WHAT AM I DOING?

As one of my many projects as Land Management Intern this summer, I’m doing a phenological survey of two sites here at Holy Wisdom. Phenology is essentially the study of natural environments over time. Imagine something akin to Henry David Thoreau’s notes at Walden Pond, with an added layer of scientific understanding or site consistency. Phenology logs have been a required component for many courses I’ve taken at Lawrence University, where I’m tasked to return to one outdoor spot over the course of a semester and observe the goings-on: what insects do I see, or birds? How tall has that plant grown? What is flowering, dying, rotting, sprouting? It is the best way I know to get to know anywhere’s secrets; when I got to Holy Wisdom, I knew I wanted to do a phenology log so I could know this land more closely.

Less selfishly: phenology logs can be incredibly useful as longitudinal looks into an environment’s cycles and behaviors. Knowing what species are present, which are about to drop seed, which invasives are poking in – all can be critical data to consider when managing land, and may be useful in the future to look back on and get a sense of the changing landscape. This land is forever a work in progress. The more documentation of its changes, the better.

I asked Emma Kloes (my supervisor) to pick out two sites to monitor. Twice a week at each site, I sit with a bird field guide and Merlin Bird ID, a birdcall identification app, and count as many birds as I can in 10 minutes. These data, which are called a bird point count, can tell lots about the ecosystem’s health and functionality. I spend the next twenty minutes noting the plants around me, taking pictures, and tromping into the brush for a closer look.

This will be one of three entries synthesizing my notes as I encounter the sites over the summer. Below, I introduce the sites and include some of my notes from my sessions so far.

Amelia: This area doesn’t have a formal name, as far as I know. (I named it Amelia after a shape note song I love.) Just northwest of the overlook and orchard, this little pocket of land used to be dominated by burdock and honeysuckle, two co-conspirator invasives that can choke out the underbrush if not dealt with. Now, they’ve been whacked back by the Land Management Team and volunteers, and more than a dozen shrubs have been planted, still in their baby blankets of chicken wire fencing to keep them safe from browsing deer. The land here is young in this stage of its development. Amelia is dense and teeming and tucked away; the birdsong is unending.

(Note: Shape note music is a style of social singing popularized in the 18th century to make learning to sing from sheet music as easy as possible. It’s a tradition very near to my heart. Shape note songs are often named arbitrarily; the song Amelia has nothing to do with anyone named Amelia. I named the shrub patch Amelia to continue that tradition of naming something beautiful with a placeholder. Shape note songs cannot be understood by reading their names; one needs to hear and participate in the music. Amelia the shrub patch is the same.)

June 22:

• Wow! This is a good place for bugs—assailed by flies immediately, juicy wood tick on my pant leg, dragonflies & little glittery green fliers & gnatlike things in the air. For the bird [point count], I’m perched on a dead stump in the shadow of an ambitious Northern Arrowwood [shrub]. Facing a dead tree with a lovely neckbrace of some vine—birds that perch on it are immediately obvious.
• I’m immediately endeared to the dorky white sage, which is poking in various directions, often stuck in the chicken wire meant to support the new shrubs. Fine, feathery yarrow pokes through the ground. What a buzzy, hot, alive place.
• On my walk in, the compass plants seemed too proud to talk to me. The flower stalks [which are a few feet tall, not too many open blooms yet] were facing away from me, but the leaves (which tend to position the flats of their leaves facing east/west to conserve water) were greeting me. So glad you’re here, they said. The flowers are a little shy today.
• [I see] leadplant to the [southern side of the trail] with soft gray/pink heads [emerging from the plant]. Hard to tell—has it already bloomed? Will bloom [soon]?
• Marbleseed is FULL of seeds, many starting to deepen in color as they ripen. They appear to ripen from the bottom up. When I tried to pull a seed loose, it didn’t budge. Should be a while before we need to harvest.

• Happy bees gorging themselves on every [oxeye] sunflower I can spot—not sure what type. Little, but not as small as sweat bees, I don’t think?

June 25:

• I spent the whole 20 minutes drawing this map: Rockytop: A high point on the southeasternmost prairie, tucked into the curve of Highway M. Back when this land was farmland, the farmers gathered wayward stones from around the landscape and left them in this spot, hence, Rockytop. Surrounded by grasslands, this small point is quite biodiverse, and there’s an obvious edge where the scrubby, lively raspberries and white heath asters stop and the woody skeletons of last year’s grasses begin. This prairie has seen lots of maintenance over the years; invasives are absent for the most part. The highway noise is omnipresent here, and I feel exposed under such a heavy sky. I feel as though I can see everything. Looking down at the northern prairie, big swathes of the land are blushing pink from echinacea.

• The leadplant is starting to [bloom]—tiny purple blooms with vivid orange [stamens].

• The red-winged blackbirds here have more calls than the ones at home. I wonder if they have regional accents, or maybe the birds here are just happier in their natural habitat. Most of the time, they’re down in the prairie, but they’ll perch on the tall grasses or young oaks and chirp at me when I get anywhere near their nests. You can see exactly where each pair’s territory begins—they’re each about 15-30 feet apart. They’re not too aggressive, which makes me think no babies yet. Must be soon.

If you have a chance to make it to Rockytop or Amelia this summer, I hope you will. See if you notice the species I do, or others. Already, I feel closer to these pieces of land as I return to them to write down their little mysteries.

The post July phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

American toad in Lost Lake at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

No month ends or begins overnight. Events can be a few weeks early or late.

“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds has come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.”  –Solomon’s Song. Chapter 2. (11 and 12)

March

March is usually a month when we experience snow, ice storms, rain, first thunderstorms, floods, thawing earth, mud, ice out on ponds and lakes, new bird species arriving almost daily and awakenings. The sun is warmer and higher. Daylight is equal to darkness (Vernal Equinox). March is a month of transitions and a promise of spring.

Many of the following observations are from notes I have kept over the years. Events can occur a few weeks early or late depending on weather or other factors. How will the rapidly changing climate affect March happenings?

Resident birds

• Bird song increases and behavior changes considerably more than in January and February.
• Cardinal flocks break up and pairs are formed. Males and females use different perches in their territory and countersing (alternate singing) from dawn until dusk. Feather tips have worn off and bright breeding plumage is revealed. Males feed females.
• Black-capped Chickadee flocks break up and pairs are formed. Males sing their sweet “fee-bee” song throughout the day. Calls are usually answered by rival males involving territory. Near the end of March, the pair excavates a nest cavity in soft wood.
• Male and female White-breasted Nuthatches stay close together and give “ip-ip” and “ank-ank” calls.  Listen for the “wa-wa-wa-wa” courtship call of the male and watch their interesting behavior.
• Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers drum on surfaces that vibrate. The raped jackhammer bursts announce territory and attract mates.
• Red-bellied Woodpeckers call “quirr-quirr”.
• Tufted Titmice sing more frequently. Small winter flocks gradually break up and pairs are formed. Notice their small, pointed crest. Can you name three other birds that have crests? (Cardinal, Blue Jay, and Cedar Waxwing).
• Several Blue Jays form courtship flocks led by one female.  Males and females look the same. They have several calls and displays.
• Mourning Dove flocks break up. Males give sad “coo-coo-coo” songs from perches. On the ground, males puff up their feathers and chase females. The male gathers twigs for a loosely made nest. Males also incubate the two white eggs laid by the female (unusual behavior for a male to help incubate).
• Goldfinches remain in flocks. Males continue their partial molt and grow bright yellow feathers. They sing sweet warbling songs from a high perch.
• Listen for an increase of warbling songs of the House Finch. Males have a red-orange forehead and breast.  Females are grayish brown with streaked breasts.
• English Sparrows chirp loudly and start to build nests.
• European Starlings gather in large flocks. Listen for their whistles.  Black beaks turn yellow. White feather tips wear off and reveal glossy green-black plumage.
• Crows gather in small flocks. Watch for Crows carrying twigs, branches, and other nesting material.
• The Cooper’s Hawk hunts for songbirds and small mammals.
• Red-tailed Hawks perform aerial courtship displays. Watch how they soar, loop, dive, and clasp talons. Their call is a whistled “peerrrr, peerrr” (Blue Jays often imitate the call).
• Look for an abandoned Crow or Hawk nest. You might see a female Great Horned Owl starring down at you. By mid-March there should be 1 or 2 newly hatched owlets in the nest.
• Barred Owls are extremely vocal now calling “who cooks for you” and they make other strange sounds. March is their breeding season.  The female lays 1 or 2 eggs in a tree cavity.
• Eastern Screech Owls also use tree cavities for roosting and nesting.  Listen for their “whinny” or “monotone” call especially at night.
  -Tom Turkeys give descending “gobble-gobble” calls. They puff up, strut, and spread their large tails like fans.

Winter visitors

• Those that spent the winter here “pack their suitcases” and migrate to northern Wisconsin to nest.
• Dark-eyed Juncos form very large flocks. They chase and sing short-musical trills.
• Tree Sparrows gather in flocks and sing very sweet bell-like tinkling songs.
• Pine Siskins occasionally nest early and then leave.
• Saw-whet Owls leave at night. Listen for their one-pitch “toot-toot-toot” call.
• Long-eared, Short-eared, and Snowy Owls head north to nest.

March migrants

• Some years short-distance migrants arrive from the south a week or so earlier, later, or not at all. Can you think of reasons why? Frequent violent storms? Climate change? Changes in the landscape?
• Over the years I have observed the following short-distance migrants. Some will nest here and others will continue on their journey.

Early to mid-March migrants

• Robin, Bluebird, Red-winged Blackbird, Grackle, Cowbird, Killdeer, Song and Fox Sparrows, Meadowlark and Great Blue Heron. Overhead look for Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Sandhill Crane and Kestrel.
• Woodcock (thimberdoodle) usually arrive in early March. At dusk listen for their “peent, peent” calls and watch their entertaining courtship sky dance.
• Waterfowl seen on open water include: Bufflehead, Canvasback, Gadwall, Hooded Merganser, Lesser Scalp, Northern Pintail, Redhead, Wood Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Coot, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Shoveler, Pied-billed Grebe, Ruddy Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Snow Goose and Tundra Swan.

Mid to late-March migrants

• Phoebe, Towhee, Hermit Thrush, Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Swamp, Chipping and Field Sparrows, Tree and Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Kingfisher, Sandpiper, Winter Wren, an occasional Yellow-rumpled Warbler and more.
• Wilson’s Snipe “winnow” in wetlands and prairies (outer tail feathers create a wavering winnowing sound).

Mammals

• Many of the following mammals mate in January or February and have young now: gray squirrel, opossum, rabbit, coyote, red fox, small rodents and more.
• Chipmunks, ground squirrels and woodchucks emerge from hibernation.
• Look for muskrat, mink and weasel near water.
• Meadow voles, shrews, and moles are active.
• Deer continue to browse woody plants. Well-fed male deer sometimes do not shed their antlers until March. They are usually shed in December-February.
• Big brown bats come out of hibernation (often too early).

