October Nature Journal

Enjoy my October nature journal pages - filled with seasonal nature journaling ideas to inspire you for your own journaling hobby...

These are my journal pages from October 2024, from my village in East Yorkshire, UK.

I hope that my sharing my nature journal pages with you, you will be able to get ideas and inspiration for ways to approach your own nature journaling.

I like to do 'imperfect' nature journaling - drawing and journaling for the enjoyment of doing it and to help me feel connected with nature, which is essential for well-being.

Click 'Play' above to watch me flick through my nature journal pages for the month.

You can take a closer look at all the pages below...

October Nature Journal Pages

Enjoy looking at my October nature journal pages - I hope they inspire you for your own nature journaling...

Birds recently spotted

I decided to start my October nature journal pages with a page about the birds I'd recently spotted - the weather has changed and there's a distinctly autumnal feel to the air. The Red Kites have returned and I see them often flying over the fields. Also the pheasants are now stalking through the stubble of the barley fields. The robin and sparrows have also returned to the back garden after a long summer absence.

Sunflower

This year, we've also seen lots of sunflowers in the fields around the village - such a wonderful sight with their cheerful yellow faces smiling up at the sun. One of the farms was selling sunflowers so I got a small bunch so that I could enjoy them and also draw one for my nature journal. I've now put the old flower heads out in the garden in the hope that the seeds will develop and feed the birds.

Bergenia ('Elephant's Ears')

My Bergenia in my garden is also in flower right at the moment - it's in a dark and shady corner, in a big pot - but it's currently looking beautiful with a thick red stem and pretty pink flowers and huge round 'Elephant's Ears' leaves.

Colourful Autumn leaf

I spotted this goegeous Autumn leaf on a walk - the colour really popped against the green grass, so I picked it up and brought it home to do a colour study in my nature journal. I focused on trying to get the right colours as I drew my leaf with my coloured pencils. I'm hoping it's a good season for leaf colour and I can find a few more lovely leaves for my nature journal...

Baby bumpy squash

This amazing baby bumpy squash was another find on my walk (another purchase from a village farm) - it's a very sweet little squash with these wonderful bumps all over and a very unusual feature of being the top half orange, like a pumpkin, and the bottom half green, like a marrow!

I did quite a lot of research to try and find out if it was a special type of squash, but all I could find out is that it's likely a hybrid, with one 'parent' one variety and one 'parent' another. I've no idea why or how it's half and half green and orange (I don't think it's just halfway through ripening, but it's still possible) or if the green and orange split could be in different patterns. That's something I'll have to find out for another day - or please do let me know if you know!

Little brown mushrooms

I actually did this page over 2 days, drawn from photos of these wonderful little brown mushrooms taken two days apart. The later ones were quite different looking from the first day, which is one of the reasons that it's so hard to identify mushrooms and fungi.

I believe these are the Goldenhaired Inkcap mushrooms (Parasola auricoma).

Capturing the Northern Lights (Aurora borealis) in my nature journal

This next October nature journal entry is a very special one as it's one that I made to remember my very special sighting of the Northern Lights (Aurora borealis). That was on the evening of 10th October when the level of activity was classed as 'extreme' and people across the north of England were able to see the Northern Lights by eye, even in streets, villages and towns.

I have seen the Northern Lights before (in Spring this year, 2024) but then they were visible only as a slight glow by eye (and not much better on my phone camera, although others got photos that were much better). This time, we spotted them as a green and purple glow over street-lit houses while walking the dog in the evening, then got a much better look from our own back bedroom window (overlooking dark fields) later in the evening when a big burst of red could be seen in the sky with the naked eye and with the camera, we got this...

Aurora borealis, 10th October 2024

At first, I wasn't sure I was going to put it in my October nature journal as I didn't see how I could record such a beautiful natural wonder adequately - but then I also thought about how could I not record such an event...

