Summer Wildlife at Ashridge
Throughout the summer, a wide variety of butterflies can be found at Ashridge. Common species include Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood and Ringlet. The chalk downland of the Ivinghoe Hills is especially good for species like Brown Argus, Marbled White, Common and Chalkhill Blues and Dark Green Fritillary. In the woodland, the beautiful Purple Hairstreak can be seen around the tops of oak trees.
Look out for Hornets in the woods. These huge brown and yellow wasps patrol the woodland rides hunting for smaller insects. They generally nest in cavities in old trees so are quite common at Ashridge.
Dragonflies can often be seen hunting for smaller insects along woodland rides and around ponds. These creatures spend most of their lives as larvae in the ponds and only spend a few weeks as flying adults.
On warm evenings, Bats will be active hunting for insects especially around ponds. Several species live at Ashridge where they roost in tree cavities. All British bats feed on insects which they find by echo-location.
Baby Fallow Deer (fawns) are born in late May and June. They are able to run with their mothers almost immediately. The male deer (bucks) will be growing their antlers over the summer in time for the autumn rut.
