"It was one of those not infrequent days of an English June which are as cold and boisterous as November" wrote Thomas Hardy in The Return of the Native. June is an unpredictable month in the British countryside, but it should herald the start of summer, with wildflower meadows at their peak, and many species of orchids flowering on downland and woodland edges. Our most spectacular butterflies, including the rare swallowtail, are on the wing. Nesting birds are busy feeding young, with many already raising a second brood of the year. Nocturnal hunters such as bats, nightjars and owls, are active as warmer nights guarantee an abundance of insects and small mammal prey. Fallow and roe deer fawns are born and badger and fox cubs are active above ground. Along our coasts, seabird colonies are thronged with ledge-nesting kittiwakes, gannets and auks, while offshore basking sharks may be seen, along with dolphins and seals.

Masquer le texte