Naturally
A lot of things about birding go over my head, but it’s free therapy. I saw no juncolopes again this year. They are mythical songbirds with antelope horns on their heads. I did see sandhill cranes working a field and a male cardinal in the process of molting. Even with his vibrancy diminished, the cardinal is a color that’s capable of melting the other crayons in the box. Adult male ruby-throated hummingbirds are long gone, but females and juveniles still visit feeders. I heard a blue jay doing a wonderful rendition of a broad-winged hawk. The jay was likely a migrant from an area where they speak broad-winged hawk.
I taught a class of young writers. A couple of house sparrows found their way into the school building. They wanted to let nature take its course.
I saw holes chewed in the leaves of various plants. That’s not a bad thing. The holes show there are caterpillars and caterpillars are food for birds. I picked cherry tomatoes. As I ate the delicious fruits (botanically, tomatoes are fruits, but are considered vegetables by nutritionists), I realized I was eating sunlight.
Kentucky bluegrass can start turning brown and enter dormancy as early as seven days without water. Browning is a survival technique and it will green up when watered. Fescue stays greener longer, up to 28 days in a drought. Lawns can be environmental nightmares and require high maintenance.
Honey bees pollinate 15% of the crops that make up the world’s food supply, while wild bees and other wildlife pollinate the rest.
Tom Steinman of Garrison told me wild turkeys worship the ground on which he tosses cracked corn.
Folklore says the amount of black on the woolly bear in autumn varies proportionately with the coming winter in the locality where the caterpillar is seen. The longer the woolly bear's black bands, the more severe the winter will be. The wider the middle brown band, the milder the upcoming winter.
Q&A
“Why do you watch birds?” They’re watching me. It’s only fair that I watch them back.
Karen Wright of Mankato asks if monarch butterflies can fly in the rain. Not for long. When it’s raining, monarchs rarely fly. They cling to trees or bushes. If they become wet, they can’t fly because their wings are too heavy. Monarchs don’t need to stay completely dry. If they get wet, they remain still until the water evaporates from their bodies. They bask in the sun to dry their wings. Monarch butterflies reach Mexico near the Day of the Dead in early November. Some cultures believe the Monarchs, or mariposas, are the souls of ancestors returning home. When they reach their destination, the Monarchs overwinter in oyamel fir trees.
“Do yellowjackets sting only once?” Yellowjackets, paper wasps and bumble bees can sting more than once because they can pull their stingers out without injuring themselves. Honey bees have tiny barbs on their stingers that remain hooked in skin. The stinger, connected to the digestive system of the bee, is torn from the abdomen as the bee attempts to fly away. As a result, the bee dies. Yellowjackets cannot be trusted at this time of the year. Expect little waspitality from them.
“What do I plant to help native bees?” Goldenrod, aster, perennial sunflower, native violet, evening primrose, purple coneflower and black-eyed Susan would be good choices.
“Why were the prairies plowed?” Because fertile prairie soils proved excellent for crop production. Early settlers avoided the prairie, thinking unforested land couldn’t support crops. Prairie soil is fertile, but plowing it was difficult. Prairie sod is tough to cut through. The soil stuck to the cast-iron plow blades, making it necessary to stop frequently to clean them. John Deere solved that problem in 1837 with his self-scouring steel plow.
“How do I tell an antler from a horn?” Only the deer species (the family Cervidae) grow antlers, and only males grow antlers, with an exception being female caribou. Antlers are bony structures that grow every year and are shed. Horns are permanent for antelope, cattle, goats, sheep and other members of the family Bovidae. Both males and females have horns in many of those species. Horns have a bony core covered by a keratin sheath. Keratin makes up our fingernails and hair.
Thanks for stopping by
“Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a ‘necessary evil,’ it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil.”—Sydney J. Harris.
“Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego.”—Jean Arp.
Do good.

©Al Batt 2021

“Do something wild today. Look at a bird.” — Al Batt

Twitter http://twitter.com/batt_allen

Podcast https://soundcloud.com/kmsu/sets/birding-with-batt

Podcast http://ktoe.com/2020/05/22/5-22-20-lisa-with-al-batt

“I See You” was by the Byrds. This Canada Jay saw me.