Insects, spiders and others

• During warm days, how many of the following can you find?
  • Mourning cloak, red admiral, comma, question mark, cabbage white, sulphur, and the early form of the spring azure.
  • Several kinds of moths.
  • Queen bumblebees, honeybees, solitary bees (especiallly cellophane bees), wasps, and hornets.
  • Gnats, flies, and swarms of midges.
  • Ladybird beetles and box elder bugs.
  • Six-spotted tiger beetles are shiny green with white spots. They run very fast.
  • Ants spend time outside their burrows.
  • Coral winged and green striped grasshoppers overwinter as last instars. Look for them nestled in grass.
  • Woolly bear caterpillars search for food after their long winter nap.
  • Earthworms come out of their underground burrows after rain.
  • Look for water striders and whirligig beetles on the surface of water.
  • Snowfleas (springtails) are especially active on warm days. Look for tiny dark specks on top of melting snow or on puddles.
  • A few kinds of wolf spiders spend the winter under the snow as adults. Now they come out of their burrows.
  • Zebra jumping spiders overwinter as adults. Look for these tiny, adorable spiders on buildings, trees, and rocks especially during sunny days.
  • Centipedes and millipedes scurry about.
  • Red velvet mites, chiggers, and TICKS are active.

Plants

• Sap starts to flow. Sugar maple sap runs best when nights are 25-32 degrees and days are 32-45 degrees.
• Sapsicles hang from broken branches.
• Stems of red-osier and silky dogwood turn bright red.
• Aspen bark turns greenish-yellow and furry catkins expand.
• Willow branches and twigs have an amber glow.
• The red and yellow flowers of the silver maple open.
• Pussy willow buds swell. Brown bud scales fall off and silver, furry “pussies” expend into flowers. Each plant has either all male or all female flowers.
• Hazelnut catkins expand. The brown male flowers release yellow pollen in the wind. Very tiny, red, star-like, female flowers are found near the catkins.
• Skunk cabbage blooms in wetlands.
• Pasque and prairie smoke bloom on prairies.
• Some years in late March, I have found the following in bloom in woodlands: trout lily, bloodroot, dutchman’s breeches, toothwort, hepatica, and violets.
• Dandelions bloom and provide pollen and nectar for insects.
• Grasses, sedges, and other plants green up.

And other signs of spring

• Frozen ground thaws out. Breathe in the fragrant earthy smell released from microbes in damp soil.
• Painted turtles spend the winter beneath mud in ponds. Now they emerge and bask in the sun on logs, etc.
• Spring peepers and chorus frogs leave woodlands where they spent the winter (in a somewhat frozen state). They head to ponds to breed when the ground thaws out and the water temperature is about 50 degrees. I usually hear them call in early March.
• Salamanders leave woodlands and migrate to ponds and wetlands where they breed. Look for them at night in late March during a warm rainy night.
• Garter and brown snakes emerge from hibernation and bask in sunny areas.

Take time to look, listen, and appreciate all that the land here at Holy Wisdom has to offer. Perhaps you will discover things I have missed.

“Is gratitude a moral obligation? I would say it is. The obligation is owed to the earth itself. To be grateful is to live a life that honors the gift.  To care for it, keep it safe, protect it from danger. Not to discount it or ignore it, but to use it respectfully. To celebrate it, to honor the worth of it in a thousand ways, not just in words, but in how we live our lives.”
–Kathleen Dean Moore, Pine Island Paradox

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post March phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Cedar waxwing feeding on crabapples

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops.”  –Emily Dickinson

February

February is usually a month of cold, snowy days with some mild days. I have recorded temperatures ranging from -25 below zero to 60 above. No two February months are the same. It is still winter in February but there are subtle signs that the season is changing. Birds start to sing and their behavior changes. Mammals court and mate. By the end of February daylight increases to 11 hours. Buds swell and sap flows. The sun is warmer.  Most plants respond to longer periods of light rather than warmer temperatures.  What effect will the rapid changing climate have on the above and the following observations I have made?

Resident birds

• Winter flocks of Cardinals break up and pairs start to form.  Male and female Cardinals counter-sing “birdy, birdy, what cheer, what year” throughout the day.  Feather tips wear off and reveal more vivid plumage.
• Chickadees whistle “fee-bee” songs.
• White-breasted Nuthatches give rapid “ank, ank” and “wa-wa-wa-wa” calls.
• Woodpeckers drum. Red-bellied Woodpeckers call “quirr-quire.”
• Tufted Titmice call “peter, peter.”
• Blue Jays form courtship flocks usually led by one female. Look for bobbing displays and listen for musical “wheedle, wheedle” calls.
• Mourning Doves remain in flocks. Males begin long “coo-coo-coo-coo” courtship songs and chase females.
• Goldfinches gather in smaller flocks. Males begin their partial molt and new feathers are bright yellow.  Males sing sweet warbling songs. They do not nest until July and August.
• Flocks of Cedar Waxwings wander here and there.
• European Starlings prepare for breeding and begin to whistle. Beaks turn yellow and feather tips wear off revealing iridescent plumage.
• Large flocks of noisy Crows gather.
• Turkeys form large flocks.
• Red-tailed Hawks perform aerial displays. Pairs soar close to one another.
• The Cooper’s Hawk pursues small birds.
• Great Horned Owls continue to call and mate. Look for an abandoned Crow or Hawk nest. You might see feather tufts of the female peeking over the rim. She usually lays 1-2 eggs in mid-February and begins incubating.
• Barred Owls call “who cooks for you” more frequently.  They usually nest in March.
• Look at tree cavities for a well-camouflaged Gray or Red Screech Owl.  Listen for their whinny or monotone call usually well after dark.

Winter visitors

• Dark-eyed Juncos form larger flocks, chase and sing trilling songs.
• Tree Sparrows gather in larger flocks and start singing sweet “tinkling” songs.
• Look for Purple Finch, Pine siskin, brown creeper, red-breasted nuthatch and Golden-crowned Kinglet in wooded areas.
• Along roadsides, fields and prairies look for Snow Bunting, Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Rough-legged Hawk, Harrier, Shrike and Snowy Owl.
• Perhaps you can find a Saw-whet Owl roosting in a conifer.

Irregular visitors from the north

• White-winged and Red Crossbills
• Evening and Pine Grosbeaks
• Common and Hoary Redpolls
• Bohemian Waxwings
• Short-eared and Long-eared Owls

Early migrants from the south 

• In late February look for male Red-winged Blackbird, Grackle, Robin, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Meadowlark, Sandhill Crane, Eagle and Woodcock.

Mammals

• Most are active at night. Tracks in the snow or mud reveal stories of their nocturnal activities.
• Deer tracks are arrow or heart shaped. Deer continue to browse (tear) and nibble tree branches and shrubs. Males shed antlers.
• Rabbits hop and put paired front feet behind rear feet. They are courting now. Look for lots of tracks and pinkish-orange urine on snow. They browse or cut branches at a 45-degree angle.
• Gray squirrels also hop and put paired front paws behind rear paws.  Males chase females with wild abandon and mate.
• Raccoon tracks resemble our hands (front) and feet (hind).
• Opossum tracks are star-like and both front and hind tracks resemble hands.
• Deer mice have delicate paired tracks with a trail drag between. They have long tails and long ears.
• Voles (meadow mice) and shrews make small meandering tracks that resemble a string of beads. Voles have short tails and long ears.  Shrews have a pointed nose and tiny ears.
• Rodents and rabbits gnaw bark.
• Have you seen any coyotes lately? They have 4 toes on each paw (cats have 5). They travel in nearly a straight line (dogs meander).
• Skunks come out of hibernation on warm days and make meandering tracks as they wander.
• A chipmunk might make an appearance.

Insects

• During sunny or warm days (near 50 degrees) look for the following:
  • Overwintering adult butterflies such as mourning cloak, red admiral, and angle-wing nectaring on tree sap.
  • Dark speck-like snowfleas (springtails) appearing on top of the snow or on tree trunks to mate or graze on pollen or algae.
  • Gnats, midges, flies, craneflies, snow mosquitoes (they do not bite), lady beetles, box elder bugs, and tiny grasshoppers are active.
  • A spider or strands of spider silk might be found hanging from branches.

Plants

• Sap starts to flow causing the stems of red osier dogwood shrubs to turn bright red and the trunks of quaking aspen to turn shades of green.
• Pussy willow buds start to elongate and silver, furry catkins start to expand.
• Examine the buds and bark of the following native shrubs and trees:  ninebark, lderberry, chokeberry, buttonwood, gray dogwood, hazelnut, oak, maple, shagbark hickory, and hackberry.

More things to notice and appreciate

• Warmth of the sun
• Sundogs (shafts of rainbow colors on each side of the sun)
• Sapsicles hanging from maple tree branches
• Glittering hoarfrost
• Beautiful sparkling snow and the delicate design of each different flake
• Silhouettes of open-grown oaks and other trees
• Did you notice the tiny white-cup fungus (Aleurodiscus oaksii) on the light gray bark of the white oak?
• Turkey tail fungus is found on dead wood. Notice the variety of colors in the overlapping rows of fan-like fungi.
• Beautiful lichens can be found on trees and rocks. Most are gray, gray-green, and a few are yellow. They have different shapes.
• Listen to the wind whispering through the pine trees.
• Be grateful for the privilege to walk and enjoy the peace and beauty of nature at Holy Wisdom Monastery.

“Is gratitude a moral obligation? I would say it is. The obligation is owed to the earth itself. To be grateful is to live a life that honors the gift. To care for it, keep it safe, protect it from danger, not to discount it or ignore it, but to use it respectfully, to celebrate it, to honor the worth of it in a thousand ways, not just in words, but in how we live our lives.”
–Kathleen Dean Moore, Pine Island Paradox

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post February phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Male cardinal at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area in January. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

January Phenology for Holy Wisdom

“Go softly on your way. Learn to be a gentle people and seek joy in simple things.” –Anonymous

January, the coldest month of the year with frigid wind chills, snowstorms, ice, sleet, and freezing rain. Usually we experience a January thaw, but when it occurs is unpredictable. “Each year, after the midwinter blizzards, there comes a night of thaw when the tinkle of dripping water is heard in the land” (Aldo Leopold). I wonder how the changing climate will affect weather patterns and plant and animal life? January is a month of long, cold nights and twinkling stars. Daylight is noticeably longer, and the sun sets later each evening.

“January observation is almost as simple and peaceful as snow, and almost as continuous as cold. There is time to not only see who has done what, but to speculate why.” –Aldo Leopold from Sand County Almanac

Following are some of my favorite January observations.

