Newsletter #176 July, the Hay Month?
Newsletter about nature and science
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July, the Hay Month?
Traditionally, the warmest month of the year is called the hay month. Nowadays, that really only applies to bluegrass meadows and other natural pastures. Most farmers are already working on their second or even third grass harvest. July, named after Julius Caesar, is the month of butterflies and thistles, blooming wild honeysuckle and flowering swanflowers—just to name a few beauties.
July has always had the most sunshine hours of the year. That number has increased in recent years, from 210 to 223 hours per month, resulting in a rise in average temperature of 1.6 degrees Celsius. The number of tropical days (above 30 degrees) varies year to year. A now-classic result of our changing climate is the increase in rainfall during July in the Netherlands, from 67 to 79 millimeters. Due to evaporation, the positive effect of this rain on nature is doubtful.
Potatoes and tomatoes are in bloom, and wherever they get the chance, poppies and cornflowers bloom along the field edges. In the water, water lilies—the largest flowers in the country—are blooming. Reeds bloom too, and a special plant, the water soldier, attracts the rare green hawker dragonfly once it surfaces and flowers. On the salt marshes, July is peak bloom season, with species like sea lavender, orache, and samphire. In the dune valleys, reed orchids and grass-of-Parnassus bloom. Sometimes, you search in vain for once-common plants like the devil’s-bit scabious—a now-rare species of poor grassland. One memorable case is a lawyer who dismissed objections to excavation by calling the plant “common,” likely using an outdated flora guide.
The number of flowering plants in July continues to rise—about 150 species are added to the season’s floral chorus. July is a rich month for insects: black-and-yellow caterpillars of the cinnabar moth feast on toxic ragwort. Other striking yellow bloomers include mullein, evening primrose, tansy, and various hawkweeds. Moths, bugs, and dragonflies are often highly specific about their host plants, while pollen-collecting bumblebees and solitary bees are less picky.
It’s also the time of year for many young, clumsy birds learning to fly. The reed warbler still sits on its nest, and even higher up, the stork has become a familiar sight in recent years. Moorhens, blackbirds, and blue tits attempt a second brood. Birds sing less and less: the wren, robin, and chaffinch still hold strong, but the chiffchaff and willow warbler are already preparing for or dreaming of their southern migration.
Tips for July
Visit the Wadden Islands or coastal dunes this month: it’s peak blooming season.
On sunny days, look for dragonflies and damselflies near ponds and ditches (check the Butterfly Foundation’s website).
Observe which insects visit which flowers—from butterflies to bees, wasps, and hoverflies (use ObsIdentify).
Attend a moth night where hundreds of species gather at illuminated white sheets—experts are often present to help identify them.
Keep a daily bird list of your area—it helps track which species leave first as the migration begins.
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