Countryside Rangers Diary
July
Noon in high summer, and barely a breath of wind stirs the grass. This is what we can look forward to this month.
Little is moving in the countryside as the sun heats everything, the best time for wildlife-watching occur early or late in the day, when the dew is still on the grass, the air is fresh and fewer people are out and about.
Get belly-down with the reptiles !!
Pick a day when the sun is strong early in the morning, you may be lucky to see them warming up in the suns first rays of the day.
You may see an adder (Vipera berus), which is our most widespread snake. The slow worm (Anguis fragilis) (which is actually a lizard) is often found on the boarders of grassland or of woodland. They prefer the damper areas; they may venture out after rain or in the evening.
The grass snake (Natrix natrix) is an egg-layer. The female may hang around where she has layed her eggs, which is usually in or around rotting vegetation, why not check your own compost heap. The warm weather and the heat from the decomposing vegetation provide the snake clutches of up to 40 leathery-skinned eggs with perfect incubation conditions.
Vegetation hollows create sheltered hotspots and so look along the edges of the footpaths. When you are walking long the paths and you hear an energetic rustle you have probably passed a highly-strung common lizard (Lacterta vivipara). If you focus your attention on this spot (try not to cast your shadow over the area) it will in most instances creep back into place.
Aerial Acrobatics !!
Many of this years young raptors (birds of prey) have left the nest, they still have much to learn. Young tawny owls, looking like awkward feathered gnomes, are often found in daylight perched in obvious places. Please leave them should you find one, the parents are usually keeping an eye on their unruly youngsters.
Young buzzards, kestrels and sparrowhawks are easily spotted as they sit on fence posts and in trees wailing for food.
Peregrine falcons often visit the park, the parents often pass food to the youngsters in mid air, and the aerial displays of these birds are hard to beat.
Enjoy the sunshine, sit back and watch!