Resident Birds

• Male and female Cardinals remain in flocks. They look brighter because the tips of their feathers are wearing off. Cardinals call “what cheer, wet year” early in the morning. Near the end of January, males and females sing throughout the day.
• Blue Jays add color to the winter landscape.
• Chickadees flit about in small flocks. Listen for their sweet “fee-bee” song associated with spring.
• Tufted Titmice call “Peter, Peter.”
• White-breasted Nuthatches search for insects in cracks and crevices of tree bark. Listen for their nasal “yank, yank” call and their one-pitch “wa, wa, wa, wa” call.
• Flocks of Goldfinches search for seeds in the prairie and along edges of woods.
• Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers can be heard tapping on trees as they search for insects. Listen for their loud drumming associated with territory and courtship.
• Male Mourning Doves start long-cooing songs in late January.
• Flocks of House Finches warble and House Sparrows chirp.
• Look for flocks of Cedar Waxwings consuming crabapples, red cedar cones and sumac fruits.
• Foraging flocks of Turkeys roam the land.
• Crows gather in noisy flocks.
• The Red-tailed Hawk soars over the prairie hunting for small mammals.
• The Cooper’s Hawk hunts the savanna and woodland for small birds.
• Great Horned Owls are one of the earliest birds to breed in Wisconsin. Listen for the duet calls of the male and female. The female uses an abandoned hawk or crow nest to lay her eggs in late January or February.
• Barred Owls continue to call and ask “who cooks for you?”
• Some years a few birds that spent the summer here, do not migrate south. Look for Robin, Bluebird and Flicker feeding on sumac and other fruits.

Winter Visitors

• Look for the Brown Creeper spiraling around tree trunks in search of insects.
• Flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and Tree Sparrows search for seeds in the prairie and along edges.
• Most years Purple Finch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and flocks of Pine Siskin spend the winter. Red-breasted Nuthatches also visit. They can be heard uttering a slow nasal “na, na, na, na” and a soft “ip, ip, ip” as they search for insects on tree trunks.
• It is possible to see Northern Shrike, Rough-legged Hawk, and Northern Harrier hunting over grasslands. Others to look for include Saw-whet and Long-eared Owls in wooded areas and short-eared and snowy owls in open areas.

Irregular Visitors from the North

• Many of the following birds breed in Canada and are uncommon or nomadic. They feed on tree buds, seeds, fruit, and some mainly eat conifer seeds. When food is scarce because of fires, logging, or other unknown causes, look for the following:
  • White-winged and Red-winged Crossbill
  • Evening and Pine Grosbeak
  • Bohemian Waxwing
  • Common and Hoary Redpoll

Mammals

• Most are active at night. Tracks (patterns) and prints (marks) in the snow tell stories of their nocturnal activities. If there is no snow or mud, look for the following clues: scat (droppings), tunnels, travel lanes, tooth marks, browse, bones, fur, feathers, pellets, blood, nests, and caches of food.
• Rabbits hop or leap. Their front feet land just behind their rear feet. Their paired tracks form an arrow which points to the place where the rabbit was coming from. Rabbits browse woody plants leaving a sharp 45-degree angled cut. They also gnaw bark. Rabbit scat resembles brown m & m’s.
• Gray squirrels also hop and leap. Front feet land behind hind feet and often disappear near a tree trunk. Males frantically chase females through treetops and mate.
• Raccoons mate in January. They have five slender toes on each foot. Front feet resemble our hands, and hind feet resemble our feet.
• Opossums wander the land when it is not too cold. Hind tracks resemble our hands with the thumb pointed down. Their front tracks show five toes and is star-shaped.
• Coyotes and foxes have four toes on each foot. They walk or run in almost a straight line. Dogs meander.
• White-footed mice can climb trees, and they use abandoned nests and nest boxes. Their tracks are paired with a trail drag between. They make beautiful, delicate, embroidery-like tracks.
• Meadow voles and shrews make meandering tracks that remind me of a beaded necklace. They make tunnels under the snow and through the grass. They gnaw tree and shrub bark.
• Deer tracks resemble a heart. Deer droppings look like a pile of brown marbles. They lack upper incisors and rip branches leaving a ragged edge. Male white-tailed deer shed antlers usually in January.

Insects and Spiders

• Those that do not migrate or die, spend the winter as adults, partially grown adults, larvae or eggs. Some adult insects emerge when temperatures are above 32 degrees.
• On warm, sunny days look for snow fleas or springtails. They resemble tiny, dark, poppyseeds and gather in large groups on snow, tree trunks, or leaves. They mate and/or eat algae on old snow.
• Fungus gnats, midges, box elder bugs, lady bird beetles, some butterflies, and others are active on warm days.
• Wingless winter crane flies mate. They resemble mosquitoes and do not bite.
• Tiny dwarf spiders climb up and off leaf litter. They walk on the snow looking for a mate or food.

And More Favorites

• Glittering, lacy, white hoarfrost. Look for it during a humid morning following a cold, clear night.
• “Beautiful star crystals, perfect little wheels, six perfect leaflets, fern-like snow stars.” Thoreau. Try to find one exactly like the one you are holding in your hand.
• Ice crystals sparkle like colorful jewels in the sunlight.
• Sapsicles hanging from broken branches.
• Lichens are made up of an alga growing inside a fungus. There are about 30 common species in Wisconsin. Look closely at these lovely green, gray, and yellow fairylands on rocks and tree trunks.
• Colors and shapes of buds and seeds.
• Green conifers and the fragrance they emit.
• Tree silhouettes and contours of the land.
• Bright twinkling stars and January constellations.
• Peace and silence of a winter night.

As you walk the trails, take time to appreciate the silence and beauty of this land that
is cared for with love.

Sylvia Marek

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post January phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

A junco in the woods at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Phenology is the science of observing and recording plant and animal activities from year to year and their relationship to season and climate.  The following Madison area observations are from notes I have kept over the years.  We would love to hear about your observations here at Holy Wisdom.  Please comment on this post what, where, and the date of your observations.

December Phenology

“I heard a bird sing in the dark of December.
                      A magical thing and sweet to remember.”    –Oliver Hereford

December, a month when the gray, black, brown and tan landscape of late autumn changes into a wonderland of white and silver beauty with a few sprinklings of color. It is usually a month of cold temperatures which can create a variety of pretty snowflakes, frost, glittering hoarfrost, sparkling ice and sometimes freezing rain. In the future, December might be warmer, wetter or possibly colder due to the changing climate. Year-round resident birds and visitors from the north form mixed feeding flocks and give fragments of song. And owls call at night. The annual Christmas Bird Count is held in mid-December. The first count started in 1900. During the first half of December, the sun sets around 4:15 pm. According to the calendar, the winter solstice or the beginning of winter occurs on December 21 or 22, the shortest day and longest night. Brilliant winter constellations include Orion, Big Dipper, Pleiades and Cassiopeia.

The following are some of my favorite observations.

Birds

• Birds that use the area throughout the year include the following: Cardinal, Chickadee, Blue Jay, White-breasted Nuthatch, Goldfinch, Tufted Titmouse, Mourning Dove, House Finch, House Sparrow, Cedar Waxwing, Red-bellied, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Red-tailed and Cooper’s Hawk, Turkey and Crow. Resident male and female Great Horned Owls call frequently during territorial formation and courtship. Their soft duet calls can be heard especially around dusk and before dawn. Look and listen for the barred owl asking, “who cooks for you?” Please do not play recordings to attract them and do not disturb them in any way.
• Birds that arrive from the north and spend the winter include Brown Creeper, flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and Tree Sparrows. They are predictable.
• Other winter visitors from the north are unpredictable. The following birds visit most winters but not all: Pine Siskin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Fox, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Northern Shrike, Rough-legged Hawk and Snowy Owl. Saw-whet, Long-eared and Short-eared Owls often show up in or around the Madison area. Rarely do the following visit: Redpoll, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak, Red and White-winged Crossbill and Bohemian Waxwing.
• Occasionally, overwintering Robins, Bluebirds and Cedar Waxwings can be seen feasting on crabapples, red cedar cones and sumac fruits.
• Look up and listen for migrating Tundra Swans, Canada and Snow Geese, Sandhill Cranes and Gulls. Waterfowl leave when ice forms on ponds and lakes.
• As climate changes, wintering ranges of many species might change.
• How many abandoned bird nests, woodpecker holes, owl pellets and areas of whitewash can you find?

Mammals

• Gray squirrels are active during the day. Look for their large leafy nests high up in trees. They use them in the summer. They usually use tree cavities in the winter. Flying squirrels are nocturnal and use cavities in trees.
• Deer browse woody plants. They lack upper incisors and tear branches and twigs. Look for “buck rub.”
• Rabbits have upper and lower incisors. They browse or cut twigs and small branches diagonally or at a sharp 45-degree angle.
• Meadow voles gnaw bark off woody plants. They also eat grass and other types of plant material such as roots, leaves, seeds and mushrooms. They make holes in the ground and tunnels through grass and snow.
• Shrews scurry frantically across trails.
• Deer and white-footed mice are active at night and leave delicate tracks in the snow. They find shelter in abandoned bird nests or bluebird boxes
• Other mammals to look for include coyote, raccoon, opossum, mink, weasel, red fox and possibly gray fox. They are usually active during the night and leave their tracks or scat on the mud or snow.

Insects

• Where are the insects? Many spend the winter as adults, semi-adults, larvae or eggs. Most are in a dormant state.
• Adult ladybird and other beetles, boxelder and other bugs, and other insects seek shelter under logs, rocks or plants. A few species of grasshoppers overwinter as adults. Most grasshoppers lay eggs for future generations.
• Butterflies that overwinter as adults include red admiral, mourning cloak, comma and question mark. A few can be seen fluttering about when it is at least 50 degrees.
• Viceroy butterflies overwinter as a partially grown larva in a rolled-up leaf attached to a branch.
• Cabbage whites overwinter in a grayish-green chrysalis.
• The two-inch hairy cocoon of the cecropia moth is attached horizontally on a branch. The promethea cocoon resembles a dry gray leaf hanging from a twig on a silken stalk. Years ago, I found cocoons on black cherry, apple, willow and box elder. They are not very common now and not easy to find.
• Look carefully for glossy, foam-like egg masses of the tent caterpillar especially on cherry and apple trees. Watching chickadees search can help you locate the eggs.
• Snowy tree crickets prepare for future generations by inserting eggs here and there on twigs and small branches.
• The female black horned tree cricket lays her eggs in a short line of little holes. I have found them on the stems of blackcap raspberries and other small twigs.
• Many native bees and other insects use plant stems as an adult, larva or egg. For that reason, I do not cut my plants down in winter.
• Galls are abnormal growths on plants. There are three common galls found on goldenrod stems. The ball gall (larva of a fly), elliptical gall (moth), and bunch gall (midge). There are 800 kinds of galls on oaks. Look for oak bullet gall on white oak twigs, oak hedgehog on leaves, oak apple on black and red oak and so many more. Enjoy your search for galls.

Spiders

• Many species of spiders overwinter as adults. Some spend the winter as eggs or little spiders in papery egg sacs attached to plants. Others tuck their sticky egg sacs behind loose bark or under rocks.

