I do most of my wildlife recording in the day, generally in the best and brightest weather. But occasionally I find myself out after dark and it’s a whole new experience.

I’m going to state the obvious: it is dark at night, and that is just what the creatures which are out and about at night need. Light is disruptive to them and can affect their survival.

It is well worth exploring the night though, going out to somewhere with no artificial light as night falls and waiting for it to get really dark.

Don’t use a torch, your eyes will steadily adjust and you will be surprised how much you can see especially on a clear, moonlit night. But you will also become aware of other things - small sounds from creatures nearby, maybe the screech of an owl or the bark of a deer or fox. You will become aware of the air itself, small breezes, its temperature, humidity and scents held on the air. It is good to stretch your senses.

If you decide to explore the wider countryside, plan your visit before you go, visit in the day so you know the terrain and are aware of any hazards, make sure you have a charged mobile phone in case of emergencies (but keep it on silent so it doesn't disturb the wildlife!) and preferably don’t go alone.

In mid-summer, if you have chosen a good spot, you may be rewarded with the startling sight of what appear to be greeny yellow LED lights in the grass. These will be female glow worms, which are actually beetles, though having no wings the females resemble larvae. She glows to attract a mate who will fly to find her. Glow worms eat snails and are associated with grassland. There are colonies at Dancersend, Grangelands and The Rifle Range, Yoesden and probably many other reserves with good, species-rich grassland with scrubby edges.

On your way back you could get your torch out and carefully look around. Examine shrubs and tussocks of grass. If you are lucky you may well find caterpillars, many species mainly feed at night when birds are less active, emerging from their hiding places to feed.

Exploring your garden at night, a torch will reveal spiders on webs that were empty during the day, slugs and snails feeding, and woodlice out foraging. This is the time for their predators too. If you are lucky you will find one of our increasingly rare hedgehogs snuffling through your flowerbeds.

Overhead, you may have fleeting views of bats against the last light in the sky. The most common are the tiny pipistrelles. If you are under 18 years old, you may be able to hear them too, the rest of us need a bat detector to hear the rapid clicks of their echo-location. The bats are after moths and other night-flying insects.

By putting a moth trap out you will find out which species live in your area and you will be amazed by how many there are, their variety and beauty. You can attract moths in other ways too. You could put a bright light against a white cloth, or hang some string out that has been soaked in the dregs of your last bottle of wine mixed with sugar. If you find yourself getting fascinated by moths then do consider getting a moth trap.

For information on moths in our area look at Upper Thames Moths. You can look at What's Flying Tonight, which lists the species of moths found where you are at any time of the year.

Thanks to generations of moth trappers we know a lot about moths, but there is always more to discover, One thing we do know is that the number of moths, like so much of our wildlife, is going down year on year. The number of moth species is rising thanks to climate change, but the sheer numbers are far fewer than they used to be. So that means less food for birds and bats, too.

You can do your bit to help, don’t light your garden and make sure curtains are closed to minimise the amount of artificial light spilling out. Even low levels of artificial light are known to disrupt moths and affect their ability to breed. 

Many moths need nectar, so consider planting night-scented plants like honeysuckle and night-scented stock. Moths also need food for their caterpillars, so plant more native plants and leave an area of your lawn uncut to make a mini meadow.

On a fine cloudless night before you go back into the house for a mug of tea or hot chocolate, take time to look up and see the stars, an experience that connects us to our ancestors who also looked up to see those same stars, I wonder what they could see around them?

Sue Taylor Volunteer recorder for BBOWT