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Seasonal news from Scotland’s rainforest It’s now late summer in the rainforest, and the trees are starting to change in advance of autumn. Some leaves may already be turning brown, particularly if they’ve been under stress from drought or heat, and berries, nuts and seeds will be well on their way to ripening. The first green acorns may already have started to fall in some places, and in sunny situations on the woodland’s edge, you may see hazelnuts beginning to form. Rowan berries are now ripening to their beautiful orangey-red best, attracting birds like thrushes. These species will be here all winter, but many of our summer migrants, such as pied flycatchers (above) and wood warblers, will have already departed for their long journey to Africa. Young tawny owls will also be setting out in search of new territories: cue much nighttime hooting! Spring flowers are well over, but there’s still some colour to be seen from the purple blooms of devil’s-bit scabious in open areas of woodland. You may also catch sight of Scotch argus butterflies along woodland edges, even in rainy weather, and the speckled wood is another species to look out for. In birch woodlands over the next few weeks, fly agaric fungi will start to appear, while red squirrels dart around caching as much food as they can for the colder days to come.
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