There are sure signs of spring as this issue of British Wildlife reaches readers, but in this article, Tim Sparks, Fritha West and Kate Lewthwaite instead look to the start of autumn. The recording of autumn events is less popular compared to spring, but here the authors looks at the data collected by Frederick Lowe and some more recent records to explore the trends in the timing of autumn events.
It is now more than a decade since we last focused on autumn phenology for British Wildlife (Sparks & Smithers 2009). The definition of autumn is, like any of our seasons, often a very personal one, but, as with spring, is usually based on changes in plant and animal activity.