There are noisy green sandpipers on every scrape and in every ditch (photo by Julian Thomas) 1/3
It is to the insects that August really belongs (photo by Richard Burkmarr) 2/3
In some years large influxes of painted lady butterflies are seen (photo by Pat Adams) 3/3

Wildlife in August

It’s always a surprise in August, when summer still feels as if it’s barely beginning, to find that northern-breeding waders and seabirds are already heading south after their nesting season. In August there are noisy green sandpipers on every scrape and in every ditch, while around the Wash high tides may bring spectacular flocks – numbering tens of thousands – of knot and other waders to shore.

But it is to the insects that August really belongs. Now every patch of short grass is loud with the chirps of field grasshoppers, patches of lank grass are full of the whine of Roesel’s bush-crickets, and in tangles of brambles sound the quiet chirrups of dark bush-crickets. Also chirping now, though less audibly, are plenty of bats. An evening walk with a bat detector on a still night at this time of year is likely to prove successful. Large, fast-flying noctule bats are commonly seen near woods in the last half hour before dusk. After dark, soprano and common pipistrelles are common and low over water it is possible to see Daubenton’s bat flying in straight, purposeful lines. Also after dark, August is a great time of year for running a moth trap and hoping to record a rare migrant species from the continent.

During the day insects are sometimes much in evidence too. At this time of year swarms of second-generation seven-spot ladybirds may occur and in some years large influxes of painted lady butterflies are seen.

Upcoming events

Robert Gillmor Retrospective , Cley and Salthouse Marshes
Sat 17 Feb 2024 - Thu 04 Apr 2024
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Sue Welfare: Coast and Country, Cley and Salthouse Marshes
Wed 27 Mar 2024 - Tue 09 Apr 2024
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