Swallows, Swifts & House Martins are back and nesting under eaves.
Dragonflies and damselflies are now a regular sight around water including ponds/ditches and along the River Wey and Canal. Kingfishers can also be seen darting along the river at low level no doubt taking food back to the nest with the first brood about to fledge – probably your best chance to see a young kingfisher perched on a branch while they work out the dangers of life.
You’ll also see young Coots & Moorhens together with Mallard ducklings, Canadian Geese goslings and Mute Swan cygnets.
Flower meadows are in full bloom with a plethora of butterflies and other insects – essential food for birds. Roadside verges are also in bloom where they have been left un-mown, an equally important habitat for insects and small animals.
Hobbies will be flying up and down the River Wey catching dragonflies in dramatic aerial displays. Swifts, Swallows & later-on Bats are catching insects as they dance in the evening sky.
Deer have given birth to fawns which will be carefully concealed in the long grass. Young Foxes and Badger cubs can be seen at dusk playing in the last of the summer light.
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- Stag Beetles mating
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- Grass Snake
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- Beetle in a poppy
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- Roe Deer & fawns
Things to do
- Take evening walks to see Barn Owls hunting in long evenings along the River Wey and its adjacent wetland areas or Fox cubs playing in the meadows.
- Young birds are calling for food from the bushes & hedges everywhere so its important to resist the temptation to prune excessively – you might expose their nest or presence to predators such as domestic cats.