Nature's Calendar
July
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.
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.
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.
