Mid summer is a fantastic time to get outdoors and explore new places with wildlife of all shapes and sizes out there waiting to be discovered, so what to look for and where?
Well, given all of the rain of late, lets start with wetlands! Ponds, riverbanks and marshes are all going to be brimming with life in July. Watch where you are treading though as some of that life includes tiny froglets which will be moving away from the water and into the grass during damp weather. The whole ground can feel like its moving at times! July is a great time to see dragon and damsel flies on the wing, look for the big brown hawkers, their rusty coloured wings glistening in the sunlight. Keep an eye out for other strange looking flies such as caddis and stoneflies that might be perching on marginal vegetation.
Swift nestlings are approaching fledging during July and it won't be long after they make their first flight before they head away from our shores towards the warmer south. Make the most of watching their dazzling aerial displays overhead as they gather in big flocks. Keep an eye out for the hobby, an aerial predator that can pursue and capture even dragonflies and swifts, their young will also be approaching fledging soon and the parents will be working hard to keep them fed. The cold and damp conditions will have made their lives really tricky so far.
Richard Allen (rspb-images.com)
Many garden and woodland birds are becoming increasingly difficult to spot at this time of year as they take their young into dense foliage and are now singing less often. Although it might be a bit quieter now with regards to bird activity in gardens, woodland rides and along hedgerows, there is still plenty going on. Bramble flowers are a major attraction to bees, some attractive beetles including longhorns and butterflies, meadow browns and comma's seem to be over every patch of bramble I have come across recently! Despite the wet summer so far, the few warm and dry days we have seen have tempted out good numbers of some of our more common but still stunning species like the ringlet, small copper and marbled white in grassy areas. It's definitely one of the best times of year to try to get some close up views of butterflies, but be warned, spiders are growing fast and will be hiding in the foliage, you may be lucky enough to come across some eye catching arachnids.
Grahame Madge (rspb-images.com)
If small wonders are not your thing then the late summer is a good time to spot deer prior to their autumn rutting season, heathlands are a good place to watch this wildlife spectacle. If size of numbers is more your thing then maybe a trip to the coast is the place to be with lots of gannets, auks and manx shearwaters moving up and down the coasts, often coming close to shore to feed. The late summer months also bring the largest fish in our waters close to shore, the basking shark, although you may need to get on a boat to get the best views.
Where are you going in July and what wildlife do you hope to see? We would love to hear from you! If you want some inspiration or just fancy trying out somewhere new, have a look at our reserves pages here. If you want to share your pictures and trip reports we have a forum for just that on our communities called where to watch wildlife. You can also post your questions on the forum about what to watch and where to watch it and we'll try our best to help.