A zipper spider

Naturally
September is the month of red leaves, ripe fruits and relocating birds.
After perching like an undertaker, a turkey vulture became one with the wind. I saw a vesper sparrow whose molt made it look as if it had been mugged.
Who can see enough chickadees? Not me. I’m caught in the gravitational pull of the tiny, habituated feeder bird. The same goes for butterflies. I see a few monarch butterflies moving across a lake near me every month they are flying, but the numbers flying over water increase during migration. Monarch populations in Minnesota peak in late August and early September as resident butterflies are joined by those from farther north.
I paused my walk to marvel at the beauty of a yellow-and-black Argiope. This orb weaver is called a corn spider, zipper spider, writing spider, golden garden spider, yellow spider, yellow garden spider, golden orb weaver, scribbler spider, yellow-and-black garden spider, black-and-yellow Argiope, McKinley spider and Argiope aurantia. A male courts a female by plucking at her web. Initially, webs are placed in areas sheltered from the wind, but as spiders age, they prefer higher web placement. After mating, the female deposits egg sacs on her web. The eggs hatch in late summer or fall and the hatchlings overwinter in the sac, not leaving it until spring. Juveniles disperse by ballooning, releasing silk that catches wind currents. Females die in a hard frost and males after mating.
There are so many dead animals on the road, I have to remind myself not to become calloused by their abundance.
A friend, Ruth Olson of Albert Lea, owns an African grey parrot that loves watermelon. When Ruth gives Elly May (named for Elly May Clampett of “Beverly Hillbillies” fame) a bit of melon, Elly May says, “Mmmmm!”
Duck stamp
Beginning with the 2022 federal duck stamp art contest, artists will no longer be required to include a hunting element in submissions, according to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The duck stamp was established in 1934, the same year President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act and launched legislation to protect and purchase wetlands vital to the survival of waterfowl and other wildlife. Ding Darling, an editorial cartoonist at the Des Moines Register and eventual head of the U.S. Biological Survey, drew the first stamp. The sketch showed a drake and hen mallard dropping into a marsh. Sales of the stamp to hunters, birdwatchers, outdoor enthusiasts and collectors have generated $1.1 billion to conserve over 6 million acres of habitat for birds and other wildlife and provide countless opportunities for hunting and other wildlife-oriented recreation on public lands. Ninety-eight percent of stamp sales go toward acquiring acreage in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The $25 stamps are available at most post offices.
Q&A
A customer sent me a video of a Jenner and a Kardashian saving a bird and asked what kind it was. It looked as if a song sparrow had gotten into their Malibu vacation home. The women didn’t save the bird, but they did help it by opening a door so it could fly out.
Marcia Clay of Truman asks where all the birds are. Natural food sources for birds are currently at their peak. The grocery shelves are stocked and the restaurants offer full menus. Trees produce nuts and seeds, plants offer seeds and insects are abundant. This makes it easy for birds to move about and some birds are migrating—shorebirds, warblers, Franklin’s gulls, hummingbirds, common nighthawks, chimney swifts, etc.—the other ones will be back to your yard.
Roger Batt of Algona asked about the nectar recipe for orioles and if it’s OK to feed them grape jelly. Orioles are fine with 1 part white sugar to 6 parts water. There have been no scientific studies conducted to determine any health hazards posed by grape jelly, but moderation, as it is in all things, might be wise.
Jim Van Riper of Albert Lea asked when Baltimore orioles leave. The peak migration is August and the first half of September. The majority of the birds reach their winter homes in Mexico, Central America or South America by the end of October.
“How can I tell a bee from a wasp?” Bees are fuzzy and chubby. They are cute. Wasps are smooth and skinny. They look threatening. Yellowjackets (a kind of wasp) are the ones most likely to hover around your picnic. They may be attracted to meat and soft drinks. Honey bees are vegetarians and aren’t usually drawn to soft drinks. Yellowjackets can be high-strung when searching for sweets and proteins.
Thanks for stopping by
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”—Soren Kierkegaard
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."—Marcel Proust

©Al Batt 2021