SS15 wildlife watching

This blog was set up in mid-March 2020 during the emerging COVID-19 health crisis in the UK. It initially aimed to provide records of wildlife sightings and photographs from sites within walking distance of my home in the SS15 postcode area of Basildon in Essex during lockdown travel restrictions. Even though the pandemic has largely subsided, this blog continues to include my local wildlife sightings, my trips away from home plus some personal thoughts and reflections on other issues.

Saturday, 21 November 2020

Is 2020 a good year for acorns?

It has already been suggested that 2020 is a good year for sloes .... see here.

It now seems likely that 2020 is also a good year (a mast year) for acorns.

What is a mast year? How and why it happens.

As with sloes, there appears to have been an abundance of acorns, along with other autumn fruits, berries and nuts, at both my local patch sites this autumn. However, I only started visiting both sites on a regular basis from March 2020 so I do not have the experience of previous years to benchmark against.

Jays and Grey Squirrels are certainly enjoying this year's autumn crop and both are very conspicuous as they actively forage for acorns. No doubt the night shift of Badgers and Wood Mice are also taking advantage of them.