I've been hoping to see the Northern Lights for decades and always wondering if I'd ever get to see them - to see them with the naked eye, and even better from my own window and in my own village is nothing short of amazing and the experience of a lifetime for me.

So I decided not to think too much about it and just go ahead and record it in my nature journal with coloured pencil. I'm aware this isn't the ideal medium for recording such a phenomenon but it's what was to hand and what I like to use in my nature journal, so I just started and thought I'd see what happened.

I'm not sure that my Northern Lights drawing looks very much like the real thing, but it really brought home to me the value of the process of nature journaling. Seeing the Northern Lights was an amazing and memorable experience for me. I already had photos, lots! But getting my pencil crayon in my hand, making my drawing and writing about the experience made it feel more real, more precious, and more lodged in my heart. I know I won't ever forget this now.

It's like in making it part of my nature journal - the physical drawing and writing of it - I've made it a part of me, my own self - and I think that this journaling experience has really underlined the magic of nature journaling for me and why and how it works to help us feel connected with nature.

I hope you feel like this too!

Flat frilly mushrooms

I'll be honest, my next nature journal page after this did feel like a bit of a come down after the high of the Northern Lights, but I spotted this funny-looking flat, frilly-edged mushrooms on one of my walks. They were quite close to the ground, in a grassy pathway, just two of them. I photographed them to draw and investigate later - and although I enjoyed drawing them (those frilly gills were a bit of a nightmare to try and draw!) I'm not sure I was able to identify this mystery mushroom. iNaturalist suggested 'Fairy Ring Champignon' mushrooms but I have my doubts about this so as an inexperienced mushroom spotter I'm still none the wiser and could not find them again when I went back to look.

Chioggia beetroot

How could I not draw this amazing heritage beetroot in my nature journal? It's a Chioggia beetroot (named after an Italian town) and although it looks like a normal beetroot on the outside, inside it's striped magenta pink and white (my drawing is a little brighter than the photo shows). When cut into chunks, the beetroot looked like candy! It was lovely to eat, too, very sweet. If you get the chance to get some, do!

Poppies in October

With the autumn days drawing in, I'm definitely on the lookout for any bright splash of flowers, so I was very pleased to see these vibrant red poppies growing in a clump alongside some poppy seedheads. I wonder how long into October, or maybe November, the poppy flowers will last?

Hedgehog

I think this is only the second or third time I've ever seen a hedgehog in our current garden (of 20 years) - the previous time has also been in the last 6 months. Spotted on the driveway in the evening - but s/he scuttled away as soon as I came out. Drawn from a stock photo to commemorate my special nature sighting. Did you know that a hedgehog has around 5-7,000 spines?

I wonder when this ('my') hedgehog will hibernate away for the winter..? Some autumn leaves might help - so it's time for the 'Lovely Leaf Parade'...

Autumn leaves nature journal pages

I've been spotting a lot of autumn leaves this week and we've had a very windy few days, so there's lots of lovely yellow and orange leaves, all crunchy on the ground which have been fun to walk through and get into the vibe of autumn! I picked up some of my favourites and rather than drawing them, decided to actually stick them in my nature journal instead. 

Leaf from the Ginkgo biloba tree, top right

I've tried to preserve these leaves in wax, by ironing the leaves between two sheets of wax paper. I'm hoping it's worked okay and they'll last well. I'm hoping it helps preserve the colour of the leaves and stop them disintegrating. I might need to be very careful with this page in future!

Autumn leaf colours - the top two leaves are actually white on the back - I'm unsure of which type of tree they're from

After including these leaves in my nature journal, I started noticing leaves more and decided to include some more in my nature journal but to try drawing them this time to look more closely at the vein patterns and the beautiful autumn colours...

Ginkgo biloba leaf

This is the first time I think I've seen a Ginkgo biloba leaf up close and it was fascinating. I tried to draw the veins in but later, on researching it, I discovered that the leaf shape is unique and not all the veins actually go to the base of the leaf. There's actually only a couple and the many veins are created by the veins splitting repeatedly in two. This is an ancient kind of leaf and leaf fossils similar to Ginkgo biloba date from 170 million years ago, with fossils from the plant family from nearly 300 million years ago!