Arachnids

• Ticks hopefully lie dormant in leaf litter.

Colors of December

• Shades of black, gray, brown and tan dominate the landscape. Notice tree bark, rocks, dried leaves, pinecones, plants, seeds and grasses.
• Conifers, mosses and lichens add lovely shades of green, gray and yellow. Have you noticed the beautiful grayish-greenish-yellowish lichens growing on trees and rocks? There are 30 common lichens found in Wisconsin. The three types are crustose (like paint), foliose (leaf-like) and fruticose (fruiting bodies).
• Blue cones (fruits) decorate female red cedar trees. Bluish-lavender stems of blackcap raspberries stand out. Young branches of boxelder trees are light bluish-gray.
• Red and orange crabapples, rose hips, sumac fruits, stems of red-osier dogwood and small flocks of all-red male cardinals and buffy-brown females add a bright sprinkling of color.

And More Favorites

• Dark silhouettes of trees, especially oaks, against a blue or gray sky.
• All sizes, shapes and colors of buds and seeds.
• Turkey tail fungus attached to dead wood with rings of various colors. Artist’s bracket fungi are also attached to dead wood.
• Milkweed pods with silver and gold linings.
• Sparkling snowflakes, frost and glittering hoarfrost.
• Lovely sunsets and sunrises.
• The view of Lake Mendota and the prairie from the high hilltop.
• May you find quiet beauty, love and peace here at Holy Wisdom.

“What makes a place special is the way it buries itself inside the heart, not whether it’s flat or rugged, rich or austere, wet or arid, gentle or harsh, warm or cold, wild or tame. Every place, like every person, is elevated by the love and respect shown toward it.” –Richard Nelson, from Island Within

This place is loved!
Sylvia Marek

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She is also a long-time volunteer at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first-rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post December phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Heron on Lost Lake

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

October phenology

“Now is the time of the illuminated woods. They have a sense of sunshine even on
a cloudy day. Given by the yellow foliage, every leaf glows like a tiny lamp; one
walks through their lighted halls with curious enjoyment.” –John Burroughs

“Beauty before me, beauty above me, beauty below me, beauty all around me.” –Navajo Prayer Song

October, a month to spend time outdoors enjoying the lovely colors of autumn and other natural events. It is a month of clear, sunny, warm days and a bright blue sky.

Mornings are misty or hazy. Days become shorter and cooler. Birds continue to arrive from their breeding grounds in the north. Some will spend the winter here. Others will journey south for the winter. Asters and a few goldenrods, gentians, sunflowers and “Susans” (the Rudbeckia species) provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Seeds and colorful fruits are abundant. Mammals prepare for winter. Frost creates a glittering landscape. The “Hunter’s” moon is big and bright.

I encourage you to visit the well-cared-for prairies, savannas and woodlands here at Holy Wisdom Monastery. I hope you will enjoy this oasis of quiet beauty. Visit often, observe, listen and breathe in the scents of autumn. Remember what you experienced when the first snowflakes fall.

My years of favorite observations follow. Please note, October biological events can vary from year to year in relationship to changes in climate and other factors.

Birds

• Resident birds are more vocal now. Listen for fragments of song, calls and chip notes from the following: chickadee, cardinal, nuthatch, goldfinch, titmouse, house finch, blue jay, crow, woodpecker and owl. Migrants can also be heard making chip notes, contact calls and “whisper” songs.
• Neotropical and short distance migrants spend time here before continuing their journey to Central and South America and the southern U.S.
• Most warbler species passed through in late August and throughout September.
  A few can be seen in early October. My list includes Nashville, Tennessee, magnolia, chestnut-sided, bay-breasted, redstart, black-throated green, black-and-white, golden-winged, orange-crowned and others. I have observed the uncommon and beautiful black-throated blue as late as October 12.
• Look for flocks of yellow-rumped and palm warblers. These late migrants will spend the winter in the southern U.S.
• Other southbound migrants to look for include eastern towhee, eastern phoebe, house wren, catbird, flicker, yellow-bellied sapsucker and thrush, vireo and flycatcher species.
• I have observed a few chimney swifts, tree swallows and nighthawks in early October.
• A few ruby-throated hummingbirds can be seen throughout October. Keep your feeders up.
• October is sparrow month! Look for the following native sparrow species: chipping, field, clay-colored, vesper, savannah, song, fox, swamp, Lincoln’s and flocks of white-throated and white-crowned. Most of the sparrows will migrate to the southern states for winter. A few uncommon sparrows include Harris’s, Le Conte’s and Nelson’s sharp-tailed.
• Flocks of tree sparrows and dark-eyed juncos arrive. These seed eaters will spend the winter here.
• Brown creeper, red-breasted nuthatch, winter wren, pine siskin, purple finch, and ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets arrive from the north and pass through. Some will stay.
• Look up for the resident red-tailed hawk and migrating eagles, broad-winged and rough-legged hawks, kestrels, turkey vultures, geese, and sandhill cranes. Cranes start staging and can be found feeding in fields during the day.
• Waterfowl migrate. Look for coot, loon, canvasback, common merganser, pied-billed grebe, bufflehead, redhead, shoveler, scaup and others.
• There is no shortage of turkeys!
• Especially at dusk, listen for the deep muffled hooting of the great horned owl.
• Barred owls call back and forth and can often be heard during the day.
• Screech owls are very nocturnal and usually call late at night.
• Saw-whet owls migrate during the night and might roost here during the day. A few spend the winter in the Madison area and possibly at Holy Wisdom.
• Please do not play recordings to attract owls!

Plants

• The parade of prairie, savanna and woodland flowers is almost over and will end with a hard frost. Many species of asters, goldenrods, gentians, sunflowers and “Susan’s” bloomed in September. Asters and a few of the others continue to bloom in early October and provide pollen and nectar for insects.
• Look for the following asters: New England, frost, calico, Short’s, arrow-leaved and a few silky, sky blue and smooth.
• Most goldenrod species bloom in August and September. A few continue to bloom in early October. They include showy, elm-leaved, zig-zag and a few last blooms on Canada, old field and stiff.
• Stiff gentians have showy clusters of lavender, tubular flowers. Fringed, bottle and downy gentians are blue. Creamy gentians bloomed earlier and now display little brown “bottles” of seeds.
• Brown-eyed (Rudbeckia triloba) and black-eyed (R. hirta) Susans continue to brighten up the landscape. Woodland, tall and sawtooth sunflowers have a few last blossoms.
• Other flowers in bloom include fleabane and a few last flowers of gaura, yarrow, white snakeroot, heal-all, chicory and Queen-Anne’s lace. It is not unusual to find a violet or dandelion in bloom.
• Look for the fleshy green and purple inflorescences (teepees) of skunk cabbage in wetlands. The plants will bloom in late winter or early spring.
• Witch-hazel is the latest native shrub to bloom in Wisconsin. Yellow star-like flowers decorate the branches. Each flower has four delicate twisted petals.

Insects

• Some insects spend the winter as adults. Others prepare for future generations in the form of eggs, larvae, or cocoons.
• A few monarch butterflies continue on their journey to Mexico.
• In early October and during warm days, look for these last few active butterflies: eastern tailed blue, painted lady, red admiral, mourning cloak, buckeye, clouded sulphur, alfalfa and cabbage white.
• Woolly bear caterpillars reach peak numbers and seem to be in a hurry to find a place to spend the winter.
• Green darner and yellow-legged meadowhawk dragonflies are active during mild days.
• Black field and tree crickets are active when the temperature is above 50 degrees. Snowy tree crickets call during the day now. Count the number of chirps in 15 seconds and add 40 to find out the temperature. I love listening to the loud continuous trill of the black-horned tree cricket calling from tall prairie grasses.
• Red-legged grasshoppers and Carolina locusts are the most common short-horned grasshoppers. They are active on warm days. There are about 95 species in Wisconsin. Six overwinter as last instars.
• Bumble bees, flower bees and honeybees visit asters and other flowers for nectar and pollen.
• Bald-face hornets and German yellow jackets reach peak numbers and are aggressive.
• Box-elder, leaf-footed and stink bugs are active. Look for the orange and black and red and black milkweed bugs on milkweed plants.
• There are many kinds of lady bird beetles (or bugs). They prey on aphids, and a few eat pollen. Most are orange with different numbers of black spots or dots on their wings. The number of spots can help you identify the species.
• Asian lady bird beetles (Harmonia axyridis) congregate in masses for the winter. These non-natives arrived in Wisconsin around 1992. They have a black M against white on the upper back. They bite!
• Mosquito season is over.
• Woolly alder aphid egg masses are found on the stems of alders. They look like cotton and are white and sticky. The adults look like fluffy white puffs of cotton when in flight. (I call them pom-pom fairies).
• Look for the small, brown, thorn-like, two-marked treehopper (Enchenopa binotata) and their sticky-white egg masses dotting twigs of nannyberry and other shrubs.

Arachnids

• Deer or blacklegged ticks continue to seek blood meals and often carry diseases.
• Daddy longlegs or harvestmen are numerous. They have only one body part and are not considered spiders.

Spiders

• Silky webs of orb weavers shimmer with sparkling frost and/or dew.
• ‘Ballooning’ spiders are often newly hatched. They climb to the tops of vegetation and release a silver thread of silk that is caught by the wind. Then the spiderlings float through the air to a new location.

Mammals

• Male white-tailed deer (bucks) continue to make scrapes on the ground and polish the velvet from their antlers on small trunks. Mating season begins soon, and males can be dangerous. Do not approach them.
• White-footed mice use abandoned bird nests and bluebird boxes during the winter.
• Field mice, voles and chipmunks gather thistle down and milkweed floss for their nests.
• Squirrels and chipmunks scurry about gathering and storing nuts and seeds.
• Flying squirrels are very nocturnal. Look for them at your bird feeders at night.
• Woodchucks fatten up in preparation for winter.
• Muskrats build lodges in wetlands.
• Little brown bats and several other species congregate and hibernate in Wisconsin during the winter. A few other species migrate to the southern states.

Fall color

• According to my notes, peak color can occur as early as October 5 or as late as October 25. It usually peaks in mid-October. Most years the colors are brilliant with shades of red, crimson, orange, yellow, gold, apricot, pink, purple and more. Dry, sunny days followed by cool, crisp nights seem to produce the best colors. Some years leaves turn dull colors. They fade quickly, turn brown, and fall. Perhaps fall color has something to do with weather and other factors.
• Watch leaves fall and listen to the sound they make letting go. Listen to the wind rustle the leaves. Listen to your footsteps on the carpet of leaves.

Leaf color

• Red and orange when in the sun: sugar and red maple, sumac, dogwood, blackhaw, viburnum, poison ivy, blackberry, chokeberry and Virginia creeper.
• Yellow and gold: sugar maple, aspen, basswood, birch, hickory, elm, hackberry, walnut, ash, hazelnut, witch hazel, silver maple and willow.
• Maroon, burgundy, copper and brown: white and black oaks, older needles of white pine and Arborvitae.

