Naturally
There is plenty of insect pressure (mosquitoes, gnats, deerflies, and stable flies) this year, but there is plenty of insect pleasure, too. A summer azure is a tiny powder blue butterfly that flies in June, July and August, much to my delight.
Tree swallows are staging on utility wires before beginning their fall migration in July and August, heading for Florida and Central America. They gather to reason together.
I spotted two owls near one another. I suspect the two barred owls were in cahoots. A barred owl has one ear that is higher than the other. Hearing from two different angles helps it pinpoint the location of prey.
Thomas Sadler Roberts was a physician known for his work in ornithology. His book “The Birds of Minnesota” is a comprehensive account of Minnesota birds in 1932. Roberts considered the raven “a disappearing bird” headed for extinction in the state. Roberts noted that limited evidence existed to support the presence of wild turkeys in Minnesota. If they ever existed, it was only in the extreme southern part of the state along the Mississippi River and its tributaries and at the headwaters of the Des Moines River in Jackson County.
Q&A
“Is lawn grass invasive?” Some grasses are invasive, including Kentucky bluegrass, which is pervasive in our prairies.
“I’m seeing winged ants in my house. Should I be concerned?” The reproductive members of ant colonies have wings, so it means there is a possibility of an infestation in your wall voids or a nest somewhere inside your home or nearby on your property. These ant infestations begin when your home develops sites of increased moisture due to leaks, or has accessible food or garbage nearby.
“When did the passenger pigeon last nest in Minnesota?” The passenger pigeon, with breeding flocks numbering in the millions and nest sites covering several square miles, last nested near Minneapolis in 1895.
“Are there chiggers in Minnesota?” There are. I taste just like chicken to them. Their bites get in all kinds of places on a body. Chiggers go boldly where no one has gone before. Chiggers are larval forms of a mite. They don’t drink our blood or burrow into our skin, but they have a taste for dissolved body tissues. Chiggers like heat and humidity. Tall grass, moist areas around lakes or rivers, and wooded areas are likely to harbor chiggers. The bites of chiggers itch enough to keep a mind preoccupied, and covering them with nail polish doesn’t help. I take my mind off the itching with an intentional earworm, forcing a song to stick in my head. “It’s a Small World” works well.
“Do brown chicken eggs have more spots in them than white
eggs?” About 25-30% of brown eggs have pigment or protein spots next to the yolk or floating in the albumen. White eggs have them, but lack the brown pigment that combines with protein to make them stand out. The spots aren’t an indication of fertility and they aren’t bloodspots. It’s difficult to detect interior defects when shining a candling light through a brown-shelled egg, so bloodspots are more often found in brown eggs than white ones. There is a 1 in 3000 chance of finding a bloodspot in a white egg and a 1 in 1000 chance in a brown egg. They’re safe to eat when cooked properly.
Lona Falenczykowski of Mankato saw a Cooper’s hawk and wondered why it stood on one leg. Injury? For warmth in cold weather. Some scientists suggest the birds rest a leg. Some birds may use it as a hunting strategy. A one-legged stance makes a wading bird less conspicuous and treelike with a single trunk and overhanging mass. Other scientists argue when a bird stands on one leg, it gives it enhanced swiveling mobility, which helps it watch for predators and prey.
“I know house wrens nest in Iowa and Minnesota. Where else?” They breed from Canada through the West Indies and Central America, southward to the southernmost point of South America.
“How far will a mosquito fly to bite me?” There are 51 species found in Minnesota. Most species of mosquitoes travel up to 3 miles from their breeding grounds, but some species could fly up to 15 miles to enjoy your free samples. A mosquito can sense exhaled carbon dioxide from a distance of 30 feet or more.
“When is the tick season in Minnesota?” Any time the ground isn’t covered with snow.
Thanks for stopping by
"There are no little things. 'Little things,' so called, are the hinges of the universe."—Fanny Fern.
“We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common. It has to be everybody or nobody.”—Buckminster Fuller.
Do good.
©Al Batt 2024
Using trained cormorants to catch fish originated in Japan or China long ago. Young wild birds are captured and learn to fish by watching older birds. A bird is tethered for recapture with a ring or loop placed around its neck, which prevents it from swallowing larger fish. When it surfaces with a large fish in its gullet, a fisherman grabs it and removes the fish. Photo of double-crested cormorants by Al Batt.