Summer is here. Warmer days mean it’s time to get outdoors. But rather than just stepping out locally, why not have an adventure. Take a walk in some of the wild places.
If you are not sure about how to find a wild place or what to look for then your local wildlife trust is a good place to start. Our local wildlife trust is The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). They have a great website www.bbowt.orgor you can call them on 01865 775476.
BBOWT run all sorts of activities during the summer. There is something for every age group and interest. Look on the events page on the website and you can find hundreds of activities going on. There are chances to learn something new or take part in an activity. You never know you may even be persuaded to join BBOWT and volunteer some of your time to help nature. Be it a guided walk, pond dipping, discovering nature or fun days there is something for all the family.
If BBOWT activities are not for you don’t forget that you can still visit the local reserves. We are lucky; we are surrounded by a landscape that is full of trees, flowers, animals, bugs and butterflies. All you need is patience.
Plan you outing carefully if you want to maximise your chances. Most people go out for a walk, but when you want to look at nature, walking is not the most important thing. A rule of thumb we use is, walk a short distance, stop and look around you for five to ten minutes.
This gives the wildlife time to get use to you being there. It also gives you time to become use to your surroundings. After a few minutes you will start to notice things that you would have missed had you just walked on by. Take a good look at the ground at your feet; summer is the time to see many of our native wildflowers. In amongst the flowers will be all sorts of bug and butterflies.
Don’t forget the evenings, just because its dark doesn’t mean there is nothing to see. Go out for a walk instead of watching your favourite program. Dusk is a great time for spotting deer. At this time of year just as it starts to get dark is you best chance of seeing deer coming out to feed.
Later on as the sun fully sets it is the time of moths and bats. All of our bat species will be making the most of the moth bonanza summer brings. If bats are just not your thing, then what about the moths themselves. Some moths are a bit on the plain side but many are beautiful and with over 2000 species of moth in the UK you can spend as much time trying to identify one as a long walk would take.
Whatever your interest the great outdoors has something for everyone, get out and enjoy. One last though to leave you with the days are now getting shorter every day so make the most of summer.
Jacky and Mark Bloomfield
