If you have enjoyed the TV programmes about wildlife by David Attenborough or Bill Oddie, why not go out and find it for yourself? There is plenty of it about, and very close to you.

Birds are a good start. The leaves are coming off the trees, and in the bare branches they are much easier to see. Also, there is only one bird singing regularly now – the robin. At the height of spring there is such an orchestra of birds all piping or tromboning away that it is hard to start picking out their songs. But now if you hear a sweet, penetrating song coming from the branches, you will know it is almost certainly a robin – and will probably get a glimpse of its red breast.

Other small birds that are becoming easier to see are the blue tit and great tit. They tend to be taken for granted because they are very common, but actually they are quite exotic-looking. The blue tit is blue above, the great tit is blue and green, and both birds have bright yellow breasts, the great tit with a big black line right down the middle.

Of course, you can also attract these birds, and many others, if you have a bird table or hanging peanut feeders in the garden. Greenfinches, gold-finches and chaffinches may all come into the garden, and are very easy to distinguish. This is the way to start birdwatching – become familiar with the look and songs of a few easy birds, and move on from there.

One can also see some spectacular, large birds very easily now, since all over the country there are nature reserves, with hides very well placed to get close-ups of them. In London, for example, there is the London Wetland Centre at Barnes; on the Norfolk-Cambridgeshire border there are the Ouse Washes, where you can watch wild swans coming close to be fed on old potatoes; in Scotland there is the red kite roost in Dumfriesshire, where these impressive raptors with their 6ft wingspans fill the sky. Every county has such nature reserves, most of them run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds or by the county Wildlife Trust.

Binoculars, or “bins”, are very helpful in seeing, and eventually become essential. A good field guide is the RSPB Handbook of British Birds.

This is also a good time to get to know trees. The leaves, which are generally the best way of identifying them, can simply be picked up, taken home and checked against a tree guide (a good one is The Oxford Book of Trees).

It is very enjoyable being out in a wood or park as the brightly coloured leaves are falling and piling up. One can easily recognise oak leaves with their wavy edges, sweet chestnut leaves like fish (and usually lying among the very prickly nut cases), or horse chestnut leaves like large hands (and lying among conkers).

If one has succeeded in recognising the leaves, one can go back to the trees and learn other differences between them – the bark, for instance, which on the sweet chestnuts has deep ridges that spiral round the trunk, but on the oak is like little oblong tiles that have been nailed on. Next spring you can see how the leaves come out fresh and green again.

Most of the wild flowers of summer are over, but there are still a few blossoming on. Dandelions are not to be despised.

They are like little yellow suns, and develop into feathery white globes of seed (or “dandelion clocks”) that you can try to blow away with a single breath, like blowing out birthday candles. If you look at the leaves, you can see how they got their name. They are long, with jagged edges on either side – and the English name comes from their French name, dents de lion, or “lion’s teeth”.

By the side of rivers and lakes you can still see one remarkable flower, Himalayan balsam. This is a very tall plant that was brought here from Asia, and has striking pink flowers that look like a policeman’s helmet (which is actually another name for it). It is not popular because it can spread and kill all the other vegetation on the riverbank, but it is very attractive.

Again, the fact that there are fewer flowers out now makes it an easier time to start identifying them. A good book is the Collins Pocket Guide Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe.

Apart from grey squirrels and rabbits, animals are not so easy to find in the British countryside, but you may see a hare dashing across a big field, a stoat slipping across a road or a hedgehog snuffling along a hedge. You might even find someone who will take you to see badgers coming out of their holes, or setts, at night.

There is so much to see, in towns as well as in the countryside. Good hunting!

SEASONAL FUN AUTUMN GLORY
Biscuit-decorating, face-painting and scarecrow-making.
Harewood House, Harewood, Leeds (www.harewood.org 0113-218 1010), Sun-Nov 2

LITTLE ROTTERS
Learn how to make compost in this horticultural workshop for ages 7-11.
The Garden House, Yelverton, Devon (www.thegardenhouse.org.uk 01822 854769), Thur

LONDON WETLAND CENTRE
Half-term kids’ activities including spotting owls, bats and creepy creatures.
London Wetland Centre, Queen Elizabeth Walk, London SW13 (www.wwt.org.uk 020-8409 4400), until Nov 1

LOVE BIRDS
Help to get the birds good and fat for winter in this afternoon workshop by making a feeder to take home.
Lotherton Hall, Towton Road, Leeds (www.leeds.gov.uk/lothertonhall 0113-281 3259), Wed

NUTS ABOUT NATURE
Autumn-themed trails around the gardens and manor, learning how wildlife prepares for winter. No need to book; meet at reception.
Lytes Cary Manor, nr Charlton Mackrell, Somerton, Somerset (www.nationaltrust.org.uk 01458 224471), Sat-Wed

A PLANT’S VIEW OF THE WORLD
Learn how plants survive in their natural habitat in this workshop for over8s. Booking essential.
Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, Oxford Road (www.museum.man.ac.uk 0161-275 2634), Thur

PUMPKIN MAGIC
Carve your own pumpkin in a seasonal workshop for over8s. Booking essential.
Forge Mill Needle Museum & Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre, Needle Mill Lane, Riverside, Redditch (www.forgemill.org.uk 01527 62509), Wed

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