August Almanac: birds, butterflies and foxes

In our monthly guide to what to look out for in the natural world locally, Stephen Dunstan tells you how to identify different birds and, if you’re lucky, spot a fox cub.

Realistically August is the last chance to catch up with bottlenose dolphins in Fylde waters. Porpoises can also be seen well on calm days and seals are present in small numbers along the length of the coast from the large colony at Walney Island. The first week of the month is also National Whale and Dolphin Week.

August can be a very good month to see sandwich terns on Blackpool beach, as post-breeding assemblies including youngsters form. They are the largest regular terns in the north west and, though still smaller than a black-headed gull ‘sarnies’, are often easy to pick out as their piercing two-note calls are distinctive. Although they nest as close as Foulney Island, on the other lip of Morecambe Bay, ringing studies have shown that birds from colonies hundreds of miles apart will mix before heading south. If you are able to get very good photographs you might even be able to contribute to this study of ringed birds.

Larger assemblies of ducks begin to form on our estuaries as birds begin to return to their wintering grounds. As well as the more familiar mallard and teal, these include other species. Wigeon favour saltmarshes and have a distinctive whistling call which, when learned, makes them easier to pick out. Pintail, by contrast, are generally fairly silent but the males are distinctive with their chocolate hoods, white fronts, silvery grey flanks and especially the long tail that gives them their name.

Species which undertake moult migrations also begin to return. Shelducks which have travelled to Bridgewater Bay in Somerset or the Waddensee in Holland will begin to pass the prom daily on their return journey. Greylag and Canada geese that headed north to Lake Windermere for their moult reappear in fairly large flocks. At this time of year Little Singleton on the Wyre Estuary is particularly favoured.

Another species that tends to peak in August locally is the Mediterranean gull. Some still retain some of their black hoods at this time, which separates them from the more common but unfortunately-named black-headed gull (it actually has brown head feathering). ‘Meds’ can turn up just about anywhere including Blackpool beach and Stanley Park, but the best numbers are normally at gull roosts including on the Lune, Wyre and Ribble estuaries.

The Ribble Estuary in particular can also be a good place to see the charismatic marsh harrier. This species has become a regular breeding bird in Lancashire over recent years and, in August, the young often wander into the Fylde from their nesting areas. Look for a buzzard-sized brown bird of prey with a contrasting cream crown and a shallow ‘v’ shaped gliding flight action quartering the saltmarsh or crops.

Whilst all regular butterfly species are already on the wing, some are still peaking in numbers at this time. In particular the highest numbers of the widespread gatekeeper are early in the month. In some years there can be pronounced influxes of migrant butterflies and moths and painted ladies can arrive in large numbers from as far as Africa. Many migrant moth species are nocturnal and only easily seen with the use of a light trap, but the hummingbird hawkmoth regularly flies during the day. As its name suggests this species has a flight action like the diminutive American birds and is sometimes mistaken for them.

Dragonflies continue to be on the wing. The flight season of some species will be nearing their end but some begin to get more frequent. The migrant hawker in particular is a late summer-early autumn species. Like some birds that have moved north with global warming and this species has become more numerous in Blackpool in recent years. In fact, at one point it was a migrant to Britain as a whole but many are now resident before being joined by others coming in from the south. The similar but slightly larger southern hawker also has a fairly late season and can be found in some wooded areas with ponds.

Fox cubs become less dependent on their parents at this time of year and begin to forage on their own. This means that they are more widespread and an encounter with an inexperienced youngster may be closer or longer than with a streetwise adult. Some foxes have adapted successfully to an urban existence but, if you are hoping for an encounter, Marton Mere and Staining Nook can be a good bet.