Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The gentle call of the redwing

Redwing, Turdus iliacus,  on hawthorn berries.
Redwing, Turdus iliacus, on hawthorn berries.

It is the lightest of sounds, and even in the stillness of the night air, so delicate I’m not even sure it is there. But I concentrate the mind once more, and yes, I can definitely hear it; a thin wispy ‘seep, seep’ coming from the darkness of the heavens.

These gentle calls are being made by migrating redwings, and a steady stream of them too, as they make their way inland following a long crossing of the North Sea. These delightful little thrushes spend the summer in Scandinavia and Russia where they breed in birch forests. But coldness is now descending upon these northern lands, and the redwings must take flight and head towards our relatively mild shores to seek respite from the approaching harshness of winter.

I stand in the garden for a while longer, listening to their night-sky murmurs and imagine what it must be like to be up there in the starry void. It is a clear night and these redwings will have an all-encompassing view of the glowing lights of Kinross-shire, Fife and beyond. But they will need to land soon – and that will be difficult in the dark.

The following morning, and with light just breaking, I ascend a little hill on the margins of the Ochils,  the autumnal aroma of damp grass whirling across my senses. Soon, I hear redwings again, but a different call this time, a shorter, muffled ‘kuk, kuk’ emanating from a stand of spruces.

Redwing sits on branch of crab apple tree among hanging fruit, its distinctive red plumage visible beneath its wing.

Then one, two and finally three birds fly out from the trees and swoop down a nearby sheep pasture towards some berry-laden hawthorns. I’m momentarily distracted by the screech of an over-flying jay, but I peer once more down upon the hawthorns and catch the redwings devouring their glistening haws with enthusiasm.

For the next few weeks they’ll need to make the most of this berry bounty, because once it dwindles, food will be much harder to find, especially when frosts harden the ground.

On my way back, a glimmer of yellowy-orange shines out from a rotting tree root. I hunker down onto my knees to discover several tiny prongs of stagshorn fungus clinging upon the root’s surface.  Stagshorn is such an appropriate name, as they do indeed resemble miniscule deer antlers, and this, combined with their vivid lemon colour, makes it such an unusual fungus.

Another jay, or perhaps it is the same one, screeches in the distance, and as I haul myself back to my feet, the coppery elongated leaves of a nearby sweet chestnut tree shine out at me; a wonderfully warm but crisp colour and the very essence of autumn itself.

Autumn and spring – my two favourite seasons – and I can never decide which I prefer. But autumn just about shaded it on this gold-tinged morning, with the cutting invigoration of the air filling my lungs like a heady elixir; a day where nature sang wherever you looked.

  • Info: Look out too for fieldfares at this time of year; another winter thrush. They are larger than redwings, with slate grey head and rump, and a yellowish speckled breast.