Wildlife Matters has a new series exploring Britain’s Wild Visitors starting with summer visitors. Join us on our adventure around the UK.
It’s now late summer in the UK, and it is high time Wildlife Matters took a good look at some of the wild summer visitors to Britain’s shores.
While our native wildlife revels in the long, warm summer days, let’s shift our focus to the unique visitors who migrate to the UK’s warm, temperate regions for the summer. These summer visitors bring a distinct charm to our wildlife landscape.
There is so much wildlife to see in the British summer, although some bird species are quieter now as they have finished the breeding season and this year’s chicks have fledged.
But today, Wildlife Matters isn’t only looking skywards; oh no, we are exploring the large mammals that call the UK waters home during the summer. And let’s not forget the incredible insects, with their colour and attractive appearances, that can be seen and heard in the British summer.
Many of us are interested in birds due to their variety and the distances they travel to the UK.
So many stunning shapes and colours arrive to captivate bird enthusiasts and wildlife lovers alike. They are all here to enjoy the warm weather and raise their young. Many summer visitors travel as flocks for safety, providing stunning aerial displays that leave us in awe of their aerial ability. Birds are one of the most noticed wildlife species we encounter during the summer, so let’s see what we can find on today’s walk.
Today, we are on the small Welsh island of Skomer, a well-renowned for spotting one of the most amazing seabirds, the Puffin, which migrates back to its birthplace between April and late July every year.
For most of the year, puffins can be found bobbing around on the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, often hundreds of kilometres from land. They are found singly or in pairs. The Puffin is perfectly adapted to a marine environment; it keeps its feathers waterproof by applying oil from a gland near its tail as it preens. The Puffin dives from the water’s surface to catch food, using its wings like paddles to ‘fly’ down to great depths to catch sand eels or other fish. The Puffin’s large and colourful beak has backwards pointing spikes that allow it to hold up to ten small fish without swallowing them. These unique adaptations make the Puffin a fascinating summer visitor to our shores.
You may see guillemots, razorbills and gannets.
The swallow is one summer visitor who comes from Southern Africa and can stay on the wing for up to 10 months without resting, even sleeping whilst in flight. These energetic birds do everything in flight, including eating, drinking, and mating.
Swallows return to the same nesting spot each year, where they hatched, to raise their young. Tragically, though, many Swallows are suffering due to habitat loss as their original nesting sites are either being demolished or destroyed during renovations.
Another bird that embarks on an incredible journey from Africa is the Sand Martin. These birds usually arrive in March to use the sandy cliffs where they can dig and create their nests. In the long, hot, late summer, after their young have fledged, Sand Martins can be seen in sizable groups bathing in rivers, feeding, and resting before heading back to Africa in October each year.
You may come across several avian visitors you can spot or hear. One such bird is the Cuckoo, which derives its name from the sound of its call. For many individuals, the arrival of summer is only complete once they have heard the distinctive Cuckoo call. These birds lay 12 to 22 eggs in various nests, each in a separate nest.
Observations suggest that female Cuckoos tend to lay their eggs in the same species’ nests where they hatched. Additionally, Cuckoos exhibit an uncommon behaviour of laying eggs during the afternoon.
Only the male Cuckoo calls. I remember the old saying learnt in childhood; ‘The cuckoo comes in April, sings the month of May, changes its tune in the middle of June, and in July he flies away” This refers to the male Cuckoo, who in our climate change world will often be heading back to Africa before the end of June, with the females following about a month later. The chicks will be on the wing by September.
Listen out for the beautiful song of the Nightingale in the woodlands or along hedgerows with thicket. Nightingales have an astonishingly rich repertoire and can produce over 1000 sounds; compare this to the sweet-sounding Skylarks’ 340 unique sounds or the beautiful Blackbirds, which have around 100 unique sounds. You begin to understand why the part of the brain responsible for creating sound is more significant in Nightingales than in most other birds.
Did you know that the first-ever live radio broadcast of birdsong featured a nightingale and cellist, Beatrice Harrison? This historic event occurred on May 19, 1924, in Oxted, Surrey. However, during most of the live broadcast, the Nightingale remained disturbingly quiet, causing some concern among the producers. But with just ten minutes left, the male Nightingale finally burst into song, wowing listeners with its incredible repertoire. Following the performance, Beatrice reportedly received over 50,000 fan letters, and to this day, people still hold a memorial concert every year in honour of this magical summer visitor.
During the summer, the Turtle Dove, a bird species that has captured the hearts of many, is a frequent sight on our shores. These doves are similar to our native Collared or Stock Doves but slightly smaller in size.
