New research, just published in the journal Bird Study, has shown that one third of 68 breeding species in England have been affected by climate change, leading to notable increases in some and declines in a few.

Since these notes began over 12 years ago, extreme weather and its effects on wildlife has been a constant refrain Now the Met. Office tells us that we had the warmest July since 1884, the UK’s record highest temperature being broken on 25^th, while subsequent heavy rain led to flash flooding in the Pennines. Here, July began with drought conditions, virtually no rain falling until 19^th. Thereafter, it rained on eight days, though we missed the torrential downpours elsewhere. A pulse of warm air from the continent produced a short-lived heatwave late in the month.

The warmth helped many duneland insects. The Ringlet colony at Ravenmeols spread to the nearby Range Lane pasture, while the Hightown scrapes still had up to four Red-veined Darters on 3^rd and 7^th, presumably survivors from the June influx. They were accompanied by the usual Black-tailed Skimmers, Broad-bodied Chasers, Emperors and Common Darters. A totally unexpected find nearby was a patch of spectacular white Madonna Lilies in full flower. There was no sign of them being planted, though that origin seems likely. A visit to Ainsdale National Nature Reserve with Trevor Davenport was rewarded with good views of a Purple Hairstreak (found by others). Trevor also spotted a rare Forester moth on Ragwort.

After one of the driest winters and springs in living memory, twelve days with measurable rain in June were riches indeed. While some parts of the country were flooded, we had just enough to reverse earlier drought conditions. There was even some late spawning by Natterjack Toads, though the tadpoles are unlikely to complete their development. The extent to which our wildlife is impacted by weather condition was graphically illustrated. Rainfall in the first half of the month had a spectacular effect on the sand-dune flora with orchids appearing in fantastic abundance. Pyramidal and Bee Orchids were everywhere. Joshua Styles reported driving past Bee Orchids on a Southport roundabout, so Trevor Davenport and I braved the traffic to count a remarkable 210 flower-spikes. Green Sefton’s John Dempsey arranged for mowing to be delayed so they could set seed. Ironically, however, a letter to the local newspaper complained about grass being uncut on a roundabout – you can’t please everyone!    

Gardenwatch, one of the most ambitious citizen science projects to take place in the UK, was launched during BBC's Springwatch 2019. This collaboration between the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), BBC, and the Open University leaves no stone unturned to help find out just how important gardens are for wildlife. This is the first time that such information has been collected on this scale.