Country diary: The last warm day of the year, and the woodland is changing | Kate Blincoe

Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Above, the canopy is opening up, letting the light in; below, fungus is beginning to sprout from the dark soilA snake swishes across the lane in front of me. Moving like nothing else does, a glitch in the matrix. It's a small, slender grass snake, dark olive with a pale yellow collar. It vanishes in seconds into a hole in the bank.There's motion in the warm air today, the sunshine bringing a burst of autumnal energy. It's a pleasure to head out for a quick walk. Five buzzards circle overhead, a family. The juveniles are soon to depart from the parental territory. The ivy on an ancient elm is covered with at least a hundred bees and a dozen red admiral butterflies, a popular plant now that other sources of nectar and pollen have gone. Some red admirals will have migrated south already, but these are likely to be stocking up their energy stores for hibernation in the UK. Continue reading...