Seeds and fruit color

• Many flowers, grasses, vines, trees and shrubs have finished blooming and have produced a rainbow of colorful fruits and seeds. Those that have not been consumed by birds or mammals remain.
• White fruit: gray dogwood, red-osier dogwood and poison ivy.
• Blue cones: red cedar.
• Bluish-purple to black fruit: nannyberry, arrowwood, grape, chokeberry, Virginia creeper, hackberry, pokeweed and buckthorn (on female trees).
• Red and orange fruit: rose hips and clusters of dry, fuzzy fruit on female sumac shrubs. American bittersweet has red-centered fruit in clusters at the end of the vine. Oriental bittersweet has yellow-orange fruit scattered along the vine. Jack-in-the-pulpit fruit or berry is bright red.
• Brown: acorns, hazelnuts, bladdernut pods, hickory nuts, basswood nutlets and box elder samaras (winged seeds).
• Seeds are all sizes and shapes. Most are brown, black, gray or white.
• Seeds are dispersed in many ways. They drift or float, hitch-hike or propel. Birds and mammals deposit seeds of berries.
• Prairie grasses turn yellow, gold, bronze, copper, orange and bluish-purple. Their seeds are usually brown. Little blue turns reddish-pink to bronze-orange and their seeds are attached to silvery-white fluff.

Other color and happenings

• Gaura and flowering spurge plants turn a brilliant orange-red.
• Stems of pokeweed are brilliant scarlet or reddish-purple.
• Mushrooms of all sizes, shapes, and colors often appear in October especially after wet weather. Look for hen-of-the-woods, russula, bolete, honey, meadow, shaggy mane, Dryad’s saddle, destroying angel, puffball, fairy ring, oyster and the delicate marasmius often found on fallen leaves. Jack-o-lantern mushrooms are bright orange and usually grow on stumps. They glow with a greenish light when it is very dark.
• Indian pipe is not a fungus but a flowering plant. It often parasitizes honey mushrooms.
• Chorus, spring peeper and tree frogs call occasionally. I have heard them as late as the 27th. They start to look for overwintering sites usually in wooded areas under leaf litter. Leopard frogs leave meadows and head for ponds, streams or lakes for winter.
• Toads hop to woodlands and dig in for winter.
• I have recorded a few migrating salamanders October 1 (most migrate to woodlands earlier).
• Galls can be found on most plants. Three different kinds occur on Canada goldenrod: ball, elliptical and bunch.
• Northern lights are possible.
• Frost can be expected. My notes indicate we had frost as early as October 5 and as late as October 30.
• Snow fell on October 12, 2006!
• Usually, most leaves carpet the ground by the end of October.

“In that little leaf was all the poetry of fall, the first soft prelude of the symphony just finished. They cycle was complete once more. Now the snows could come.”  –Sigurd Olson

Have a beautiful October.

Sylvia Marek

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first-rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post October phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

New England aster with rigid leaf goldenrod

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

September Phenology

“The tint of autumn – mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of an enchanter – frost.”
–John Greenleaf Whittier

September is a month of migrating birds, monarchs, dragonflies, bats, and
tiger salamanders. It is a month of bright yellow goldenrods and sunflowers; blue, purple, and white asters and gentians; and white lady’s-tresses orchids. Fall colors
parade across the landscape. Prairie grasses turn beautiful earthy colors and
display interesting and abundant seeds. Fruits and berries are colorful and provide
sustenance for birds and mammals. September, a month of misty mornings, sunny
days, sparkling frosty nights, and the big bright Harvest Moon.

The following are observations I have made over the years. Some events can occur
earlier or later, depending on a number of conditions and location of observation.

Birds

• September is an exciting month to observe the annual fall migration of birds.
• Breeding season is over and birds seem to be everywhere. Goldfinches, robins,
  bluebirds, waxwings, doves, woodpeckers, and mixed flocks of warblers, vireos,
  flycatchers, and thrushes gather to feast on insects, seeds, and fruits.
• Most birds that nest in the far north or temperate zones and winter in the tropics
  migrate at night when there is a north wind or it is calm. Listen for their sweet “seep,
  cheep, chirp” call notes as they fly overhead.
• I encourage you to go out early in the morning especially the day after a cold front
  passes through and the wind is from the north.
• Identification of birds in their winter plumage can be confusing especially
  dull first-winter female warblers. It can be challenging but fun.
• As many as 25-30 warbler species can be observed beginning in mid-August. They
  peak in mid-September and continue into early October. Flocks of yellow-rumped,
  palm, and a few orange-crowned warblers are often the last to leave. They will spend
  the winter in the southern states.
• Dark-eyed juncos, American tree sparrows, and brown creepers arrive in mid-late
  They will remain here during the winter.
• White-throated and white-crowned sparrows, pine siskins, golden-crowned and
  ruby-crowned kinglets, purple finch, and red-breasted nuthatches arrive. Some
  will stay throughout the winter.
• Soaring birds migrate by day. Look for hawks, swallows, pelicans, and cranes.
• Broad-winged hawks are one of the first hawk species to migrate.
• Swallows and chimney swifts leave for the tropics during the day and are usually
  gone by late September.
• Nighthawks continue their journey to the tropics. Look for flocks passing over in
  the early hours of evening.
• Ruby-throated hummingbirds “fuel up” on flower nectar and insects before
  heading south. I have seen them as late as October 9. Please keep your feeders up.
• Shorebirds started passing through our area in July and usually reach their peak
  in September.
• Some ducks can be observed now. Lesser scaup, blue-wing teal, ring-necked duck,
  red-breasted merganser, and northern pintail.
• Barred, great horned, and screech owls are very vocal and give territorial calls.
• Young owls leave their parents and look for new territories. This natal dispersal
  is caused by a change in hormones.

Plants in Bloom

Periods of dry, hot, sunny weather or cool, cloudy, rainy days seem to affect when and
how long different plants bloom. Many of the following bloom in August and/or
September. Some bloom until there is a killing frost.

Woodlands, Savannas, and Edges

• Goldenrods: elm-leaved and zig-zag.
• Asters: calico, frost, Short’s, arrow-leaved, heart-leaved, New England, panicled,
  flat-topped, large-leaved, and crooked stem.
• Rudbeckias: brown-eyed Susan (R. triloba), black-eyed Susan (R. hirta), sweet
  black-eyed Susan (R. subtomentosa), and cut-leaved coneflower (R. laciniata).
• Woodland sunflower, white snakeroot, tall boneset, tall woodland thistle, evening
  primrose, pale Indian-plantain, orange and yellow jewelweed, fleabane, burnweed,
  white and hoary vervain, gaura, lady’s-tresses orchids, smartweeds, and the last
  flowers of Joe-pye-weed, tall bellflower, jumpseed, figwort, and the hyssops.

Prairies

The prairie is bright with goldenrods, asters, sunflowers, Silphiums, gentians, thistles, lady’s-tresses orchids, and blazing stars (Liatris).

Yellow Flowers:

• Goldenrods: There are about 22 different kinds of native goldenrods in Wisconsin.
  The following are in bloom now on the prairie: Canada, stiff, showy, old field or
  Dyer’s weed, Riddell’s, and grass-leaved. Goldenrods do not cause hayfever.
  Goldenrod pollen is heavy and is a food source for insects. Ragweed pollen is
  light and carried by the wind. It blooms at the same time as goldenrod and does
  cause allergies.
• Sunflowers have bright yellow rays (petals). Their disks (centers) are yellow, brown,
  or brownish-purple. Look for saw-tooth, giant, woodland, naked stem, stiff,
  and false sunflower (ox-eye).
• The “Susans” or Rudbeckia’s include the very showy and aggressive native brown-
  eyed Susan, sweet black-eyed Susan, black-eyed Susan, and cut-leaved coneflower.
• Silphiums include prairie dock, compass plant, cup-plant, and the last flowers of
• Tall Coreopsis (C .tripteris) and sneezeweed.

Purple, Lavender, and Blue Flowers:

• Asters: There are about 23 kinds of native asters in Wisconsin and about 40 hybrids.
  Asters have purple, lavender, blue, and sometimes pink rays. Their disks are usually
  bright yellow until pollinated and then turn dark. Look for New England, smooth, sky-
  blue, arrow-leaved, flax-leaved, silky, shining, heart-leaved, and aromatic.
• Gentians: bottle, downy, and fringed are blue and stiff is purple.
• Prairie or field thistle is in bloom and attracts goldfinches and myriad insects.
• Rough blazing star (Liatris aspera) lights up the prairie with glowing purplish-
  magenta flower spikes.
• Look for spikes of great blue lobelia, purple hoary vervain and obedient plant.
• Bright purple ironweed and pale purple monarda continue to bloom.

White and Pinkish-White Flowers:

• The following asters have white rays and yellow disks: frost, panicled, crooked,
  calico, and heath.
• Large patches of pale Indian-plantain tower over the prairie. I love the “raindrops
  on dusty soil” smell of the flowers.
• Creamy gentians continue to bloom.
• Biennial gaura or bee-blossom has dainty white flowers and pink buds.
• Look for tall boneset, flowering spurge, whorled milkweed, lady’s- tresses orchids,
  pearly everlasting, and cudweed.

Insects

• Monarch migration continues to increase during the first part of the month. Look
  for monarchs nectaring on flowers during the day. In the evening they gather in large
  clusters and roost on trees during the night. They continue to head south to
  Mexico where they will spend the winter.
• Second broods of several butterfly species emerge. Look for black and the yellow
  swallowtails, red admiral, painted lady, mourning cloak, cabbage white, silver-
  spotted skipper, clouded and alfalfa sulphurs, and Eastern tailed blue.
• Hummingbird and snowberry clearwing moths are beautiful. Often these small
  sphinx moths feed on flowers at dusk.
• Many butterfly and moth species spend the winter either as a caterpillar, egg, or
  Several butterflies overwinter as adults.
• Almost every year I have found the large caterpilllar of the Pandorus sphinx moth
  on grape and woodbine. It is brown but can be green or orange with a row of
  usually six white spots.
• Woolly-bear caterpillars can be seen on the ground searching for a place to spend
  the winter.
• Green darner dragonflies (Anax junius) gather in large numbers before migrating
  south for the winter.
• Look for small red-bodied dragonflies or meadowhawks (Sympetrium sp.). The
  autumn meadowhawk is probably the last dragonfly to be seen in fall.
• Crickets, long-horned, and short-horned grasshoppers continue to call day and
  night when temperatures are above 55 degrees.
• Snowy tree crickets call day and night now. Count the number of chirps in 15
  seconds and add 40 to find out the temperature.
• Cicadas buzz during warm days and nights.
• Increase in some species of hornets, wasps, and bees. Bald-faced hornets and
  German yellow-jackets reach peak numbers.
• Winged ants disperse. Queens set up new colonies.
• Box elder bugs and Asian ladybugs (beetles) are very numerous now.
• Goldenrods and asters provide pollen and nectar for many different kinds of
  Look for butterflies, bees, wasps, flies, soldier beetles (leatherwings),
  locust borer beetles, ambush and assassin bugs, aphids, ladybugs, lacewings,
  leafhoppers and many more. To learn about pollinators and native plants read
  “Pollinators of Native Plants” by Heather Holm.
• Two-spotted treehoppers (Enchenopa binotata) can be found on nannyberry and
  other shrubs. They are small, brown, and look like thorns. The female lays eggs
  on a branch or twig and covers the eggs with a sticky white substance. The eggs
  overwinter and hatch in spring.
• Japanese beetle numbers start to decline.
• Mosquitoes and biting flies continue to be annoying.

