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The quiet month of August, with the bird song all but over, heralds the start of the bird migration. Stover’s migrants will start to put on weight in the next few weeks in preparation for their long journey south. They will start to eat sugar-rich foods, such as rowan berries, elderberries and blackberries, in preference to insects. Look out for whitethroats on bramble patches, garden warblers eating elderberries and blackcaps pecking at rosehips. The adult swifts are already leaving Britain for their wintering grounds in the South. The young birds remain for an extra couple of weeks and then navigate their way back south unaided. Swallows and house martins will start to group en masse this month.

The female nightjars should now be sitting on their second clutch of eggs on the heath whilst the males carry on feeding the first brood. Although the woods in the Park will seem very quiet, August is quite a busy time for many woodland birds. Many juveniles have now left their parents’ territory and are travelling further afield. They gather into parties with different species of young birds, learning where the best food sources are and trying to avoid predation. The adults are now undergoing a gradual moult to change their plumage. However, bullfinches can still be feeding young in August as many of the seeds on which they feed are ripe.

Goldfinch, siskin, blackcap, bullfinch and crossbill were all recorded at Stover during July. Four fledged spotted flycatchers were recorded during the early part of July. Spotted flycatchers feed on flying insects and migrate from Central Africa to breed.  

Young sparrowhawk and tawny owl are now hunting for themselves and cash in on the abundance of young inexperienced birds, and moulting adults who cannot evade capture so well with some of their flight feathers missing.

Another brood of mallard ducklings hatched out in July. Moulting drakes are still in their ‘eclipse plumage’ which means they are hard to tell apart from the females; they will soon re-grow the vivid green plumage on their heads. Moorhen numbers are now increasing as juveniles from outside of Stover move through the Park. Their numbers will peak in the winter. Sadly the great-crested grebes have given up with their nest building as the eggs are consistently predated. The two adults have been joined by a juvenile who has arrived from elsewhere. Kingfishers and herons have been sighted throughout last month.

Up to eleven black-headed gulls were recorded last month along with small numbers of herring gulls. The black-headed gull numbers will start to increase for the winter along with the cormorants. A lesser black-backed gull was recorded on the lake on 12^th and 20^th July. A single cormorant was seen intermittently during last month. Nine common sandpipers arrived in the marsh on 20^th July, with at least four other sightings of smaller numbers. Up to two mandarin ducks have been regularly recorded during July, along with a shelduck during the latter half of the month. Shelducks breed on the coast, and many migrate each summer to North Germany to moult, returning in the autumn. A male tufted duck was recorded during the latter part of last month.

Young hedgehogs are emerging now and setting off to lead independent lives. Small mammals such as voles and shrews reach peak numbers after their summer’s breeding. Most weasels give birth between May and August, so there are more around now than at any other time of the year. Weasels are much smaller than stoats and can follow a mouse or a vole into its tunnel. Mink were seen around the Park last month along with roe deer. Millions of flying ants will take to the air in August, and crickets and grasshoppers can be heard on warm evenings. Adders bask in the sun on the heathland and will give birth to live young (the eggs hatch immediately) in August. Grass-snakes were recorded on a couple of occasions during July swimming in the lake.

Clouds of butterflies and dragonflies are now on the wing. The first marbled white, small skipper and meadow brown were recorded on 1^st July, gatekeeper on the 14^th, and a large skipper on the 3^rd. A purple hairstreak was seen on the 13^th. More silver-washed fritillary’s have been out during July (a total of 10 were seen in on the 3^rd) along with white admirals and red admirals. As in 2010 there have been no sightings of small tortoishells or painted ladies in July. The darker form of the comma butterfly can now be seen which is produced in response to shortening day length and will hibernate over the winter.  The second brood of brimstone butterflies have just emerged from eggs laid earlier this year.  The larval food plant is alder buckthorn growing in profusion in the Park’s heathland. Red Admirals migrate from the Mediterranean and as soon as they arrive here the females lay their eggs on the nettles. In August the caterpillars will have turned into adults so there should be a peak of red admirals this month. There have been two sightings of the scarlet tiger moth last month. This day-time flying moth has bright red under-wings as its name suggests. If it is disturbed by a predatory bird it shows off its bright hind-wings to startle the bird as it escapes. It can also defend itself from lizards by secreting two blobs of poisonous, bright yellow liquid from behind its head. An elephant hawkmoth was recorded at the beginning of the month. Glow-worms should be visible along the carriage drive at dusk during July.

Silver-washed fritillaries get their name from the bands of silvery scales on the underside of each of its wings.  This female was laying eggs on a tree trunk. The caterpillars then make their way down to a patch of violets.

August is the peak time for watching many of the more impressive dragonflies, such as hawkers, chasers and darters, which coincides with the emergence of many of the insects on which they feed. Southern hawkers are particularly abundant at the moment, the first being recorded on 13^th July. The first golden ringed was seen on 3^rd July with the first keeled skimmer on the 11^th.

Bell Heather

One of August’s spectaculars at Stover is the heather which is in full bloom at the moment. Other plants in flower include purple loosestrife, hemp agrimony, figwort, common centuary and fleabane which are providing nectar for the last of this season’s insects. In the past the stems and leaves of fleabane were burnt to produce smoke that helped to keep fleas away. Bladderwort can be seen in the lake and ponds. This yellow aquatic carnivorous plant has finely divided leaves which bear small bladders. These act like vacuum cleaners sucking in animals which trigger the mechanism.

In the past the stems and leaves of fleabane were burnt to produce smoke that helped to keep fleas away.

Nature is always one step ahead – take a look at the trees and you’ll see hazel and beech nuts, elder and hawthorn berries, and sycamore seeds amongst the leaves. They’ll need this month to ripen properly before the autumn when they become more visible as the leaves start to drop.

Devon County Council held an archaeology day in July at Stover. Visitors were able to have a go at ancient activities such as making clay pots, using a pole lathe, fire lighting and willow weaving. Demonstrations were also held such as bronze casting.

For the eighth year running Stover has been awarded the green Flag by the Civic Trust. The award reflects the hard work carried out by all of the individuals and volunteer groups that help manage the Park throughout the year.

A big thank you to all involved.