Planning ahead - wildlife in August??

[officeruth]

Just thinking about summer hols, and having the same old gripe about being confined to school break for our main 2-week getaway - because August is probably the least good time of year for wildllife watching, I think. Estuaries are quiet, wildflowers are past their best, moorland birds have left their nests.... or am I being too gloomy?
I would love to hear of any ideas of where to go to see great nature in Britain in August. I can think of whale watching and Highland raptor spotting, (not sure exactly where), but are there other things I'm missing? We have a 6-yr old son and now he's old enough to concentrate (a bit) it'd be great to give him a wldlife experience he'll remember.
Many thanks!

[Billabong Karen]

How about a spot of rock pooling? Your six-year-old would love that - and when he got bored you'd be at the beach so could do all the normal family-on-holiday stuff as well

[stigofthedump]

Originally Posted by Billabong Karen

How about a spot of rock pooling? Your six-year-old would love that - and when he got bored you'd be at the beach so could do all the normal family-on-holiday stuff as well

A most excellent suggestion

Take a tray and a cheep net and you'll be enthralled for hours, you can take a break and do the sand castle and ice-cream stuff and then get back to it.

Just to see a 6 year old's beaming smile when they net their first decent-sized shore crab, priceless!


Vince

[RoyW]

Freshwater pond dipping is another activity that children (and adults) seem to enjoy - you just need to find a suitable site near you, get permission, and take a net and tray (perhaps a net with a finer mesh than you might use for rock pools). August is also a very good time to go out looking for dragonflies because many of the larger species are most numerous during this month, and there will also still be butterflies around as well as many other insects including grasshoppers and crickets (I helped lead a walk in August last year and two girls that were younger than six found it fascinating peering into the undergrowth to try and find "creepy crawlies". You can also pick some Blackberries while searching!

August is a good month to look for migrating birds, mainly towards the end of the month but waders in particular will be moving south from mid July. Warblers and other birds, like swallows and martins, will also be starting to head south, and if you are interested you might be able to find a ringing demonstration that you can go to. There will also be raptor viewing schemes that will still be operating, and even though the young may well have fledged these will usually provide an almost guaranteed chance of seeing the target species (eg. Osprey, Peregrine etc.). Early in August seabird colonies should still provide views of most species (Puffins, Gannets etc), and in some areas, such as off Flamborough Head in Yorkshire, there may be off shore cruises that will look for these as well as passing seabird species like shearwaters and skuas.

As well as the possibility of whales off western Scotland, seals should be easy to see at and near their breeding areas, even if they aren't breeding at this time of year, and deer are among the other mammals that can readily be found in the right areas.


I think that you will find that there is actually far more wildlife to be seen in August than you might think - you just have to decide what it is that you want to look for!

[officeruth]

Thanks for replies - appreciate your thoughts! Yep, pond-dipping is good option, esp as we already have a FW bug guide which our lad likes leafing through himself. Will think on how we can perhaps combine with trip out to see bigger coastal wildlife.
Thanks again!

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by officeruth

Just thinking about summer hols, and having the same old gripe about being confined to school break for our main 2-week getaway - because August is probably the least good time of year for wildllife watching, I think. Estuaries are quiet, wildflowers are past their best, moorland birds have left their nests.... or am I being too gloomy?
I would love to hear of any ideas of where to go to see great nature in Britain in August. I can think of whale watching and Highland raptor spotting, (not sure exactly where), but are there other things I'm missing? We have a 6-yr old son and now he's old enough to concentrate (a bit) it'd be great to give him a wldlife experience he'll remember.
Many thanks!

If you want to witness a real wildlife spectacular in August you could try Borth in Mid-Wales. Every year up to 50,000 Manx shearwaters gather in the bay to feed, several times a day they go into what can only be described as a feeding frenzy as, presumably, shoaling fish rise to the surface. I've spent a weekend down there for the last two years, I filmed this last year (watch at 720P if possible):

borth - YouTube

The RSPB hold an event there each year, July-August:

The RSPB: Dates with nature: Shear madness at Borth Beach

Borth itself is a little run-down, though it has it's own charm, but the surrounding countryside is spectacular - the beautiful RSPB Ynys Hir is just a few miles up the road, as is the Osprey site on the River Dovey. I haven't really explored the area as I tend to concentrate on the shearwaters and other seabirds, but it has a lot of potential.

Cheers
Jonathan

[Billabong Karen]

I was also thinking your son (and you! ) might enjoy a spot of hawk handling - the Hawk Conservancy at Andover do a nice job:

Welcome to the Hawk Conservancy Trust

You could also go to Lyme Regis for a bit of fossil searching, Stonehenge is worth a visit - and perhaps a ferry ride to the Isle of Wight with the fantastic cliffs.