Arachnids

• Deer or blacklegged ticks continue to seek blood meals.
• Daddy longlegs or harvestmen are numerous now. They are not spiders. They
  have only one body part.

Spiders

Web Makers:

• The silky webs of orb weavers are beautiful especially when covered with
  sparkling dew. Take time to watch a female weave her web and what she does
  when she captures her prey.
• Bowl-and-doily weavers create a two-parted sheet web near the ground.
• Filmy dome spiders make an inverted bowl-shaped web on the ground.
• Newly hatched spiders climb to the tops of vegetation and release a silver thread
  of silk that is caught by the wind. Then the little spiderlings float through the
  air to a new area. Look for these “ballooning” spiders.

Non-web Makers:

• Jumping spiders are small, They have big eyes, short legs, and hunt during the day.
• Tiny crab spiders can change their body color to blend in with the flower they are
  sitting on. Crab spiders on goldenrods are usually yellow. Those on thistles are

Mammals

• Male white-tailed deer begin to rub the velvet from their antlers and polish them
  on tree trunks. Do not approach them now. They can be dangerous.
• Deer molt their summer red coats and grow new thick gray or brown fur for winter.
• Fawns lose their spots.
• Chipmunks, squirrels, and mice gather and store nuts and seeds.
• Muskrats prepare their dwellings for winter.
• Woodchucks fatten up for their long winter sleep.
• Rabbits seem to be everywhere.
• Bats usually migrate by the end of September. There are eight native bat species in
  Four migrate and four hibernate in caves or buildings.

Seeds and Colorful Fruits

• Many flowers, grasses, and shrubs have finished blooming and produced an
  abundance of seeds or fruits that are consumed by birds and mammals. White,
  blue, purple, orange, and red fruits disappear quickly.
• Seeds disperse in different ways.
• Drifters and floaters—milkweed pods open and release brown seeds attached
  to fluffy white “silk”. Thistle seeds are attached to fluffy “down” and float in the
• Hitch-hikers—stick-tights, burs, hooks, barbs, and pods with tiny hooked hairs
  catch rides on animals and humans. The seeds are found on tick-trefoil, beggar-
  ticks, burdock, enchanter’s nightshade, agrimony, white avens, stickseed, and
  sweet cicely.
• Shooters—jumpseed and jewelweed.
• Birds—deposit the seeds of berries and fruits.

Fall Color

• Prairie grasses turn tan, golden-yellow, orange, reddish-pink, and bluish-purple.
• Little bluestem turns reddish-pink to bronze-orange. Seeds are fluffy and
  silvery-white.
• Gaura and flowering spurge plants turn a beautiful orange-red color.
• Although some leaves started to turn color in August, more turn during the month.
• Red and orange: woodbine, poison-ivy, blackberry, sumac, viburnums,
  and maples.
• Yellow: walnut, basswood, ash, box elder, honey and black locust, aspen, and
  sugar maple, and willow.
• Brown: inner needles of white pine and Arborvitae.

Mushrooms

• Most mushrooms (fruiting body of a fungus) can be found in August and September
  until there is a killing frost. Look for them when there are alternating periods of
  rain and dry weather. Few mushrooms are found during dry, hot weather. I have
  found the following: Dryad’s saddle, russula, shaggy mane, meadow, bolete, oyster,
  honey, puffball, bird’s-nest, fairy-ring, marasmius, sulphur polypore, chanterelle,
  and more. Bright orange Jack-O-Lantern and bitter panellus glow in the dark.
• Incidentally, white Indian Pipe is not considered a mushroom but rather a flowering
  plant that parasitizes honey mushrooms.

Other

• Spring peepers, chorus, and tree frogs occasionally call. They begin looking for
  places to hibernate usually in wooded areas under leaf litter.
• Galls can be found on most plants. The easiest to find are on Canada goldenrods.
• Ball gall: a singe maggot spends the winter in it. In spring a small fruit fly emerges.
• Elliptical or spindle-shaped gall: the egg of a gall moth overwinters.
• Bunch gall: found at the tip. Small midge-like flies emerge before winter.
• First day of autumn occurs on either September 22 or 23.

Storing September
“You ask me what I did today
I could pretend and say
“I don’t remember”
But no., I’ll tell you what I did today
I stored September.
Sat in the sun and let it sink in
Let all the warmth of it caress my skin.
When winter comes, my skin will still remember
The day I stored September.
And then, my eyes—
I filled them with the deepest, bluest skies
And all the traceries of wasps and butterflies.
When winter comes, my eyes will still remember
The day I stored September.
And there was cricket song to fill my ears!
And asters, like small clumps of sky…
You know how much I love them.
That’s what I did today
And I know why
Just simply for the love of it, I stored September.”
–Elizabeth Rooney. 9/25/90

September, a month to remember the scents, sounds, beauty, and peace you enjoyed and experienced as you walked the trails through the restored prairie, savanna, and woodlands of Holy Wisdom. A special place to remember in September.

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post September phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia), an orb weaver

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

August Phenology

“…the time of flowers from now until autumn…there would be every few days and then every day, a new kind of blossom on the prairie…all there in masses, in waves a living canvas.”
–Paul Gruchow, Journal of a Prairie Year

August, a month of misty mornings, hot sunny days, warm nights, and migrating birds, monarchs, dragonflies and salamanders. Insect ‘musicians’ fill the air with rhythmic chants, chirps, lisps, ticks and tinkling trills. Pretty flowers and grasses perfume the air with scents of mint, vanilla, chocolate, anise, buttered popcorn, raindrops on dusty soil and more. If you enjoy the fragrance of flowers and like the color yellow, I encourage you to visit the prairie often especially in August. There are plenty of yellow, as well as purple and white flowers in bloom. The following observations are from records I have kept over the years.

Birds

• American Goldfinch and Cedar Waxwing nest in July and August. They often have two broods. Listen for the ‘sweeet, perchicoree or potato chip’ calls of the goldfinch.
• Most birds have finished nesting and their young have fledged. After breeding, birds go through a complete feather molt. A few such as Goldfinch and Indigo Bunting undergo a complete molt after breeding and a partial molt in spring.
• Singing decreases and only a few species continue to sing ‘the songs of summer.’ During my early morning walks in late July and August, I have heard the following sing: Cardinal, Robin, House Wren, Bluebird, Indigo Bunting, Wood Peewee, Red-eyed Vireo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Flicker, House Finch and Goldfinch.
• Listen carefully for ‘whisper singing,’ chips, chirps and seeps.
• Fall bird migration begins in late July and August and continues through October and November.
• August is a good month to look for ‘confusing’ fall Warblers that nested here and for those that nested in the north. Most are insect-dependent and will migrate to Central and South America for the winter. Common Yellow-throat and Yellow Warblers usually leave for the tropics in August. Pine, Palm, Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers leave much later. They spend the winter in the southern U.S.
• Neotropical migrants such as Flycatchers, Vireos, Orioles and some Swallow species begin to migrate in August. Look for the Olive-sided Flycatcher perched on a tall dead tree.
• Chimney Swifts gather before migrating to South America in late August. Look for them at sunset. Large flocks enter their roosting sites usually in chimneys.
• Bobolink flocks migrate to South America.
• Sedge Wrens show up in August some years and then leave.
• Red-winged Blackbirds and other Blackbird species gather in flocks.
• Increase of Ruby-throated Hummingbird activity at flowers.
• Red-breasted Nuthatches often show up in August. Some spend the winter, others move on.
• Shorebirds continue to pass through.
• Flocks of migrating Nighthawks can be observed by looking overhead in the early evening.
• Red-tailed Hawks soar over the prairie. Juveniles leave their parents.
• Great Horned and Barred Owls call more frequently in late August. Juveniles hunt on their own now. They begin to leave their parents and look for a new territory.

Plants

• Among the myriad shades and shapes of green vegetation, yellow flowers dominate followed by purple, blue and white blooms. The leaders of the floral parade are the goldenrods and asters. Flowering times can vary from late July to early or mid-September due to changing environmental and other conditions.

Woodlands, Savannas, and Edges

• Asters: calico, frost, arrow-leaved, short’s and flat-topped.
• Goldenrods: elm-leaved, zigzag and Canada.
• Woodland sunflower, black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), sweet black-eyed Susan (R. subtomentosa), brown-eyed Susan (R. triloba), cut-leaved coneflower (R. laciniata), purple Joe-pye-weed, American bellflower, pale Indian-plantain, yellow giant hyssop, figwort giant hyssop, woodland tick-trefoil, figwort, downy woodmint, white snakeroot, jumpseed, lopseed, agrimony, tall wood thistle, thimbleweed, Indian hemp, starry campion, tickseed, hog-peanut, white vervain, burnweed, upland boneset and orange and yellow jewelweed. Bottlebrush grass has lovely seeds now. They remind me of bristle-like bottles.

Prairies

Yellow:

• Goldenrods: Canada, grass-leaved, showy, stiff and Dyer’s weed or old field.
• Sunflowers: ox eye, saw-tooth, giant, naked stem and showy.
• Yellow coneflower, tall coreopsis (C. tripteris), black-eyed Susan, sweet black-eyed Susan, brown-eyed Susan, rosinweed, prairie-dock, cup-plant, compass plant, evening primrose, cinquefoil species, Great St. John’s-wort and sneezeweed. How many different yellow species can you find?

Purple:

• Asters: New England and silky.
• Gayfeather, blazing star, purple coneflower, ironweed, Canada tick-trefoil, germander, hoary vervain, wild petunia, anise hyssop, purple prairie-clover and stiff gentian.

Blue:

• Asters: Sky-blue and smooth.
• Bottle, fringed, and downy gentians, great lobelia, blue vervain (Verbena hastata) and a few last spiderworts in bloom.

White:

• Asters: Heath, frost, panicled and crooked-stem.
• Rattlesnake master, white sage, wild quinine, mountain mint, Culver’s-root, white prairie-clover, whorled milkweed, flowering spurge, pale Indian-plantain, Indian hemp, yarrow, fleabane, bush-clover, turtlehead, false-boneset, boneset, cowbane, white vervain and water hemlock.

Pink to Pinkish White:

• Swamp milkweed, swamp and prairie thistle, nodding onion, Illinois tick-trefoil, smartweeds, biennial gaura and the pink bracts of dotted mint.

