This time of year presents a challenge and opportunity. Fledgling birds often are not easy to ID as to their species. Their adult markings have not yet developed. But with a little patience, good photos, and online internet images, it is possible and fun to identify your sightings. If you can watch your juvenile, you can also often see them interact with a parent, which should confirm your ID.
With August just around the corner, it is dryer and warmer now than any other time of the year. This means more than just sun bleached lawns. We notice decreased bird activity, less flowers, and frizzled herbaceous plants. Some trees, particularly alders, drop leaves to reduce transpiration. But life persists, and flourishes if you know where to look. Turn over a log or rock, and all manner of beetle and bug scurry for cover. Moths, butterflies and other flying insect populations seem to be peaking. And don't miss the dragonflies. This time of year they range far from the wetlands. What I find exciting about the rotation of the seasons is the rolling abundance of a progression of species. Now is the time to snag some insect observations. The spiders of August are neigh upon us.
