If you have walked in the woods recently, you might well have noticed a seasonal crunch. Not the crisp sound of dried fallen leaves but the gritty crunch of acorns.
If there seems to be an abundance of fallen acorns, it is national occurance. Great news for squirrels. Hopefully great news for some self-seeding oak saplings in the years ahead too.
When there are lots of fruit or nuts it is known as a ‘mast year’ which happens around once every four years according to the National Trust here.
Dr Andrew Hacket Pain, from the University of Liverpool, said a mast year happened due to a combination of factors including the weather, with the warm and dry spring this year promoting the pollination of oak flowers.
Last week was the World Conker Championship took place in Northampton (yes, really). The local conker harvest was early this year and there was concern about availability of championship nuts. However suitable nuts were sourced nationwide for the contest to go ahead. Again, weather conditions over the summer were thought to have caused the early fall.
BBC News dedicated a live updates page to the World Conker Championship event and filmed key rounds and the finals with commentary which you can view (yes, really) The BBC reported it was a triumph for the newly crowned King and Queen Conker. You can find out more and watch the key contests here
So it has been a good year for all types of nuts (yes, really).