Wildlife calendar - May

The New Forest teems with wildlife in May and there is lots to see, hear and smell!

Hawthorn hedges are covered with ‘may’ blossom and the verges are full of cow parsley, red campion and greater stitchwort. The elder comes into flower later in the month and the ash is the last tree to break into leaf. In woodland areas there is a pungent smell where wild garlic grows.

Heathland is awash with yellow gorse and bracken begins to unfurl; you will also find lousewort, petty whin, heath milkwort and tormentil. Look out for cotton-grass, sundews and the rare early marsh orchid in wet, boggy places.  

Birds such as the hobby, kestrel, lapwing, skylark and curlew can be seen on the open Forest, and if you are lucky you might spot the rare Dartford warbler. The nightjar is an elusive summer visitor, sweeping for moths and other night-flying insects at dusk. The charring call is heard more often than the bird is seen.  

Woodland birdsong is at its peak in May and you might also hear drumming as woodpeckers make their nests in tree-trunks. Rare woodland birds to look out for are the goshawk, honey buzzard and lesser-spotted woodpecker; you might also glimpse the quick flash of a kingfisher in a Forest stream.

Dragonflies and damselflies start to emerge in mid-May and can be seen near streams and pools. Look out for the rare green hairstreak and small tortoiseshell butterfly in heathland areas, and for peacock, speckled wood, brimstone and red admiral butterflies in the ancient and broad-leaved woodlands. Hornets, stag beetles, dung beetles and the southern wood ant are active in the woodlands.

Red, fallow and sika deer give birth to their young from May onwards.

On a warm day the common lizard and adder like to bask in sunny heathland places - look out also for the much rarer smooth snake and sand lizard.

Visit the May photo gallery to see some of the above.