Hot summer also causing trees to shed their leaves as concerns raised over ‘food gap’ for wildlife in autumn Autumn is the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”, according to the poet John Keats – but anyone hoping for a glut of blackberries this September may be sorely disappointed. In many parts of the UK brambles have been bursting with fruit since mid-summer, with some now bearing only shrivelled berries. And it is not the only hallmark of autumn that appears to have come early: trees are dropping their leaves, apples are ripe and acorns are hitting the ground. Continue reading...