Wildlife to spot this summer on the Isle of Wight

Across our downs, within Newtown’s meadows, and deep in Borthwood’s woods, wildlife can be found throughout the summer. Exploring our Isle of Wight countryside is a wonderful way to discover the many colourful butterflies, fragrant plants and tuneful birds that call our places home during the warm summer months. And with every visit you make, you’re helping us look after them for the future. But what can you find there?

Common Blue Butterfly

Butterflies to spot 

Here on the Island, we’re lucky enough to have a very rare butterfly. The Glanville fritillary is found almost nowhere else in Britain, but Sudmoor, near Compton Bay on the south-west coast of the Island, is a great place to spot them. And it’s not just on the coast that you’ll find beautiful butterflies. High above, the chalk downlands are alive with blue butterflies in summer, and in the woods, peacocks and red admirals flit through the glades.

More about spotting butterflies on the Island
A common blue butterfly rests on top of a yellow bird's foot trefoil wildflower.
Compton Bay and Downs   Isle of Wight

Paradise on the Isle of Wight butterfly walk

Walk the chalk ridge running through the middle of the Isle of Wight and spot wonderful butterflies on one of our best bits of chalk downland, including Adonis blue, small blue, dark-green fritillary and Glanville fritillary.

Explore the Compton Downs
Flowers of the yellow horned poppy at Compton, Isle of Wight

Summer wildflowers 

The many different habitats that we look after on the Island provide important wildflower areas. From the heady scent of yellow birdsfoot trefoil at Compton Bay, to the bright purple of green-winged orchids at Newtown, the warm maritime climate, and our conservation work, ensures that the landscape is carpeted in colour during the summer.

Discover our flowers
Osprey stood on a post

Birds to watch for in summer 

By summer our countryside sites are full of bird life. As the sun sets over Mottistone Common, look out for nightjars hunting for food on a warm June’s evening. At Newtown, we’ve three bird hides from which you can spot summer migrants around the estuary, or listen for long-eared owls calling from the woods.

Where to go and what to see
A six spot burnet moth with its distinctive red spots resting on a pink flower

Moth spotting on the Isle of Wight 

The countryside that we look after is home to many different species of moth and several of them can be seen by day. On a walk this summer, discover the surprisingly colourful world of moths and find out where to go to see them. And when you do, you’re helping us care for all sorts of wildlife, day and night.

Discover more about moths
A child showing an adult what is in a bug pot

Wildlife events 

If you’d like to discover more about summer wildlife, why not come along to one of our events? Whether you want to have the whole family hunting for birds and bugs at Newtown, learn about what makes our wildflower meadows so special, or join a gentle butterfly walk across the downs, you’ll find plenty of ways to find out just what lives at our places during summer.

Find an event