Summer is a great time to see insects, catching the eye with their dazzling array of colours and patterns. At the ponds, the wings of Dragonflies and Damselflies shimmer in the sun as they skim the water’s surface. See if you can spot the red flash of a rare Small Red Damselfly.
In the heather and gorse, you’ll find lots of beautiful butterflies like the:
- Silver-studded Blue
- Small Copper
- Green-veined White
- Grayling
- Small Heath
- Silver-washed Fritillary
Along the sandy banks, keep an eye out for the nesting burrows of the female Bee Wolf, a wasp that hunts honeybees. These burrows can be up to a metre long! The Green Tiger beetle, a fierce insect hunter, also stalks the sandy paths. Listen for the buzzing song of the Heath grasshopper, a rare insect found only in Dorset and the New Forest.
By summer, the young mammals are beginning to grow and mature. Badger cubs born at the end of winter start to leave the set to learn to forage. Fox cubs too begin to explore their environment and perfect their hunting skills. You might spot them during the day as they try to stock up on food for the winter.
On hot days, there isn't a lot of shade on the heath. Reptiles like Smooth snakes, the UK's rarest reptile, take shelter from the sun amongst the heather and gorse. But some, like Adders, can be spotted basking on the paths in the early morning and evening. See if you can spot the bowl-shaped nests of Linnets amongst the gorse bushes. These small, colourful birds can often raise two broods a year in early and late summer. Overhead, look out for Hobby’s circling in the blue skies above. These birds spend winter in Africa but come back to the UK to breed in the summer.
The plants at Avon Heath are also beautiful in the summer, blooming into a rainbow of colour. See if you can spot the vibrant green of rare Adder’s Tongue Fern, bright Yellow Bartsia and the stunning deep purples of the Green-winged Orchid. The Deptford Pink is a very special plant, only found in around 15 sites in the UK, including here at Avon Heath. Keep an eye out too for the masterful mimicry of the Bee Orchid.
On very warm summers days, listen for the ‘pop’ of the Gorse as their seed pods rip open in the hot sun. In the wet areas of the heath, look for spots of bright red in the spongy Sphagnum Moss revealing the strange but beautiful, carnivorous Sundew. These incredible plants devour insects, trapping them in its sticky jaws.
As the sun gets low over the heath, listen out for the distinctive churring call of the Nightjar filling the still evening air. If you’re lucky, you may even spot a male Woodcock’s flight display. Known as ‘roding’, it patrols over its heathland territory making squeaking and grunting calls. As darkness falls, moths like the stunning Purple-bordered Gold moth and Emperor moth begin to emerge. You might spot their predators, the Common and Soprano Pipistrelle and Serotine bats.