White poplar leaves

These are leaves from a White poplar tree that we walk past every day. All summer it shimmers with its pale leaves moving in the breeze, then in autumn, these magical-looking white leaves fall to the ground - but when you turn them over the front-side is a muddy green and brown colour. The white reverse side of the leaf is soft and furry, with a texture similar to brushed suede.

In ancient times, the white poplar tree was viewed as sacred to the Roman god Hercules and the Greek gods and goddesses Hades, Herakles, Zeus and Persephone.

Sycamore maple leaf

I collected some huge sycamore leaves from a walk and decided to draw around this one to show its size and to attempt to draw and take a look at the main vein patterns. The crunchy leaves and darker evenings made me think of bonfire nights!

Oak leaves

I also collected some oak leaves from the ground around an oak tree I walk past every day as it was really interesting to see the variety of sizes and shapes - these leaves are drawn around and are all from the same oak tree.

I also collected acer leaves from three different acer trees in my back garden. The leaves are just starting to turn pretty colours and fall. My patio table is completely covered with these acer leaves at the moment - soon to turn into a pile of slimy sludge if I don't wipe them off! These are three different varieties of the same type of tree - acer - and they do look quite different, although there are also similarities. The acer leaf on the top left is from a tree which is red all year round. If you like autumn colours, I recommend an acer tree - they're pretty, dainty, and don't grow too tall so they're suitable for small gardens - the leaf colours are gorgeous!

Honey fungus

These huge mushrooms sprang up by a neighbour's fence. The largest cap was around 15-20cm in diameter (around 6-8 inches) and there were lots of them all clumped together, gathering leaves in their upturned tops. Very impressive fungi! After a little research, I suspect it's Honey fungus - which although I've entitled it 'Fabulous fungi' here is not so fabulous after all as it turns out it can be quite a parasite and can cause damage and death to trees!

Goldfinch

My final October nature journal entry is a little goldfinch that I drew from a copyright-free photo reference - I'd walked in the fields in the morning and seen a little flock of goldfinches flitting from thistle to thistle ahead of me. It was nice as it felt like they were accompanying me as I walked (they were really running away from me!). And it's always lovely to see these really pretty, colourful little birds.

I hope you've enjoyed browsing through my October nature journal pages with me. My highlight of the month was definitely the Northern Lights. Spying a little hedgehog in my garden was pretty special too! I've also been surprised by how many flowers are still about, which is also nice to get to draw flowers, still, in October.

As I suspected, autumn leaves and fungi do feature strongly in my October nature journal pages. I think it's pretty special to be able to notice what's special about each season - through doing this we can more easily feel connected with nature which helps to improve our well being.

I've also noticed more birds about and I wonder if I will see more birds going into November and the winter months..?

If my October nature journal has inspired you and you're ready to get started with your own nature journaling, take a look at my main nature journaling page here...

I also have a free guide to 'Getting Started with your First Nature Journal' here...

As well as a short online course filled with exercises for your nature journal which will help you to find what to journal about and discover your own personal nature journaling style as well as develop your own nature journaling habit. It's called 'Imperfect Nature Journaling' as we do it to discover nature and feel more connected with nature for our own personal wellbeing, rather than have to worry about making perfect journal pages. Find out more about the course here...

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If you'd like to explore nature journaling more, please consider joining me for my 'Imperfect Nature Journaling' online course - I've called it this to remind us to nature journal for the process of connecting with nature to feel good and not to put pressure on ourselves to create pretty pages...

It's a series of 20 lessons or exercises that you can do in your own nature journal to help you try out different ideas and techniques to help you get the most out of your nature journaling sessions and understand what style of nature journaling is the best for you personally.

If this sounds like something you might like, you can find out more about the course here...