Look Up! Look Down!
Nature Journaling the World Around Us

Find nature journaling inspiration in the world around you...

Sometimes the best nature-journaling inspiration comes from simply changing where we look. From geese calling overhead and unexpected colours in the night sky to fallen seeds, feathers and a surprise visitor in the garden, it turns out that there's a whole world of little discoveries waiting above our heads and beneath our feet.

Here's what caught my attention this October, when I found myself looking up, looking down, and occasionally just looking out of the kitchen window…

Looking Up - October's Changing Skies

Greylag Goose

October began with all the feels of summer, despite the autumn season, with sunny days that felt surprisingly unseasonal when the dark evenings started pushing their way into the season, letting us know that the year is turning, whether the weather knows it or not…

The sound of geese is also a now-familiar indicator that the year has changed and the birds are travelling to their winter homes.

I love to hear the geese – and since I started using Merlin Bird app I can now identify (with the app's help) which geese are flying over. Here, it’s both Greylag and Pink-footed geese.

We had a lovely experience early one morning out on our walk when a flock of pink-footed geese flew low, right overhead…

Pink-footed Geese

We'd thought the three geese flying separately behind were stragglers, perhaps young or elderly - but then they subtly changed direction, honking out their calls, and the whole flock changed course to join them. Perhaps they were helping guide the others? I don't know, but it was fascinating to watch.

I love how nature journaling encourages me to pay more attention to these little encounters. Once I've noticed something interesting, I find myself looking out for it again.

We even saw a flock of greylags settled in a nearby field as we were walking the local rail trail – they were quiet and could have remained unnoticed if we hadn’t been looking. It felt special to see the geese that we normally see in the air, settled on the ground, quite close – as if we had been admitted to an inner circle to see them so near.

Spotting a flock of geese in a field

A chattering that I thought was magpies, turned out to be the redwings, arrived to feast on our autumn berries - now that I know they’re here, I’ve been looking out in the fields and hedgerows to see if I can spot them as well as hear them. It's funny how something can suddenly become much more noticeable once you know what you're listening for.

Redwing

The throaty call of a raven led to us looking up on our walk at sunrise and spotting two beautiful black ravens flying past – one a little behind the other, so that they called regularly to each other before turning and heading back the way they’d come.

Two ravens

We’ve spotted them a couple of times now, like this, in the same place, at sunrise, so we imagine that they’re taking an early-morning tour of their territory – we see them heading back towards the location where we saw them once before.

And high up in the sky, four Red Kites, circling together. We often see red kites around the village during the winter months (they seem to go elsewhere for summer). We’ve never seen four together before, here, though…

Red Kite

Two seemed smaller, and we wondered if they might be young birds from this year. Later, only the two smaller kites remained. Were they a family group? I don't know, but I'll be interested to see whether we spot them again.

A rare treat in the skies led to looking up to admire the northern lights – a beautiful aurora happening exactly two years since the last major occurrence (see how I recorded that in my nature journal here).

While last time, I was able to see reds in the sky by eye, this time, it was a green glow in the sky towards the north (slightly north-west), captured in unspectacular style by my mediocre phone camera and enhanced in metallic coloured pencils in my journal.

Recording the aurora in metallic coloured pencils in my nature journal

I thought it would be fun to draw it on black paper to represent the darkness and night sky, with the metallic pencils to give that shimmering quality. The metallic pencils were my way of remembering how extraordinary it felt, even if the actual glow was much subtler than I'd hoped.

Looking Down - Seeds, Nuts and Little Autumn Treasures

At certain times of the year, it’s wonderful to be able to find little nature treasures waiting on the ground as you walk and if you're looking for nature journal ideas, the ground beneath your feet can be a wonderful place to start…

While the skies were busy with birds coming and going, the ground beneath the trees was telling its own autumn story.

At the beginning of the month, the pavement outside our house was crunchy with little beechnuts – these tiny capsules are miniature wonders, prickly on the outside but with soft, velvety inners.

Beech nuts

The beech tree is often referred to as the ‘Queen’ or ‘Mother’ of the woods, or the 'Queen of Trees'.

And further up the street in our village, several huge horse chestnut trees dropped their conkers to the ground – this year, the conkers are large, plump and firm, some still nestled in their silken white cases.

I’m far too old to be playing conkers, but I still love to collect the beautiful glossy brown conkers and bring them home to admire. It’s said that conkers repel spiders (which they don’t) – however, interestingly, they may repel moths due to a chemical ‘triterpenoid saponins’ which they contain.

Conkers

Folklore proclaims that long prickles foretell a harsh winter – I don’t know if the prickles this year are long or not (perhaps I should measure them each year as a scientific study) so I guess I will have to just wait and see what weather the coming winter brings.

This time of year, the ground is full of colourful autumn leaves, too – sometimes crispy, sometimes soggy. I’ve been attempting to paint autumn leaves in watercolour as part of a Botanical Illustration course I’m studying at the moment, so I thought I’d practice sketching a couple in my nature journal…

Sycamore leaf

My illustration course is making me appreciate the more relaxed attitude to sketching in my nature journal where drawing is just for enjoyment and no-one is judging me on the results!

