I ALWAYS have mixed feelings when late summer gives way to autumn.

I don't like the nights closing in but the autumn bird migrations are often spectacular. It is at times like this that I plan visits to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust reserves which are spread throughout Britain. The trust has its headquarters at Slimbridge, in Gloucestershire, but there are other bases at Welney, in Cambridgeshire, and at Washington, near Sunderland.

There is Caerlaverock in south western Scotland which, during October until late March, has great flocks of barnacle geese. Less than an hour from East Lancashire, however, there is Martin Mere, between Burscough and Southport.

This wonderful place consists of 380 acres of wetland providing winter feeding and roosting grounds for thousands of pink-footed geese and whooper swans.

Martin Mere also has an area devoted to the study of captive birds, many of them endangered. Among the species which have bred successfully are Hawaiian geese and Chilean flamingoes, while Australian black swans, which are not rare although very beautiful, raise chicks each year.

Autumn migration is also a time to spend in your local area. School playing fields, local woodlands and especially reservoirs, rivers, canals and moorlands, provide feeding and roosting areas for tired migrant birds. This is also a time for naturalists to be patient. If you think you have seen a rare bird, please watch it from a distance. Do not "chase it" to get a better view. The poor bird will be very tired and hungry. We should not use up the precious calories which the bird needs to stay alive.

I honestly believe that the most exciting time in Britain for birdwatchers is the period between October and Christmas, especially during and just after periods of high winds.

Coastal birdwatching during this time is likely to be especially rewarding, but other productive places will be around our local reservoirs such as Foulridge, Rishton or Stocks in Bowland.