The hedges are ripe with fruit as we approach the middle of September. Rosehips and Haws fill the branches, turning entire pockets of scrub a deep red. Bright-crimson Bryony berries twist and twine themselves along anything within reach. Honeysuckle also climbs up, before billowing from the top with more red berries almost ripe to burst.
Blackberries adorn layer upon layer of Bramble, providing a bounty of food for Rangers, badgers, and insects alike. On just one patch I spot, Honeybees, Woodlice, and Yellow-lipped Snails all engorging themselves upon this juicy feast.
On the ground below, the protective capsule surrounding the Stinking Iris seed pods has worn away to reveal bright orange berries inside. Nearby, more subtle pale-green berries can be found upon the Wild Madder where they have failed to mature.
A big old Apple tree leans over the Listening Seat and rests upon a two-pronged fork and the adjacent Holm Oak. It’s bark gnarled and trunk clad in Ivy thicker than my arm. Near it’s base, a large fungus grows, possibly Chicken of the Woods, and a sign of things to come for this dying tree.
Another fungus, Pleated Inkcap, can be found at the edge of the path. Just a couple inches tall, the little parasols stand with a grey plicate cap which turns white to orange at the central point.
My walk takes me through the woods and along a path scattered with leaves; Sycamore and Horse Chestnut being the first to fall. I hear Woodpigeons coo and Robins chirping throughout. Goldfinch can be heard in waves as they occasionally flock post in numbers overhead, and at Solent Road many Yew berries underfoot.
The bird-ringers report dwindling numbers as the autumn migration slows: Just mostly Blackcap, Chiffchaff, and a few Redstart in the nets this morning.