September 4th, 1998:

The school grounds and local hedgerows offer plenty of opportunities to search for autumn fruits. Blackberries, fruits of the bramble, are conspicuous, but you should also be able to find hazel nuts, sloes, which are the plum-like fruits of the blackthorn, and a number of other nuts and berries.

Now that the breeding season is over, sparrowhawks are becoming much more conspicuous and can be seen hunting around the school grounds or flying high above the treetops. This week, I heard a report from a lady who had been horrified when she walked into her garden and found a sparrowhawk plucking its victim. You are unlikely to get a good view of the markings on these birds, so watch for a small bird of prey with wings which are rounded at the ends, rather than tapered like those of the kestrel, and with a rather long tail with a squared end.

This is the time of year when I often record sightings of moles moving around above ground. I believe that this is probably because young moles are forced to travel some distance to establish territories of their own. They will cross roads and I have seen a mole struggling to overcome the barrier presented by a high kerb. The mole looks quite ungainly on this type of surface and has to roll slightly as it uses its legs, so that it moves with what looks like a swimming motion. Watch out for moles during September and October.