Features

Silent summer

The lush growth of summer hides the activities of wildlife growing quiet after the stimulation of spring says Martin Brennan.

As we enjoy peak summer season with its characteristic long and relatively warm days we can also appreciate the profuse, lush growth of vegetation all around us stimulated by those conditions. It is particularly evident in grassland and meadows and in the hedgerows which enclose them and knit together the patchwork landscape of fields, woodland and other habitats with their varied shapes and shades. Hedgerows, linear woodlands, comprising a combined tangle of woody climbers, shrubs and trees with herbaceous plants at the base, bulk up the landscape with a dense cover of green foliage in summer. As they grow and continue to spread they require management to keep them in check. They provide food, shelter and protection to myriad wild creatures which inhabit them. It is this diversity of vegetation and the combination of its constituent species and their structural form and growth pattern which give individual habitats their particular identity and create the niches and microclimates for communities of plants and animals which have adapted to them. Individual plants for instance act as hosts to specific insect species and the greater the diversity of plants results in a more species-rich invertebrate community which in turn attracts and supports birds and mammals further up the food chain. Together they create the complex interdependent webs of life unique to each habitat. Activity concentrates predominantly on a ruthless pursuit of food in a dangerous game of life and death, maintaining a natural balance necessary for healthy habitats.

Riot of colour

Such is the profusion of growth that at times it is difficult to distinguish individual flowering species from the palette of colour, and nowhere more so than in semi-natural wild meadows. These take many forms (wet, dry humid acid, dry calcareous and neutral grasslands) depending on environmental conditions such as underlying geology, soil type and structure, and climate, among others. Each type has its own characteristic communities of flora determined by those factors. Allowed to produce flowers and set seed before a late cutting they provide a picturesque and colourful component to the summer patchwork landscape and contribute to biodiversity.

Waving in the breeze and wafting their distinctive aromas, meadow flowers attract an array of colourful insects including hoverflies, beetles, bumblebees, butterflies, moths and grasshoppers creating additional colour and movement and adding incessant sound, particularly on sunny days when the heat of the sun makes them most active. Birds inhabiting such ecosystems range from ground nesting Pipits, Skylarks and Willow Warblers, depending on the structure and form of the vegetation, to raptors such as Kestrels which hover overhead in their effort to spot small rodents on which they prey. Seed eating species such as Finches and Linnets are usually plentiful, and Pheasants too. In limited locations they harbour the rare Corncrake.

Returning visitors

Depending on the individual habitats, or the juxtaposition of a combination of them, a great richness of other bird life is evident. In addition to the many more common and well-recognised resident or domestic species a range of migratory birds return to breed here each summer. However the dense leaf cover in hedgerows and woodland hide them from view, and as most birds are now silent, the main breeding season having passed, they may be difficult to observe and may not readily declare their presence. As I write this in early May they are in full song and the wonderful melodious dawn chorus is at its peak.

Based as I am in a rural setting of small fields, hedgerows and scrub they clearly announce themselves by their individual and vary varied signature songs. In addition to the resident Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Wren and Finches, among many other song birds, many African migrants have all returned home. Willow Warblers, which are generally seen at hedgerow level and which nest in grassy vegetation on the ground, and Sedge Warblers which occupy dense, damp scrubby areas are in full song, the former with its liquid lilting song and the latter with its scattered disjointed delivery. Blackcap (also a warbler) found higher up where mature trees occur has returned also, although some now remain all year round. Spotted Flycatcher too which generally goes unnoticed due to its non-descript pale colour and insignificant song. However, it has a very distinctive habit of adopting a perch and darting out from it in pursuit of insects which it deftly catches before returning to it with its unfortunate prey - hence its name. Cuckoos are constantly calling and Swallows, Sand Martins and occasional House Martins are skimming over fields and ponds in their constant pursuit of insects. Some are gathering mud to repair last year's nests or build anew. Only the Grasshopper Warbler, whose song resembles that of the familiar grasshopper insect, but which continues uninterrupted for long periods, even at night, has failed to show. It inhabits dense scrub and damp environments. Representing birds of farm and woodland this small number of birds constitutes just some of the many migratory species which occupy a range of habitats including terrestrial and aquatic, inland and coastal.

Night predators

Other creatures of the air, our ten bat species are now active controlling nocturnally-flying insects on which they exclusively feed. The females have gathered together to established maternity roosts where they give birth to and care for their single young. Mating would have taken place in the autumn but fertilization is delayed until spring. Males roost separately either solitary or in small groups. As they hibernate in winter the roosts only exist for a few months and are generally abandoned by mid-October or even earlier.

And back down at ground level, hedgehog, the only other Irish mammal along with bats which hibernates in winter, is very active in summer. Like them it is nocturnal in its habits. Having a country-wide distribution it is primarily an animal of deciduous woodland and of areas where grassland meets woodland such as hedgerows and scrub, although it can also be found in sub-urban areas. They are quite noisy and reveal their presence by snorting or snuffling or crunching snail shells as they progress through the undergrowth in search of food. While omnivorous their diet consists primarily of worms, slugs, snails and beetles making it a good ally of the gardener. However they also feed on small mammals, eggs, carrion, berries and fruit. Their breeding season extends from May to October although most litters are born in June, in a nest of dry leaves and other vegetation at the base of a hedge or in bramble thicket. The young venture outside after three weeks and are weaned after a further two, at which stage they disperse and live solitary lives. In preparation for winter hibernation they build up fat reserves to support them through the process which starts about October or November depending on weather. They build special hibernation nests in sheltered areas in undergrowth or under sheds. Body temperature drops from about 34°C to that of their surroundings and heart rate slows from about 150-190 to about 20 beats per minute. They awake from time to time and re-emerge in March or April, again depending on weather, to once more resume activity when food is plentiful. As badgers, their principal predators, are particularly skilled at preying upon them, they are rarely found where the former are plentiful.

And so as nature is relatively silent in summer we mustn't forget the level of activity which goes on out of view in the midst of the profuse growth of vegetation all about us. While it muffles sounds and hides them from public gaze it is vital for myriad wild creatures which depend on it for their existence. Others creature also may be overlooked due their adoption of a nocturnal lifestyle, when under cover of darkness they conduct their valuable and beneficial service of controlling insect numbers and maintaining a healthy environment.

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