WILDLIFE | PET GAZETTE |
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KEEP IT CLEAN
The RSPB’s Caroline Offord explains why birds will be searching for water this month
A
July is a great month to see a whole host
of colourful butterflies including marbled
whites, peacocks and red admirals. Many
will venture into your customers’ gardens, in
search of rich food nectar. Summer evenings
are a great time to watch moths flutter
amongst evening primroses and night-
scented stocks. These are often joined by
bats, agile aerial masters that can be
seen swooping over scented flower beds
snatching up insects that sometimes
include moths.
Though insects may be highly active in
July, there is an air of relaxation in the bird
world, with adult parent birds putting their
feet up after a hectic breeding season. Most
of the young have left home and are doing
their own thing and all the adults need worry
about is a change of clothes, as the post-
breeding season moult begins. Bedraggled,
and looking a tad sorry for themselves, these
birds as they moult some of their important
flight feathers, often end up temporarily
flightless, skulking in the undergrowth
and keeping their head down. Bird-loving
customers could be forgiven for thinking
these birds have up and left them, but a
patient observer will soon realise that their
regulars are soon back come the autumn, in
search of food and shelter.
Though the breeding season is coming to a
close for most birds, some are still in full song.
On a light summer’s evening you might still
hear the drowsy cooing of a collared dove or
wood pigeon or the fluid melodic notes of a
blackbird. Blackbirds can potentially have a
good five broods, if food resources and the
condition of the female will allow.
HAVE A NIGHTTIME
ADVENTURE
What better way to engage with nature than
to sleep out under the stars and be part of
the RSPB’s Big Wild Sleepout? This year’s
event takes place between 28-30 July.
If your customers love wildlife, now is the
time for them to build their own den, have a
midnight feast or go on a torch light safari.
Night time provides an exciting wild world to
explore, from bats, moths and minibeasts to
late night singers and marvellous mammals.
The RSPB is calling on families across the
UK to go on a noctu