Nature's Calendar

teasel in flower

July

gatekeeper
Gatekeeper

All our butterflies should be on the wing in July except the Orange-tip so it is the best month to spot them all. The gatekeeper, the last of our butterflies to appear, will be a common sight in July and August.

banded demoiselle
Banded Demoiselle

Almost all of the Dragons and Damsels will be flying this month except for the Hawkers, most of which, apart from the Emperor, our largest dragonfly, don't appear in any numbers until August.

There should be good numbers of Common Darters flying and this month they will be joined by the similarly couloured although slightly smaller Ruddy Darter. Less common is the Small Red-eyed Damselfly which should also be about during July and August.

water mint
Water Mint

Teasels start to flower in July along with Rosebay Willowherb, Spear Thistle, Water Mint and the very invasive Himalayan Balsam.

The Swifts that arrived in May will have nested and be thinking about flying back to Africa towards the end of this month.

Footpaths - 1 July

Most paths are now very dry although the warm, wet weather has encouraged lots of growth leading to some paths being a bit overgrown.

Report overgrown rights of way to East Sussex and other paths to the Friends of Combe Valley.

Latest News

Jersey Tigers

This month has seen an unusual number of Jersey Tiger moths along the South coast. They are usually a scarce migrant.

New on this website

August 2023 - a set of new pages describing some of the more common flowering plants has been added to the "Wildlife" section of the site.