SKEINS OF THE SOLWAY

Surely, if there is one sound that heralds the change of the seasons, it is the honk of geese arriving from their breeding grounds. After months away from our shores, their return is simultaneously magical and reassuring.

Chances are you will hear the geese arriving before you see their outstretched necks slicing through the crisp air. Then, once you have your eye in, you will note the long, wavering skeins. Until, remarkably quickly, the sky is almost filled with beating wings and evocative calls. Watching these flocks touch down for their first autumn day in the UK is very special.

WINGS FROM THE NORTH

Many of our feathered winter visitors will have flown vast distances from regions to the north and east – Greenland, the Arctic, Iceland, Scandinavia, Siberia and