I’m still enjoying improving my drawing and painting skills though, even if the process of learning can be frustrating sometimes.

It's also a nice reminder that my nature journal doesn't have to be a place where I practise being a better artist - it can simply be somewhere I enjoy looking more closely.

Oak leaf

In a quiet hedgerow, along the rail trail, the translucent silver pennies of Honesty caught my eye – I love these pretty seedheads – the plant is said to be named for the seedheads which ‘truthfully’ show the seeds and were once believed to attract prosperity so planted by doorways or kept in purses.

Honesty

My final treasure – a shiny pheasant’s feather, found along the rail trail. On identifying it, I discovered that this type of feather, with the pale inner pattern following the shape of the outer edge is called a ‘church window’ feather – it belongs to the handsome and glossy male pheasant and is ‘body contour’ feather, a small feather covering the pheasant’s back, flanks, or rear end.

Pheasant feather with 'church window' pattern

I love how picking up something as ordinary as a feather can lead you to discover a name or detail you never knew before.

October Garden Visitors

The hot days in October have tempted quite a few birds to visit my bird bath, positioned on a small patio table just outside my kitchen window.

The woodpigeon has been sat in it, cooling off (I didn’t get chance to draw this), the robin has visited, and also this very sweet little house sparrow who I managed to photograph and draw – she was dipping her head down, opening her wings and splashing around.

House sparrow, enjoying a splash in the bird bath

I also tried to video her out of the window but timed it wrong and just got the moment after she’d flown away – and some floor and kitchen table for good measure, as well!

Another October visitor was the biggest surprise – a grey squirrel. Although they’re common in many gardens, I’ve never seen one in our tiny garden, in over twenty years of living here…

So imagine my surprise as I was just at the kitchen sink, washing an apple as an afternoon snack, to see a squirrel scampering up and down the trees there and along the fence – he came right up to the house and I was surprised at how big he was close to.

Grey squirrel

We do have a couple of hazelnuts on our hazel tree, so perhaps that's what he was after. Or maybe he was simply exploring somewhere new. Whatever the reason, I hope he visits again!

And it just goes to show that even after twenty years of looking out at the same little garden, there's still something new to discover.

Although this October has still seemed warmer than usual, there are plenty of signs of the seasons changing - geese calling overhead, redwings arriving for the winter, nuts and seedheads falling, and little treasures like a beautiful pheasant's feather waiting to be found.

Nature journaling isn't always the same in every season. Sometimes nature is right in front of our noses, waiting to be noticed, and sometimes we have to seek a little further - looking up, looking down, or simply taking a closer look at something familiar.

I certainly didn't expect to see a squirrel in my garden after more than twenty years, or to find myself watching geese change direction overhead. But perhaps that's one of the loveliest things about keeping a nature journal - it reminds me that there's always something happening in the natural world, whether I've noticed it yet or not.

So if you're ever wondering what to put in your nature journal, perhaps try looking in a different direction. What's happening above your head? What's waiting beneath your feet? You might be surprised by what you discover.

You can see more ideas for nature journaling as part of everyday life, on this page...

If you'd like to be inspired by some nature journal prompts, you can find one for every week of the year, here...

If you're just starting nature journal, check out my tips and ideas for beginner journaling here... 

I also have a free guide to help you get started here...

You might also like to explore my previous October nature journal pages, here and here...

Or just dive into my main nature journal hub here for everything nature journaling.

Deepen Your Nature Journaling Practice

Deepen your nature journaling practice with me...

If you’ve enjoyed my nature journaling reflections, you might also like my 20-lesson course, Imperfect Nature Journaling.

It’s a gently structured, self-paced journey designed to help you:

• Slow down and notice more deeply
• Build confidence in drawing and observing
• Create a calming journaling ritual you can return to
• Feel more connected to the seasons and the natural world

No perfection required. Just curiosity and a notebook.

You can explore the course here whenever you’re ready...

P.S. If you’re just beginning - or would like something quieter and more simple to start with - you might first like to get started with my free 'Getting Started' guide or gain momentum with my 'Gentle Introduction' guide to help you through your first few pages - here...

Shall we stay in touch..?

Each month, I share stories from my own nature journal, new art from my studio, and simple seasonal inspiration to help you feel more connected with the turning year - if you'd like to stay updated, please sign up with your email address below...

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Lotti Brown is a self-taught nature artist and nature journaling educator whose hand-drawn work is inspired by wildlife, folklore, and close observation. With 18 years in creative fields and 10 years creating nature art, she brings deep practical experience to her work. Trained by the Wild Wonder Foundation, she shares nature journaling courses and guides online. Her artwork has been licensed internationally and exhibited at Goole Museum and Bridlington Spa in the East Riding of Yorkshire, UK.