Saturday 20th September 8:45 a.m.

Laybird Summer 2025

Heavily laden, we toil up the steps from the BET cabin to the top of Jubilee Stone Wood to continue the early autumn clearance.  It’s the monthly Saturday volunteer workparty and we have a small but committed team who braved the forecast of morning rain. 

It was surely only a couple of weeks ago that I was praying for rain and, even now after regular deluges, the forecasters are telling us  that the local water table remains below 50%, as the incredibly dry land is just soaking up the rain.   What a summer it has been – unforgettable in many ways we would not have chosen.  The hottest summer on record and the driest and a worrying time for those of us caring about nature and about the animals that depend upon natural resources for food and water. 

So it is indeed cheering to see how nature has rallied once again.  The wood and the creatures that live there have definitely struggled and have had to adapt – but largely they have survived and it is a joy to see how quickly the wood is already returning to green.

A typical sign of resilience have been our secretive Badgers.  Badgers, in particular, absolutely love worms and I feared that their preferred diet would be unattainable for weeks in this parched earth.  There were plenty of signs of Badger digging but most looked hopeless and abandoned.  So we were thrilled to spot regular signs of Badger poo and to see clearly that they have subsisted during the hot late summer not on worms alone but largely on a diet of berries.  Fortunately Blackberries were particularly early this year, like a lot of the autumn fruit, not only early but also surprisingly moist and sweet, and the Badgers haven’t missed a trick.  From fresh signs of digging we can also see that they have also been hunting in our many large anthills – not the most satisfying diet but at least the ants are plentiful. 

We have also encountered deer in the woods from time to time during our summer surveys.  Again they have looked fit and well despite the parched grass.

And some of our butterflies have flourished in the sun.  We have had increases in numbers of Common Blue and Scarce Copper.  Our Silver-washed Fritillaries appeared far more regularly and we had a new butterfly species for the year in the Marsh Fritillary. 

Only one sighting but we can hope for more.  The dragonflies and damselflies were busy despite the lack of water and we have an amazing crop of acorns (albeit a bit hard due to the lack of water so I’m wondering about squirrel dentistry) and a good crop of crab apples.  The bracken, which has been trying hard for years to over populate our meadows, wilted in the heat and the wild flowers which had dried up in the heat awoke from their suspension and blossomed for a second time late summer helping our bees and butterflies to prepare for winter.  As a result we have had really good numbers of overwintering Red Admirals.

But I started this blog with Ladybirds in the title, because this summer has been so much about them.  I’ve always been a fan of Ladybirds and often used to wonder why they particularly liked living in the recesses in my windows but, having never seen them in good numbers, I’ve not thought about them a great deal.  This year, however, we have had swarms.  Not just for days but for weeks.  Mostly pleasant and entertaining – very occasionally (especially if you are not a fan) a bit unnerving.

So I thought it was time I gave them some thought - starting with why 2025 was a swarm year.  Well apparently it’s a food thing.  The prolonged warm spring and summer led to a massive increase in aphids.  Aphids happen to be the Ladybirds favourite food so they, in turn, quickly completed their lifecycles and enjoyed a mini boom.

And a few other fun facts about Ladybirds that I didn’t know.  Ladybirds are actually beetles and live for between 1 and 3 years.  In North America they are called Ladybugs (makes more sense) and their collective name is not a swarm but a loveliness.  Because they are eyecatching they protect themselves by being rather unpleasant to taste – but this doesn’t stop them being predated by all sorts of other insects and some less discerning birds.  And finally there are more than 40 species of ladybird in the UK and more than 5000 worldwide!

So 2025 wasn’t a hopeless summer – just a tough one for many.  If we can ask for anything now it would be a mild and gentle run up to winter so nature has a chance to restock.  I suppose it would be too much to ask for a return to our usual wet, windy and mild summer for 2026?!