Go wild this week

Autumn is a fantastic time to get out and enjoy wildlife. The weather is delightfully cold and crisp, it's breathtakingly beautiful and there is just so much going on.

Birds such as starlings and knot are beginning to gather in huge flocks, creating some of the best wildlife spectacles of the year.

Male deer are engaging in dramatic battles to win the right to mate with the females. Grey seals are giving birth to their gorgeous white pups and struggling to raise them in some horrific conditions. And that's not to mention the beautiful colours created by leaves changing colour, trees bursting with fruit, and fungi sprouting from the ground.

"I always think of autumn as being like nature's final firework display before the winter," says Kate. "It's full of fantastic colours and there's lots of activity from all our birds and mammals getting ready for winter."

And because Autumnwatch is all about you, the audience, and getting involved, we want to help you to get as much out of autumn wildlife as possible; from simply getting out and enjoying the season, to getting stuck in and doing something to help wildlife where you live.

Now that the programme goes out once a week on a Friday, it's even easier to get involved. In the shows, we showcase the best autumn wildlife, which you can then go out and enjoy for yourself over the weekend, as Chris explains: "The programme will be full of ideas of what you can do the following morning, and the morning after that, with you, and your mates, and your family, so that you can go to the places that we've been and see the same sorts of spectacles."

There are so many ways to enjoy British wildlife in autumn. Even simply going for a walk through the autumn leaves can give great pleasure, as Kate suggests: "The leaves are falling and there's nothing more fun than walking along kicking leaves – so if you do nothing else this weekend, go kick some leaves. It's a really great time to enjoy wild Britain before we all shut down for the winter."

But if you're looking for something a bit more organised, there are plenty of ways you can find it. From fungal forays to wader safaris, the Breathing Places Event Finder will show you some of the fantastic nature-themed events and activities going on near you this autumn. All you need to do is put your postcode into the search box and we'll do the rest.

Wildlife organisations all over the country put on events of all kinds, for people of all ages to take part in. The RSPB are running over 100 feed the birds day events across the UK this weekend as well as lots of other autumn events throughout the season. The Wildlife Trusts have bases all over the country, and they have an extensive programme of events, as do the National Trust and Natural England.

But if you fancy going it alone, there are so many places you can go to have some autumnal wild encounters or to catch an autumn spectacle. Below are some links to help you to find autumn wildlife near you:

From the BBC:

Nature's Calendar: Wildlife locations and spectacles

BBC Wales: Places to go

Nature's top 40: British wildlife spectacles

Grey seals are pupping at this time of year. Here are some good places to see them:

Blakeney Point, Norfolk

Farne Islands, Northumberland

Donna Nook, Lincolnshire

Cardigan Bay, Ceredigion

Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli), Gwynedd

Isle of May

Monach Isles

Murlough National Nature Reserve, County Down

Starlings are gathering in huge numbers this time of year. Here are some good places to see them:

Marazion Marsh, Cornwall

Shapwich Heath, Somerset

Westhay Moor, Somerset

West Pier, Brighton

Eastbourne Pier

Slimmbridge, Gloucestershire

Conwy Reserve, North Wales Blackpool Pier

Leighton Moss, Lancashire

Gretna Green, Scotland

Albert Bridge, Belfast

The fallow deer rut peaks in mid October, and there are lots of places where you can see it. They are common in woodlands and parklands throughout the UK. Good places to see them are National Parks or Royal Parks and Forestry Commission woodland

Other places to see the rut are:

Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire

The Ashridge Estate, Hertfordshire

Petworth House & Park, West Sussex

New Forest

Margam Park, Wales