Nature News – July
There’s lots going on in our outside spaces this month! What can you see?
| Animals – Look out for bats in the evening swooping over scented flowers, snapping up insects. Bats are having a tough time finding food to eat, and many of their natural roosting places are being damaged and destroyed. |  |
| Keep an eye out for common pipistrelles – they are one of our smallest bats, weighing the same as 10 paperclips and are small enough to fit in a matchbox! |  |
Have a look at this clip showing how bats hunt for moths, and what the moths do to try to get away!
Our bats are endangered. Maybe you could help them find a safe place to sleep. Ask someone who’s handy to help you make a bat box. This gives bats somewhere safe to roost, raise their pups and sleep during the day.
Birds – Look out for birds feeding their young, who will be starting to fly from their nests (fledglings). Use the Baby Bird Spotter to identify them.
There can be a lot of competition for food among birds, with so many young fledglings on the scene. It’s good to keep your bird feeder topped up.
Insects – Look out for … At dusk you may notice moths visiting honeysuckle and other scented flowers.
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| Plants – Look out for wild flowers (check out our Summer Flower Spotter) and enjoy the colours and smells in your garden this month. |  |
 Water all your plants regularly in the summer – daily if it doesn’t rain. Climate change could bring hotter and drier summers.
Plants from the Mediterranean, which often have grey leaves, are good at coping with summer droughts. Try growing lavender, rosemary or lambs ear. |
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