Students

Welcome Student Members!

dragonfly

July is a wonderful time to get outside and explore the natural world. The days are long and hopefully warmer than they have been this past June, flowers are in full bloom and wildlife is bustling with activity from butterflies and bees, to fledging chicks!

12^th of July to the 4^th of August is the Big Butterfly Count - See our Things to Do section below for more information.

Dragonflies are another majestic flying insect to try and spot in July. Did you know they were one of the first winged insects to evolve around 300 million years ago! You might find some near bodies of water, because they are aquatic when in their larval stage and then emerge as adults taking hours or days to dry out and harden their wings.

If you go to a pond, why not try some pond/river dipping while you are there. Be sure to have an adult accompany you on your dipping adventures. The river in Elizabeth Gardens or Laverstock Community Farm are great options. All you need is a net and bucket, scoop up some water and see what creatures you find. Look for tadpoles, pond skaters and tiny water beetles. Just make sure to gently return them back to their home.

You can also go for a walk in your local park or woodland and look for baby birds and their parents. Bring binoculars and see if you can spot any robin, sparrow or blackbird chicks, just to name a few. You can listen out for their calls too – can you mimic any of them?

With so many flowers in full bloom there are bound to be fallen leaves and petals everywhere so why not turn them into nature art? You can create a collage or press them between books to dry and preserve them and turn into bookmarks or cards.

Things to Do

Big Butterfly Count

Anyone of any age can take part and help scientists understand how climate change is affecting butterflies. There are lots of helpful resources online and even an app to help you practice identifying our British butterflies. For more information visit the website.

Pond Dipping

Make sure that you have permission to look in the pond you have chosen! If you are young, then ask a parent or guardian to accompany you.
You can find most of the equipment you need for pond dipping around the house: a long handled net, mud sieve, empty tub to hold your catches, magnifier, ID guide, wellies, camera and towel.
You will be astounded at what lives even in the smallest of ponds! Return catches gently once you have recorded them.

Nature Art

Know Your Owls

Barn Owl

The Barn Owl is a distinctive and much-loved countryside bird. Widely distributed across the UK it has a heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts. They are avid hunters, scouring open grassland for small mammals such as voles, mice, shrews and rats. They catch prey with ease thanks to their incredible long-distance vision, sensitive hearing and silent flight.

Little Owl

Little Owls usually hunt from a perch, typically a fence post. They like mixed farmland as well as open wooded areas and can be very noisy and territorial. They nest in holes, often in trees and like to use the same nest every year. They are small owls with brown and white colouring and they like to be out and about during the day as well as the evening. They eat a lot of insects.

Tawny Owl

These beautiful owls like woodlands and choose to eat small mammals like mice and shrews. They like to nest in tree holes but don't like buildings. They are the most commonly found owl in the UK and young birds leave the nest very early to sit around nearby so sometimes they can be found on the ground and should always be left alone. They make the classic twit-twoo noise but this is made by a pair of birds calling and answering each other. They also make a "kewick" noise so you can get lots of interesting duets.

Long Eared Owl

The Long-eared owl is one of the rarest native owls. Highly secretive and strictly nocturnal, they choose quiet, isolated areas away from people like woodland or dense hedgerows.

With its long ear tufts, they can't be mistaken for any other owl.

Short Eared Owl

Short-eared owls are not as common as other owls in UK but their numbers are increased by the many winter migrants coming from Scandinavia. They are found in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and North England. The like to hunt small mammals over grasslands at dusk and dawn. They have short ear tufts but are otherwise quite similar to tawny owls.