Red:

• Cardinal flower.

Introduced, Naturalized, or Ecologically Invasive Plants

• Queen Anne’s-lace, chicory, white campion, common St. John’s -wort, common mullein, catnip, sulphur cinquefoil, sow-thistle, field bindweed, crown-vetch, bouncing bet, spotted knapweed, leafy spurge, bird’s-foot trefoil, bittersweet or deadly nightshade, yellow and sweet clover (Melilotus sp.) Canada and bull thistle, burdock, creeping bellflower, pokeweed (Phytolacca acinosa), wild parsnip and many more. Japanese hedge parsley seems to be increasing. The white flowers resemble Queen Anne’s-lace but the compound umbel is smaller and not as flat.

Grasses

• Tiny wind-pollinated flowers are showy on the following grasses: big bluestem or turkey-foot, little bluestem, switch, Indian, cord, dropseed, side-oats grama and panic grasses (witch and love).

Insects

• Insect activity and their sounds are at their peak. Cicadas drone, bees buzz, short-horned grasshoppers produce mechanical sounds, katydids rasp and crickets chirp and trill.
• The beautiful green snowy tree cricket can be heard on warm August nights. If you are curious and want to know the temperature, count his soft, pleasing, repeated ‘chirp-pause, chirp-pause’ call for 15 seconds and add 40.
• Look for ladybugs, lacewings, aphids, ambush bugs, large and small milkweed bugs, leaf beetles and many more.
• Golden tortoise beetles are found on plants in the morning glory family.
• Japanese beetles devour over 300 kinds of plants. Perhaps the large number of turkeys are helping to reduce the population.
• Peak season for leafhoppers. Look for the red and blue candy-striped leafhopper on plants.
• Treehoppers have interesting shapes that resemble plant structures. Look for the two-spotted treehopper (Enchenopa binotata) on nannyberry and other shrubs. They are tiny, brown and resemble a thorn or small bud.
• Dragonflies dart and hover while hunting for mosquitoes and other insects. Green darner and meadowhawk begin migrating to southern states.
• Butterflies to look for include Eastern and black swallowtails, Eastern-tailed blue, spring azure, fritillary, red-spotted purple, viceroy, common wood nymph, silver-spotted skipper, cabbage, white, clouded and alfalfa sulphurs and of course, monarchs.
• The last generation of monarchs emerge and nectar on flowers. In the evening, they gather and roost on trees during the night. They start their 2,500-mile fall migration to Mexico in late August through September.
• Look for moths of all kinds at night near lights.
• Last sightings of twinkling fireflies and beautiful dogbane beetles.
• Mosquitoes and biting flies are active and annoying.

Spiders

Web Makers:

• Yellow garden and banded spiders make beautiful, intricate, vertical webs. Look for their sparkling dew-covered orb-webs in early morning or after rain.
• Look for the two-parted sheet web of the bowl and doily weaver.
• Filmy dome spiders create an inverted bowl-shaped web.

Non-web Makers:

• Jumping spiders are very small and very cute.
• Crab spiders can change their body color to blend in with the flower they are sitting on. They are another adorable spider.
• Daddy longlegs or harvestmen are abundant now. They are not spiders. They only have one body part.

Mammals

• Antlers of male deer are in full velvet.
• Fawns lose their spots.
• Squirrel and chipmunks gather acorns and walnuts.
• Raccoons feast on fruits.
• Woodchucks are fattening up.
• Meadow voles, moles and 13-lined ground squirrels are active.
• Rabbits have several litters a year. Rabbits of all sizes can be seen on trails.

Other Natural Happenings

• Abundance of ripe fruits, seeds and nuts.
• Look for galls (odd growths) on goldenrods, oaks and other plants.
• Ragweed and goldenrods bloom at the same time. Ragweed pollen is spread by the wind and can cause allergies, goldenrod does not. Goldenrods are pollinated by insects.
• Fruiting bodies of mushrooms appear especially after rainy weather. Look for inky cap, shaggy mane, puffball, honey, oyster, meadow, bolete, bright orange jack-o-lantern and many more.
• Salamanders migrate from ponds to woodlands during moist warm nights.
• Frogs, toads, and turtles are active.
• First fall colors appear. Leaves of sumac, Virginia creeper, poison ivy and red maple start to turn red. Basswood, walnut, birch and locust leaves turn yellow.
• The rich smell of autumn is in the air.

“As we sow the seeds of the prairie, we also sow the seeds of hope that ecological restoration gives us. People, wherever they are, can learn to live with the land and heal the wounds caused by past misunderstandings. Restoring the land demonstrates the love and respect that enriches it, and us, through the diversity and beauty of the native landscape.”
–Richard Nelson, Island Within

I encourage you to visit the beautiful Holy Wisdom restored prairies, savannas, and woodlands often. My hope is that you will have a peaceful and memorable walk.

Sylvia Marek

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first-rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post August phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Monarch on butterfly weed

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

July Phenology

“The tall grass prairie…. from the first greening of spring to the full ripening of autumn,
it is spangled by a vivid progression of flowers—a rainbow host that first enamels the
burned slopes of early spring and ends months later with great nodding blooms
that rise above a man’s head.” –John Madison, “Where the Sky Began”

July is usually the warmest and sunniest month of the year. Nesting season is over for most bird species, but not all. Colorful prairie flowers bloom profusely among green grasses. Peak month of activity for butterflies, moths, bees, beetles, bugs, crickets, grasshoppers, dragonflies, damselflies, spiders, and twinkling fireflies at night. There is so much to enjoy in July.

Following, are some of the happenings I have observed over the years.

Birds

• American goldfinch and cedar waxwing begin to nest in late June into July.
• Some species start second broods: cardinal, bluebird, house wren, mourning dove,
  house finch, indigo bunting, song and field sparrow, and a few others.
• Listen for parental calls and scolds and the noisy begging of fledglings.
• Nesting season is over for most species. They start to molt and sing less often
  during the day.
• However, I have heard the following sing very early in the morning: wood
  thrush, red-eyed vireo, indigo bunting, flicker, wood-pewee, and including those
  who have second broods.
• Swallows gather in flocks.
• A few warblers such as yellow, common yellowthroat, and Nashville begin to head
• Shorebirds start their southward migration.
• Red-breasted nuthatches often show up in July and leave.
• Female turkeys lead their flocks of young on foraging outings.
• Red-tailed hawks soar over the prairie.
• Great horned, barred and screech owl juveniles are able to fly now. They hunt on
  their own but continue to beg for food.

Plants

Timing of the July parade of flowers can vary from year to year due to a number of environmental conditions. I have noticed that some species bloom earlier or later between late June and early August. Some bloom for longer or shorter periods of time. They might be taller or shorter than normal.

Woodlands, savannas, and edges

• Plants in bloom include: purple Joe-Pye-weed, downy woodmint, pale Indian-
  plantain, tall bellflower, yellow giant hyssop, figwort or purple giant hyssop, figwort,
  woodland tick-trefoil, enchanter’s nightshade, white avens, lopseed, jumpseed,
  white snakeroot, stickseed, bedstraw species, native heal-all, tall or woodland
  thistle, thimbleweed, agrimony, spreading dogbane, woodland sunflower, the
  Susan’s—black-eyed (Rudbeckia hirta), cut-leaved coneflower, (R. laciniata), brown-
  eyed (R. triloba), tinker’s weed (horse gentian), yellow jewelweed, and bottlebrush

Prairie

• Controlled burns are an effective way to set back native invasive shrubs such as
  gray dogwood and sumac. Burns usually stimulate most forbs and grasses to
  flourish and bloom.
• Week after week the parade of prairie flowers include as many as 12 or more
  different species displaying yellow, purple, blue, white, pink, orange, and red blooms.

Yellow:

• yellow coneflower, Coreopsis palmata and C. tripteris, ox-eye sunflower,
  black-eyed, sweet black-eyed, and brown-eyed Susans, cup-plant, compass-plant,
  prairie-dock, rosinweed, evening primrose, Canada milk-vetch, cinquefoil species,
  saw-tooth sunflower, sneezeweed, stiff sunflower, hawkweed, giant St. John’s-wort,
  grass-leaved, early or Missouri goldenrod.

Purple:

• pale purple and purple coneflower, leadplant, purple prairie clover, monarda (beebalm), Liatris species, hoary vervain, germander, Canada tick-trefoil, ironweed, anise or purple hyssop, and purple milkweed.

White:

• rattlesnake master, wild quinine, Culver’s root, white prairie clover, white indigo, whorled milkweed, boneset, upland boneset, flowering spurge, pale-Indian plantain, mountain mint, marbleseed, New Jersey tea, Indian hemp, fleabane, bush clover, yarrow, thimbleweed, tall meadow-rue, water- hemlock, cowbane, and white sage.

Blue:

• Great Blue lobelia, harebell, blue vervain and a few last spiderwort.

Pink:

• common and swamp milkweed, biennial gaura, prairie or field thistle, Illinois tick-trefoil, nodding wild onion, and spreading dogbane.

Orange:

• butterfly milkweed, Turk’s cap lily, and jewelweed (Impatiens biflora).

Red:

• cardinal flower
• Take time to smell the sweet fragrance of monarda, common and swamp milkweed,
  the coneflowers, pale Indian-plantain, mountain mint, and roses.
• Have you noticed every year a different species will produce large patches of showy
  flowers? Then for several years those plants are scattered and fewer of them bloom?
  I do not know why. Perhaps they are annuals, biennials, short-lived perennials,
  or new plantings? What about fire, competition, a dry or wet year?

Introduced or invasive species

• Chicory, Queen-Anne’s lace, common daisy, pokeweed, crown-vetch, bird’s-foot
  trefoil, yellow and white sweet clover(Melilotus), hedgeparsley, leafy spurge,
  white campion, motherwort, creeping bellflower, common St. John’s-wort,
  bittersweet nightshade, Canada and bull thistle, non-native heal-all, wild parsnip, and

Insects

• July is the peak flight period of over 30 species of butterflies and skippers. They
  include: monarch, comma, wood nymph, Eastern tiger and black swallowtail,
  fritillary species, red-spotted purple, viceroy, crescent and checkerspot species,
  spring azure, Eastern tailed blue and other hairstreaks, red admiral, painted lady,
  clouded sulphur, cabbage white, silver spotted skipper and other skippers.
• The annual Madison Audubon (now Southern Bird Alliance) butterfly count is usually
  held around July 4.
• Moths are very numerous and active day and night. Some of my favorites are
  Virginia ctenucha, grape leaf folder, white-striped black (near or on jewelweed),
  tiny common black and white spring moth (host plant, black locust) and eight-
  spotted forester (host plant, Virginia creeper).
• Peak season for dragonflies and damselflies.
• Beetles can be seen everywhere. There are many kinds of lady, leaf, fungus, soldier,
  long-horned, and tiger beetles.
• The beautiful iridescent dogbane leaf beetle (Chrysochus auratus) can still be seen
  on Indian hemp and spreading dogbane. Do not confuse it with the Japanese
  beetle (Popillia japonica). They are also iridescent but have five with tufts of hair
  on the edge of their abdomen. They are native to Japan and No. China. They feed
  on over 300 plants and are quite destructive especially in July.
• Bugs such as milkweed, boxelder, stink, assassin, and many others are numerous.
• Listen for the rhythmic chants, trills, chirps, lisps, and tics of katydids, grasshoppers,
  and crickets. Bees buzz and hum. Cicadas make loud pulsating sounds. Snowy
  and black-horned tree crickets are my favorite insect musicians.
• At night, enjoy the blinking and twinkling of fireflies.

