Busy Autumn Animals

Some animals like Red deer stags (seen on the west side of Bennachie) are rutting. Watch the YouTube video Scotland's Big 5 - Red Deer to learn more.

Bats are busy eating loads to add weight, ready to go into a deep sleep called hibernation over winter.

Frogs and toads start to get ready to hibernate in the mud at the bottom of ponds, or carefully concealed in logs and tucked under leaf litter. Some toads even bury themselves to hibernate… perhaps you could make a frog and toad abode at home, here’s how RSPB - Make A Frog and Toad Abode.

Jock says goodbye to some of his summer bird visitors like swallows, swifts and ospreys who fly south to Africa to warmer weather. Even the meadow pipits head down from the summit of Bennachie to lower farmland and milder areas. But he also is excited to see his winter feathered friends arriving from the north. We’ll look at them later.

In autumn many of his plant pals are already making seeds ready for spring!

His minibeast chums are also getting ready for winter in autumn, some thinking about hibernating and others looking for warmer spots to shelter from the coming weather - more about them later on.