Wing Tips: What to see in June

The summer solstice approaches and as we trade blossom for full bloom, our birds are making the most of the longest days of the year. Take a stroll to your local duck pond this June, and you might spot a mother Mallard getting her adorable ducklings in a row.

Prefer to summer in the city? Train your eyes on the skies to catch sight of the world’s fastest animal, the Peregrine Falcon. If hiking’s to your liking, hit the heathland for the chance of a close encounter of the ‘churred’ kind with an alien-sounding Nightjar.

Nature delivers something for everyone this month. So, keep your eyes peeled, ears primed and wonder at the ready for our top five birding spectacles to catch this June.

As we approach the tail-feather-end of spring, the breeding season blends seamlessly into a race to rear young, and family favourite the Mallard, is no exception. Mallards can breed in suitable weather from February, but June is best for spotting fluffy ducklings.

This month, Mallard mothers can be seen proudly promenading up to 13 adorable ducklings on bodies of fresh water across the UK. During this time, she alone will raise them, offering protection and teaching them all they need to know to strike out on their own.

Just outside your window this month, a colourful pair of garden favourites is also working tirelessly to feed young chicks. Blue Tits time the hatching of their eggs to coincide with the emergence of caterpillars.

Climate change is making this impressive bird feat increasingly difficult. However, a nosy at a nest box this June could reveal doting parents zipping back and forth to feed up to 16 chicks; each demands up to 100 caterpillars a day to survive! Time for a lie down...

Large black eyes, a wide gaping mouth and an otherworldly ‘churring’ call that wouldn’t be out of place in science fiction. It’s fair to say that the Nightjar is one of our most peculiar birds. Yet, despite these striking features, few of us are lucky enough to have seen one.

This is partly due to their distribution, with most settling in southern England after a long journey from sub-Saharan Africa. Nightjars are also one of our latest summer migrants, arriving in the UK in late April – May before leaving by late August – September.

The birds are ‘crepuscular’ too, which means they only become active in half light. Combined with their incredible, eye-popping, soldier-style camouflage, these living illusions are near impossible to spot.

Yet, there’s no better time to give it a go, as nesting Nightjars come to life and take flight during June’s golden evenings. Strike out to a Nightjar hotspot like RSPB Arne nature reserve to increase your chances of an alien encounter.

Step aside, speed demons, because racing royalty’s in town – literally! The Peregrine Falcon is the world’s fastest animal and has taken to urban life better than most. Our towering buildings offer the perfect high-rise perches and nesting sites for these pacy predators.

The UK’s largest falcon, lightning-fast Peregrines can reach up to 200mph as they rocket out of the sky to ambush their unwitting prey below. In our towns and cities, their most likely targets are the huge resident flocks of Feral Pigeons, and June is the perfect time to witness the world’s hastiest hunt.

This month, these rapid wonders-come-doting parents shoot across the sky to provide for their ravenous chicks. So, next time you’re walking to work, raise your eyes to the skies, you might just catch a glimpse of the fastest hunt in the animal kingdom.

Ospreys became extinct in the UK in the early 20^th century following years of persecution and sabotage from egg collectors. However, since a Scandinavian pair nested in Loch Garten, Abernethy, Scotland in 1954, numbers of breeding pairs in the UK have risen to nearly 400.

These magnificent birds of prey are a spectacular sight as they soar over lakes, scouring the water with their sharp eyes and sharper talons for fish. Once locked on, they plunge into the water feet first to snatch up their prey with a vice-like grip.

June is a fantastic time to spot Ospreys in action as they’re busy rearing their rapidly growing chicks. Visit an Osprey watch, such as the one at RSPB Loch Garten, to secure a prime view of these specialist hunters before they return to overwinter in Africa, Spain and Portugal.

Fancy a fairly large warbler? Well, look no further! The Wood Warbler is the largest of the Phylloscopus (meaning ‘leaf seeker’) warblers. These plucky birds can be seen in the UK between April and September, when they return from Africa to breed.

That means June is the perfect time to eyeball a Wood Warbler, as they flit back and forth collecting insects and spiders to feed their brood of five to six boisterous chicks. It’s the perfect excuse for a summer stroll through their preferred habitat of Atlantic oak forest, which you can find in RSPB nature reserves like Lake Vyrnwy and Loch Lomond.

By summer, most Wood Warblers are paired off and have less need to sing. However, lucky listeners could catch their characterful 'coin spinning’ song which, sadly, has become increasingly rare. These spritely little birds have suffered steep declines since the 1990s and 2010. This has led to the species being placed on the Red list of UK Birds of Conservation Concern.

We hope you feel inspired to try and see some of these birds and events this month. We’d love to hear how you get on. You can share your photos with us at NotesonNature@rspb.org.uk We’ll share some of the best in a future issue of Notes on Nature.