Not so scenic this fall...

With October starting tomorrow, you'd expect the fall colors to be peaking here in the Twin Cities. But it has been so dry (we just experienced the 2nd driest September ever since they started keeping records in the late 1800s) that the leaves are just drying up and falling off the trees. Once in a while, you'll spot a particular tree that is gorgeous - lots of oranges and reds and yellows, but most of the trees are just looking tired. That kind of sums up the weather conditions in this odd, odd year - tired and ready for a change.

Here are a couple of pictures of some lovely fall colors from a couple of years ago.

Still around

Yesterday, a female hummingbird showed up at the nectar feeder. The day was warm - 77F. But we'd had temperatures almost at the freezing point the day before so it was a pleasant surprise to see hummers still here. Most sources recommend keeping feeders out until October, so I made fresh nectar, cleaned the feeder, and rehung it. I'll keep my eyes open hoping to see more!

Today, a male red-winged blackbird turned up at my main feeder. Although my yard isn't near any water (there is a small marshy area a couple of blocks away), red-winged blackbirds turn up often during the summer. This may be one of last ones since red-winged blackbirds migrate. Maybe he was passing through as he headed south. I'll be watching in March for their return.

Name that Caterpillar!

This week, seventh graders from Heritage E-STEM Middle School explored plants on the east end of Dodge Nature Center's Lilly Prairie. We'll be using this site all year to learn about ecosystems and to restore this property by collecting seed and growing plants to return to the prairie next spring. While we were focusing on the plants this week, we also took time to see what wildlife was present. On one kind of plant, we spotted these caterpillars.

There were several of these caterpillars on each plant. Nearby leaves showed evidence of having been eaten, but we weren't sure if the caterpillars were the insects responsible for the leaf damage. Webbing stretched from leaf to leaf, not as a dense mat, but as individual strands.

I've been researching what kind of caterpillars these may be, but so far no luck. It may be some kind of fall webworm, but I'm not sure. The 7th graders took several of the caterpillars and leaves from the plants back to school. I'm curious about what they'll discover working with these caterpillars. 

If you know what they are, let me know!

Visitors passing through...

As the nights turn cold and the number of daylight hours lessen, be on the lookout. The woods, fields, and even our yards are being visited by birds who are ready to head home for the winter. This is the time of year to watch for those birds that have spent the summer raising young among an abundance of space and food. But cooler temperatures means less food, so warblers, sparrows, buntings, wrens, blackbirds, ducks, and many more types of birds are on their way.  Those migrators come from throughout the state and from Canada. And how far they travel depends on which species they are. Some only need to go as far as the southern U.S., while others continue on to Central America or all the way to southern South America. And some, coming from Canada or northern Minnesota, will stop here - we're "south" for them! (More about them later - once they'ver arrived in late September.)

We tend to think of migrating birds going south as "visitors" because here - the north - is their "real" home. But that's not the case - they are actually visiting during the months we see them here in the north. They come to breed and once that's completed, it's time to head home - south. Food will be available even if space is limited. Isn't that just like human guests - hang around until the food's gone and then leave?!

Missed the Migration?

Usually, over Labor Day weekend and the first week or two of September, there are monarchs everywhere, especially on the goldenrod and blazing star. It is the time of year to tag these butterflies since they're on their way to Mexico.

But this year continues to be strange. Many of the flowers bloomed earlier than usual, so there are less nectaring plants for the butterflies to feed on. That may be why I'm seeing fewer monarchs.

And the few that I have seen feeding on flowers are very flighty - they leave the plants if you come anywhere near them.

Yesterday, at Dakota County's Spring Lake Park Schaar's Bluff, my family and I looked for monarchs to tag. We spotted one, but - zoom - it took off before we could anywhere close to it. We did spot a viceroy, though, something I haven't seen in a couple of years.


Notice how the viceroy looks a lot like a monarch.
But viceroys have the added dark line on the lower wings.

 I wonder if the main migration of monarchs from Minnesota is over - they've flown the coop already, I guess!

How do you tag a monarch?

With the end of summer (it's Labor Day, after all) comes the time of year when we can tag monarchs. This generation of butterflies doesn't mate. Instead, it migrates. And scientists tag these monarchs to track their movements and how the environment influences their travels.

MonarchWatch is the organization that coordinates the tagging process. Tags have a three-letter, three-number code along with contact information for MonarchWatch. When you catch a monarch, a tag is placed in the center of the lower wing. The tags don't harm the monarch in any way - the glue can't hurt them and the weight of the tag doesn't affect the monarch's ability to fly.

The monarchs can be tricky to catch. Even when they're busy feeding (drinking nectar from flowers) they are aware of their surroundings and fly at the first sign of a perceived threat. On a good day, I can catch them with just my hands, plucking them off of the flowers. But most times, I will be 1/4" from the wings and the butterflies sense the heat of my fingers or something else about me, and zoom - they're gone!

These butterflies will head south, flying about 50 miles a day, heading for the mountains of central Mexico where they'll roost all winter long.

Starting in late January, scientists head to the sanctuaries (protected areas of the forests where the monarchs spend the winter) looking for tagged monarchs. Usually, these are found on the ground, meaning the monarch has died. Using the code number, scientists can determine when and where the monarch was tagged. 

I enjoy tagging monarchs for several reasons. It gives me the opportunity to contribute to scientific research through its role as a citizen science project. By having people across the country tagging monarchs, scientists develop a much larger database than they could develop themselves. Secondly, it's fun! There is a challenge and finesse to capturing monarchs without hurting them or the flowers they're on.

Be on the lookout for the monarchs - you may be lucky enough to see large groups flying overhead or to even spot a tree where they've rested overnight.