David Chapman explains what to look out for in late Autumn in his regular wildlife identification guide BLACKBIRD, Turdus merula The blackbird is our commonest breeding thrush and it is also our most easily identified. The all black male sports a yellow-orange bill whereas the female is completely brown. The only confusion may result from a young male who, by the winter, has a black plumage, like the adult males, but unlike the adult males has some degree of black on its bill.

SONG THRUSH, Turdus philomelos Song thrushes are quite likely to be seen on the small holding but have declined in numbers significantly over the last few decades. They are often seen hopping around at the edge of a lawn or by a hedgerow where they look for small snails which they smash open against stones. The song thrush is a smaller bird than a blackbird.

MISTLE THRUSH The mistle thrush is a resident breeding bird. It is much larger than either the blackbird or the song thrush but isn't as likely to be seen in the garden. It has spotting similar to a song thrush but its overall impression is much paler. If a mistle thrush is seen on the ground it is much more likely to be in the middle of a field than by a hedge. The most helpful identification feature is its undulating flight and loud football rattle type call.

REDWING The redwing is a winter visitor to our hedgerows and fields. During November they will feed in flocks on the berries of hawthorn before moving on to holly in December. This is our smallest thrush and its two most obvious features are its red underwing, which extends as far as its flanks, and its white supercilium (the stripe over the eye).

FIELDFARE The fieldfare is a winter visitor which is almost as big as a mistle thrush. Flocks of them occur around our hedgerows where their 'chack-chack' calls are quite obvious. The markings on the fieldfare's breast are not as spotty as a typical thrush and it has an obvious grey head and grey rump.

MOTHS THE NOVEMBER MOTH There aren't many moths flying during the late autumn and winter but one which is strongly associated with the month of November is appropriately called the 'November Moth'! This species is found across the whole of the British Isles and its larvae feed on the leaves of most broad leaved trees.

FEATHERED THORN MOTH One other moth that can be found in autumn is the feathered thorn moth. This is an attractive moth because of the shape of its wing which often has a slightly hooked tip to the outer edge and a white spot near its tip. It is widely distributed across the UK and lives near broad leaved trees.

VOLES FIELD VOLE Voles are similar to mice but have shorter tails, hidden ears, small eyes and blunt noses. The field vole is grey brown in colour and its ears are almost invisible since they are covered in fur. It lives in long grass creating nests and runs amongst the roots.

BANK VOLE The bank vole is different from the field vole in that it has a chestnut coat and it has slightly more obvious ears. The size of the two species is very similar but the bank vole nests in holes. Its favoured habitat is scrub, woodland and hedgerow but it will live close to houses.

WATER VOLE The water vole is truly a rare creature nowadays. It lives in holes alongside water courses, mostly canals, ditches and slow moving rivers. The water vole is most often confused with a rat rather than a mouse but it is different from a rat in that it has a shorter tail, blunter nose and plump body. The main cause of the decline of the water vole is the release of mink from farms.

FUNGI DUNG MOTTLE GILL If you have a lot of dung around your smallholding then there is a chance that you may have noticed toadstools growing from it. Probably the most common species growing from the dung of cattle and horses is appropriately named the 'dung mottle-gill' which unsurprisingly has mottled gills if you look under its cap. Just in case you were tempted to eat it then don't it is inedible but it can be found growing from July to December.

COMMON EARTH TONGUE Finding this one might be a bit more of a challenge. There are a number of different types of 'earth tongue' fungi but they are small, this one is only three centimetres tall. It grows on bare ground close to mosses or leaf litter during the autumn.