds move into the area in search of food, and Cambridgeshire offers many places where the changing of the season can be witnessed, from woodlands to parks
12 OCTOBER 2026 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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