Things to look our for in august

A slow worm

Roe deer`s are very territorial in the summer and rut during August, They are not as aggressive as the red and fallow deer ruts. The two male (bucks) roe deers do not normally fight they just normally walk around in circles which are called roe rings. They then win the right to mate with the female (doe) who will decide when they mate. The kids are born in June because the does have delayed implantation of the embryo which i will talk about in a later blog. Grass snakes and slow worms have their young during august, The grass snakes hatch out of their eggs and slow worms break out of the membrane that they are born in. Rough grass lands,heath and woodlands are some of the places they may be seen. Look at the oak trees you will see a second growth of the year. New fresh stems and leaves at the tips of the branches. These are known as the lammas growth. They are called the lammas growth because it ties in with the pagan festival of lammas. By the end of August toads will be heading back to their hibernation sites. These sites could be as close as the rockery in the back of your garden. August is a great time of the year to look out for cinnabar moths.Their caterpillar's have been enjoying life on common ragwort but now its time for the adult`s to take over. They may be seen in meadows and espeicially on knapweed. Crickets and grass hoppers can be seen and heard during August. Grass hoppers have short antennae and crickets have long atennae. The common green grass hopper can be heard during August if you have a keen ear.(all the crickets and grasshoppers have different calls) The common green grasshopper is smaller and greener than common field grass hopper and can be found in grassy areas throughout Britain. Rowan berries ripen this month and their distinctive red colouration brightens up our countryside and tells us all that Autumn is around the corner. Longhorn beetles, Woodmice, Bumble bees, Common wasps and speckled wood butterflies enjoy the splender of blackberries that are amongst our hedgerows during August. When you go out blackberry picking remember to leave some for our friends in the hedgerows. Willow herb flowers are full of lovely colours this month along with may weeds. Listen out for shrews while taking a stroll in the country side, Shrews have a high pitched squeak and they can often be heard as they run through the tunnels in the long grass searching for earthworms and invertbrates. Because shrews have to find almost their own bodyweight in food everyday to survive they are always on the move looking for prey to eat. Look out for brimstone butterflies as they look for food on sunny days before they get ready to hibernate. The brimstone butterfly is the only member of the white (pierinae) family to hibernate, All the other member which also includes the yellows (coliadinae) and a sub-family (dismorphiinae) of which the wood white is the only British member hibernate as chrsalises. House martins and swallows may be having late broods this year as they were quite late arriving. They will be fine though, They will start migrating along with swifts during late September and early October.

A muntjac deer.