​October was once ‘Gort’, the Pagan month of ivy. Our ancestors realised that ivy flowers – curious, greenish-white clusters that erupt at this time of year – are an important source of life when most other flowers have long since died back. Usually the blossom is alive with grateful hoverflies and other insects, making it a valuable garden plant.

Winter Thrush

Fieldfare

Tawney Owl

Redwing

Tawney Owl

Anyone wanting to hear a tawny owl should go for a stroll on a pleasant autumn evening. October and November is when these ethereal birds really make their presence felt. They’re our most abundant owls.
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One of the surest signs of autumn is the arrival of ‘winter thrushes’ – fieldfares and redwings – from northern Europe and Iceland. Keep checking berry-laden trees and shrubs, especially mountain ash, hawthorn and sea buckthorn

Bank Voles

Resembling tubby mice, bank voles have tails so short you don’t always notice there is one. They live off a wealth of woodland and hedgerow plants and sustain a host of predators in the process.
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Mountain ash

also known as rowan, looks its best in early autumn, when its heavy sprays of berries paint our uplands, rough ground and roadsides bright red. Birds, particularly thrushes, love them.
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Goldcrest

​Joint winner of Britain’s smallest bird (alongside the 'recrest), the goldcrest is a familiar resident wherever conifers grow, though it also frequents mixed and deciduous woods

Goldcrest

Fungi

​Unabashedly exotic, waxcaps are to fungi what orchids are to plants. These extroverts also hold importance for conservationists, being indicators of mushroom-rich grassland that has avoided being agriculturally ‘improved’ by chemicals.

Comma Butterfly

With camouflaged underwings and a ragged silhouette, the comma does a fantastic impression of a torn, dead leaf, which is usually enough to escape the attention of hungry birds.

Slugs

​If you’re prepared to take a closer look, Britain’s slugs are beautiful, and not all black or sludge-grey. Take the large red slug, an abundant garden species. Its coloration varies from ochre to tangerine, with a brighter ‘go-faster’ stripe around its muscular foot

Information from British Wildlife, British wildlife in October - Discover Wildlife
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