Harvesting early

Many Congratulations to Ranger Bruce on the birth of baby daughter Isabel! - Ed

July is starting with some unsettled weather, let's hope it is not going to be too wet. Certainly for the first half of last month we had a lot of rain but towards the end the weather really warmed up. The farmers have been taking advantage of these few last weeks of hot weather and are working hard to bring in their hay and silage. Also the fields of wheat and barley have in some places turned to a beautiful golden colour and towards the end of this new month we may see some corn harvested.

Sadly I have noticed a number of hedgerows severely cut back this last month. A trim where essential along roadsides with poor visibility is fine but to really hit hedgerows at this time of the year not only looks untidy but also destroys bird nests. Hedge cutting removes food sources in the form of seeds, berries and nectar and has serious consequences not only on birds but mammals and insects too. There are of course always species that take advantage of these devastating effects on the environment and they are the magpies and foxes that temporarily gorge themselves on the defenceless chicks that have either been thrown out of their nest or have already been killed by the flail.

Meadow Crane's-bill Geranium pratense

With all the rain we have had this year a lot of plants have benefited and so there is a wide variety of them to see this month. On a few meadow sites and road verges in Sussex you may see the large soft violet flowers of Meadow Crane's-bill (Geranium pratense) which makes it one of the most distinctive wild flowers we have in Britain. The dark veins on the petals help guide bees to the plant nectar. Later in the year the deeply cut green leaves will turn a rich red-brown.

Evening Primrose Oenothera biennis

Another plant which you may notice whilst driving along a main road or beside some waste ground is Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis). There a number of closely related species you may see but they all have the same properties. The Evening Primrose is not native but was brought here because of the juice from its seeds, which are extracted and used to help alleviate the symptoms of rheumatism, arthritis and other ills. The flowers come out in the evenings and attract a number of night-flying moths to their nectar and bees by day.

Wild Carrot Daucus carota

Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) uses a clever method to attract insects to feed on its nectar: it has a red flower in the centre of its myriad white flowers that helps catch the attention of any insect passing by. Another flower that is attractive to insects and can be found growing either on the Downs or on heaths is the Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).

Harebell Campanula rotundifolia

It has a number of other country names like "Witches Thimbles" or "Fairy Bells". Although it comes into flower now it will be seen flowering right into mid- and sometimes even-late autumn.

If you are a keen gardener I am sure you will have noticed the numerous snails and slugs that have benefited from the wet weather this year that are happily feeding on all your prize plants. The most common snail to see in most gardens and a number of habitats is the Garden Snail (Helix aspersa).

Garden Snail Helix aspersa

Although it is tempting to put down slug pellets they will kill many slugs and snails but if birds feed on these poisoned molluscs you could inadvertently kill the birds.

Try to refrain from this bad habit and grow hedges in your gardens that will attract birds that will feed on your slugs and snails. Or maybe you may be lucky to have a local hedgehog that will feed on them too. Try using beer in plastic beakers around the edges of your flowerbeds. Or if you do have a prize plant then keep it in the right size pot and smear Vaseline around the base and this keeps them off.
Keep your eyes open for dragonflies or damselflies and not just around pond and river edges but downland and heaths too.

Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans

One of the smallest is the Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) and is easy to identify because it's tail or abdomen is mainly black in colour except for the eighth segment near the tip that is a beautiful sky blue.

Next month I will tell you about a number of plants that will be in berry.