An exceptionally mild autumn including the warmest November day and night on record now heads towards the end of what is predicted to be the hottest year since records began.

Recent strong winds have finally stripped most remaining leaves except for those on uppermost twigs which were the last to unfurl in the spring as sap rose from bottom to top. Oaks resist foliage drop until the last. It was interesting to note while watching the remembrance day service at the cenotaph how most trees lining Whitehall were still leafy green, in complete contrast to the same scene thirty years ago when they were quite bare.

Climate change certainly is a reality fuelled by a combination of greenhouse gas emissions, vagaries of the Pacific El Nino warm water upsurge and the wayward Jetstream high above.

My garden daffodils not yet dug up by squirrels are already showing well above the soil and the lawn needs moving as grass continues to grow. With leaves finally whisked away, bare trees provide scant shelter for birds. Smaller species including great, blue, long-tailed and coal(pictured) are flocking together for many pairs of eyes are more likely to spot predators and also help when foraging as natural food becomes scarce.

Very soon now, foxes will begin their nightly noisy courtship routines while grey squirrels, early breeders, are even now chasing one another up, down and around trees.

At the London Wetland Centre,a very late brood of mallard ducklings has hatched and red admiral butterflies have been seen.

So, if this be spring, can winter be far behind ?