Young foxes
Playful, inquisitive and a joy to watch,
fox cubs take their first steps into the wider world this month.
May is the month when fox cubs can be seen
taking their first steps into the outside world. Gingerly at first, and when
with more confidence and brashness as the month progresses, the youngsters
break the cover of the earth and can provide high entertainment.
Young foxes are usually born in March and
are then suckled four weeks or so, quickly moving on to solid food. At first,
the adults bring everything in for them, but by May the cubs can catch a little
of their food themselves, making a song and dance of hunting such items as
earthworms and beetles, which they imbue with hitherto unrealized powers of mobility,
mock-chasing them and pouncing on them as if they were fleet-footed rodents.
Delightfully, the adults don’t just bring
in edible items, but a wide range of playthings, too – it really is just as
though they make regular visit to they toy shop. Thus they will nick tennis
balls, golf balls, chewing toys intended for pet dogs, clothes from washing
lines and, as a particular treat, shoes. Nobody knows why human shoes are such
an attraction to foxes – perhaps they are deliciously smelly – but if you have
a fox litter near your garden, don’t leave shoes (or gloves) out. They will
soon be in pieces.
If you watch carefully, you might be able
to ascertain what social arrangement your local foxes have. In many cases it
won't only be a pair present, but a male with more than one female. If so,
several individuals may visit the earth during the night, each with an offering
for the cubs.
For now, the youngsters will remain close
to the earth, but it won't be long before they embark on short feeding
expeditions further afield – certainly by July. At the moment, they look dark
and have round faces and short ears; by then they will be reddish and have
those unmistakable long ears and snout. The transition from kid to predator is
a short one.
Flies
It’s May, so there must be mayflies about,
right? And these are the insects that are famous for living only for one day,
correct? Both assumptions are only half right. Firstly, while there are plenty
of mayflies around this month, these insects can actually be seen throughout
the summer months, so they aren’t restricted to spring. The second statement
only refers to the adult stages. It’s true that in some species the adults can
live less than a day. However, to sum up their life as so short is wrong,
because they live much longer than this underwater as nymphs. Some species live
for two years before their summer swansong.
White butterflies
You might not think that ‘cabbage white’
butterflies were a nugget of biodiversity, but in fact we have three common
species of whites, all with a distinct character and easily identified. The
large white is – surprise – the largest species. It flies with bold, confident
wing-beats and has an extensive jet-black tip to its upper wings. The small
white is, naturally, smaller than the large white. The markings on the tips of
the wings look as though they have been rubbed out, and both sexes have black
beauty spots on the upper wings. Meanwhile, the green-veined white is easily
recognized despite being the size of small white. It has a distinctive whirring
flight and when it lands the underside is unmistakable – green veins on a
yellow background.
Grass snakes
‘Grass’ snake is something of a misnomer
for this, our largest snake at up to 190cm long. Of course it does hide in
grass, but this predator is most often seen swimming in ponds or hunting at the
sides of lakes or rivers. At this time of the year; the grass snake is much
preoccupied with its favorite prey – frogs, toads and fish. It often swallows
frogs and toads feet first, which is quite a ghoulish sight. Anyhow, the better
name would probably be ‘water snake’.
