The days are now much shorter and temperatures have started to drop, but there are still plenty of reasons to get out-and-about and enjoy the great outdoors and all the natural delights that it has to offer at this time of year, not least the fascinating array of British wildlife.
The shortening hours of daylight are said to provoke the red deer rut in October, and you may hear the grunts of mature stags at dusk and dawn as they attempt to ward off their competitors, each vying for the attention of fertile female deer. Although these noble animals are beautiful and usually timid, it is important to keep your distance so as not to disturb their natural processes or trigger an aggressive response, particularly at this volatile and important time of year.
Jenna Gearing’s bronze sculpture Fighting Stags is a majestic portrayal of a pair of stags battling with one another and perfectly captures the combative nature of male interactions during the mating season.
The tawny owl is one of our most prolific owl species in the UK, and can even be seen in urban green spaces, as well as more rural areas. Autumn evenings are a great time for sightings of these graceful birds, as young owls that fledged in Spring go in search of territories of their own.
Adam Binder’s Tawny Owl on a Post bronze sculpture is a sublime depiction of the owl, and skilfully illustrates the elegant and ethereal nature of these birds.
Pannage season continues throughout October (and usually into December), and is the practise of allowing New Forest Commoners to free their domestic pigs and piglets to roam the forest and forage for acorns and nuts which fall from trees (and which are poisonous to sheep and cattle). Wild boar may also be seen in some wooded areas, like the Forest of Dean, at this time of year as they forage for the fruits dropped from trees and gorge on the abundance of fungi.
Hamish Mackie has created the dynamic bronze sculpture Wild Boar Life Size - Legs Under of a magnificent wild boar in motion. It’s highly textured style and life size dimensions would make it a striking addition to an outdoor setting. Becky Mair has also perfectly captured the movement of the wild boar in her original painting Romney Boar - which features an energetic painting style perfect for the subject.
British apple season also officially begins in October, with Apple Day being celebrated on 21st each year since the 1990s. The trees and their fruit provide sheet and food for a whole host of wildlife from nuthatches - who will nest in old branches and feed on insects - to bugs, badgers and foxes - who will feast on the fermenting fruits as they fall.
Bronze sculpture Apple by Adam Paddon is a beautiful piece depicting the glossy fruit with a green and rosy pink patination. At around 24cm x 21cm it’s exaggerated scale creates a real impact and a wonderfully eye-catching focal point.
Head over to our online gallery to browse through the huge collection of sculpture, original art, and limited edition prints inspired by the throng of British wildlife with which we are lucky enough to share the British Isles.