Their unique physical features include an orange-brown and black patterned back, a blue-grey head, a pink chest, and a patch of three or four black and white stripes on their neck. However, their population has decreased by a devastating 88% since 1995 due to the impact of modern agricultural practices, resulting in the loss of their habitat and food sources. It’s a concerning reality that this once-common bird is now facing the threat of extinction.
Back on the coast, harbour seals may return to the same sites each year to have their pups. Bottlenose dolphins, the largest pod, can be seen in Cardigan Bay, Wales, but they may also be spotted off the coast of Cornwall and Scotland. Harbour porpoises can be seen around Wales, particularly Anglesey and along most of the west coast of Scotland.
If you can get to Scotland, you may see the minke and humpback whales, which use the food-rich Scottish waters between May and September each year.
Off the shores of the Northern Isles, specifically Orkney and Shetland, you can see Orcas or Killer Whales as they are perhaps better known. However, they are members of the Dolphin family. The story goes that when sailors saw the orcas hunting whales, they used to say Whale Killer, but somewhere in translation, that became Killer whale. The old sailors were right, though.
Orcas are no longer migratory visitors to the UK. One pod, comprising four males and four females, has been classified as a resident in UK waters.
The fantastic Basking shark is one of the most amazing marine species I have seen. One of five shark species found in UK waters – the others are the shortfin Mako shark, Blue shark, Common Thresher shark and the Greenland shark.
The Basking shark is a seasonal visitor to UK waters, appearing more frequently between May and October. These sharks are the largest found in UK waters, with lengths of up to 12 meters.
The only larger shark is the whale shark, appropriately named for its size. Despite their immense size, there is no need to worry as these gentle giants are filter feeders, consuming large quantities of plankton. They do not actively pursue food but rather swim with their mouths open, allowing anything that passes through to be caught. Their mouths can reach a width of up to one meter.
It’s great to be back on solid ground and surrounded by the peaceful hum of a summer meadow. Although quieter than before, it’s still an incredible sound. I find insects to be incredibly fascinating, particularly when it comes to their migrations.
How many of you know that spiders migrate during spring and summer? They do this by using tiny tendrils of their web to help them drift on the wind.
This can often take them several kilometres from their original birth location. Spiders are one-way migrators, meaning they do not return to their birthplace; they simply travel to create a more extensive species distribution, ensuring areas are not overcrowded.
Only recently was it discovered that the painted lady butterfly migrates south to Africa after spending summer in the UK.
It was believed that they died in the Autumn. Still, a citizen science project by Butterfly Conservation revealed that the Painted Lady migrates south each Autumn.
Still, they make return journeys at high altitudes, well out of view of butterfly observers on the ground. However, Radar records revealed that Painted Ladies fly at an average height of 500 metres and can reach up to 30 mph by selecting favourable conditions.
It’s fascinating to learn that the migration journey of Painted Ladies butterflies involves up to six generations rather than a single individual. As a result, those who return to Africa in the Autumn are several generations apart from their ancestors who left the continent earlier in the year.
Another fascinating summer visitor now believed to be a resident of the UK is the incredible Hummingbird Hawk-moth, which is remarkable in many ways.
Firstly, it’s big, with a wingspan of 50-58mm – or around 2 inches, and unusually, they have a distinctive, quite unusual appearance and the speed of their wings; it is a day-flying moth.
The Hummingbird Hawk-moth has orange-brown hindwings that are seen in flight. Its forewings are greyish-brown, and its body is black-and-white chequered. The caterpillars can be found from June to October but are most frequently found in August.
The distinctive green with yellow stripes and pairs of dark brown dots on rows can be seen on Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum), Hedge Bedstraw (Galium album) and Wild Madder (Rubia peregrina) Another notable species of moth that can be found visiting the UK in summer, is the elephant hawk moth.
The elephant hawk-moth is a distinctive, gold-and-pink moth seen at dusk in gardens, parks, woods and grassy habitats. The caterpillars resemble elephants’ trunks and have eyespots to scare off predators.
What an incredible journey!
We have been around the UK to meet some of the most fascinating summer visitors. From rare birds to cute hedgehogs, we saw it all!
If you’re a wildlife enthusiast, you should check out our Wildlife Matters Podcast. It’s available on all major podcast platforms and is packed with captivating stories about wildlife.
We would love it if you could show your support by liking, following, and sharing our content on social media. And remember to check out our website, www.wildlife-matters.org, for even more exciting wildlife adventures.
If you enjoyed this blog, please check out more of our wildlife blogs here, or you may prefer to listen to the Wildlife Matters Podcast here.
If you want to support our work
Please click on the Wildlife Matters Patreon Community.
Please click to join the Wildlife Matters Substack Community.
You can donate here.
Further Reading
Where to see Summer Wildlife – Wildlife Trusts