Arachnids

• Deer ticks seek blood meals and can transmit Lyme and other diseases.
• Chigger or harvest mite larvae cause extreme itching (stay on trails).
• Spiders are beneficial and beautiful. Take time to admire the creativity of spiders
  especially when their webs are covered with sparkling dew or raindrops. The
  yellow garden spider spins a beautiful, large, circular, vertical web. She often
  remakes it after a few days.
• Crab spiders are adorable. They do not spin webs, but sit on flowers and ambush
  their prey. Some change colors to match the flower.
• Jumping spiders are so cute. They do not spin webs. They have excellent eyesight
  and pursue their prey by jumping.

Mammals

• Many of the following youngsters are active: gray squirrel, chipmunk, raccoon,
  opossum, ground squirrel, woodchuck, coyote (at night), and all sizes of rabbits.
• Mole activity increases.
• Antlers of male deer (bucks) are reaching peak size and are in the pulpy, velvet
• Fawns still follow their mothers (does).
• Only a few bats can be seen at night. Sadly, there are fewer bats now due to the
  white-nose syndrome, a fungus that has killed millions of North American bats.

Other natural happenings

• Common elderberry shrubs bloom now. The white umbrella-like flowers fill the air
  with sweet perfume.
• Fragrant basswood flowers attract myriad insects especially buzzing bees.
• Buttonbush blooms and the small globes of white flowers attract many insects.
• The fragrant white water-lily blooms on ponds.
• Listen for the tremolo call of the gray and Cope’s tree frog. The green frog sounds
  like the plunking of a banjo. Bull frogs have a deep “jug-o-rum” call.
• Look for toads of all sizes.
• There is plenty of “healthy” native poison ivy.
• Mushrooms pop up after rainy periods.
• Migratory Bird Treaty was passed July 3, 1918.

Enjoy your visit as you hike the trails through this beautiful and well-cared for land. And let us be grateful for the sister’s and for those who work to preserve and restore this precious land.

“To those who see…miraculous sights and envision all of the wonders hidden from the eye…. hear multitudinous sounds and listen to the symphony that silence brings.”  –Gwen Frostic, “To Those Who See”

Sylvia Marek

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first-rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post July phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Red-winged blackbird on white wild indigo

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

I have kept monthly phenology records for many years and the following are from my June entries.  Some events occur in late May also.

“Deep in the grasses of summer sing the lives I love.”
Theodore Roethke

June

June, a month of sweet birdsong, nest building, nestlings learning to fly, active young mammals, myriad insects and the sounds they make. Plants grow rapidly producing lush shades of green. Each week a dozen or more flowers bloom on the prairie adding bright colors to the landscape. Native shrubs and trees bloom. Fruits and seeds ripen. The summer solstice is June 21, the longest day and shortest night of the year. And, there is so much more for you to enjoy.

Birds

• Most of the spring migrants that breed farther north have passed through.
• Resident and summer visitors sing, mate, and raise young. Many of the following
  have nested here, at Governor Nelson Park and surrounding areas. Look for
  Robin, Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, House Finch,
  Mourning Dove, Woodpeckers (Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, Red-headed, and Flicker),
  Swallows (Tree, Rough-winged, Bank, and Barn), Sparrows (Chipping, Field, Song,
  and Swamp), Warblers (Common Yellowthroat, Yellow, and Redstart), Bluebird, House
  Wren, Sedge Wren, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Towhee, Indigo Bunting, Flycatchers
  (Great Crested, Willow and Least), Vireos (Warbling and Red-eyed), Wood Pee-wee,
   Wood Thrush, Phoebe, Cedar Waxwing, Red-winged Blackbird, Scarlet Tanager,
   Kingbird, Oriole, Hummingbird, Red-tailed and Cooper’s Hawk, Mallard, Wood Duck,
   Killdeer, Crow, Turkey and of course, many more. Please add to my list and check
   eBird for what other birders have seen.
• Great Horned, Barred and Screech Owl young continue to beg and now practice
   flying.
• Goldfinch can be heard and seen but usually nest in late July.

Plants

Woodlands:

• Flowers can bloom a few weeks earlier or later than usual due to changing weather
   patterns.
• Peak bloom of native sun-loving spring flowers is over.
• Native flowers that usually bloom in late May and early June include: wild
   geranium, wild columbine, Virginia waterleaf, violets, Jack-in-the-pulpit, starry
   false Solomon’s seal, Solomon’s-plume, Solomon’s-seal, yellow and white avens,
   black snakeroot, enchanter’s nightshade, baneberry, bedstraws, sweet cicely,
   honewort, blue cohosh, jewelweed, and trillium.
• Introduced and ecologically invasives include: dame’s rocket, garlic mustard, greater Celandine poppy (Chelidonium magus).

Prairies and Savannas:

• June is a great month to enjoy the parade of floral beauty that will continue all
   summer and fall. Each week a dozen or more species will display their flowers
   creating a patchwork of lovely colors.
• Blue: lupine, spiderwort, pale spike lobelia, harebell, and blue-eyed grass.
• White: white wild indigo, penstemon digitalis, Culver’s root, strawberry, white
   prairie clover, flowering spurge, fleabane, yarrow, thimbleweed, tall meadowrue,
   cow parsnip, wild quinine, bedstraws, glade mallow, New Jersey tea, pale
   Indian-plantain, Indian hemp, and Canada anemone.
• Yellow: prairie or creamy wild indigo, golden Alexander, black-eyed Susan, tall
   and sulphur cinquefoil, St. John’s-wort, coreopsis, ox-eye (Heliopolis helianthoides),
   golden ragwort, yellow coneflower, rosin weed, pimpernel, evening primrose,
   puccoon, and yellow star grass.
• Purple: pale and purple coneflower, common milkweed, purple prairie clover,
   lead-plant, monarda, prairie phlox, hoary vervain, wild garlic, large-flowered
   beardtongue, and heal-all.
• Orange: butterfly milkweed and wood lily.
• Pink: roses, spreading dogbane, and swamp milkweed.

Trees, Shrubs, Brambles, and Vines:

• Many usually bloom in late May and in June.
• Trees: basswood and non-native black locust bloom. Their flowers are very fragrant.
• Shrubs: arrowwood, ninebark, common elderberry, staghorn sumac, fragrant sumac,
   dwarf honeysuckle, and the dogwoods (gray, silky, and red-osier).
• Brambles: blackberry and black raspberry.
• Vines: poison ivy, woodbine, bittersweet, and the very fragrant flowers of grape.
• Fruits: Juneberry, wild strawberry, blackcap raspberries, and the poisonous
   red elderberry.

Insects

• Monarch butterflies return from the South, lay eggs, and die. Their caterpillars
   fed on milkweed, pupate, emerge as adults, and start a new generation.
• Other butterflies to look for include tiger swallowtail, black swallowtail, spring
   azure,Eastern tailed-blue, fritillary, pearl crescent, painted lady, viceroy, hackberry,
   cabbage white, clouded sulphur, wood nymph, American copper, silver-spotted
   skipper, and many more.
• Giant silk moths emerge in mid-June usually at night. They mate, lay eggs, and
   live only a few days. Look for cecropia, promethia, polyphemus, and possibly the
   more rare luna.
• Smaller moth species are active both day and night. Tent caterpillars emerge from
   cocoons and devour leaves. They spin cocoons, pupate, and emerge weeks
   later as a small brown moth.
• The white-striped black moth is very small and one of my favorites. Look for the
   beautiful little moth especially near jewelweeds.
• Dragonflies hatch and patrol for mosquitoes and other insects.
• Look for grasshopper nymphs as well as adults.
• Field crickets chirp and a few katydids and cicada can be heard.
• There are many different kinds of active beetles, bugs, and bees. Look for June or
   May bugs, tiger beetles, ambush and stink bugs, ladybugs (beetles), aphids,
   leafhoppers, treehoppers, lovely lacewings, and many more.
• My favorite iridescent dogbane beetle (Chrysochus auratus) feeds only on
   Indian hemp or spreading dogbane. The beautiful shiny native “jewels” usually
   emerge in mid-June. Do not confuse them with Japanese beetles (Popilla
   japonica). They are also iridescent but have five white tufts of hair or spots
   on the edge of the abdomen. They are native to Japan and China and feed on
   over 300 kinds of plants! They emerge from underground near the end of June.
• Black, deer, and horse flies bite.
• Female mosquitoes feed on blood and are fed upon.
• Peak month to enjoy the blinking and twinkling of fireflies at night.

Spiders

• Spiderlings hatch. Orb weavers and their webs are quite small now.
• Jumping spiders and crab spiders are tiny and very cute.

Mammals

• June is a good time to look for the following curious, active, young mammals:
   gray squirrel, chipmunk, rabbit, raccoon, opossum, woodchuck, ground squirrel,
   skunk, mink, muskrat, fox, coyote, and mice.
• Spotted fawns follow does.
• Deer shed gray winter fur and grow a red-brown summer coat.
• Look for velvet-covered antlers on male deer.
• Bats are active at night catching insects.

Other Natural Events

• Listen for the calls of Cope’s and gray tree, leopard, and green frogs. Toads
   continue to “purrrr” and trill. Toad tadpoles are in various stages of development.
• Painted turtles lay eggs in soft soil.
• Several kinds of sedges bloom in June
• Needle, June, and blue-joint grass bloom. Ecologically invasive reed canary blooms.
• The following introduced or naturalized plants are in bloom especially on disturbed
   ground: white ox-eye daisy, chicory, goatsbeard, hawkweeds, and Queen Anne’s –
   lace. Ecologically invasives include wild parsnip, leafy spurge, yellow and white
   sweet clover (Melilotus sp.), and hedge-parsley.
• Ferns unfurl and are lovely.
• Conifers shed pollen.
• Cottonwood seeds in cottony down float through the air (reminds me of snow).
• After rainy weather look for the following mushrooms: destroying angel, shaggy
   mane, marasmius, bolete, Dryad’s saddle, sulphur or chicken of the woods,
   oyster, and more.

“I would like to enjoy the summer flower by flower.”
 Andre’ Gide

Holy Wisdom is a place I enjoy and love very much. My hope is that you will love it also and that you will discover things I have missed. –Sylvia Marek

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).

The post June phenology appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.