Nature Happenings

  •  NABA National Butterfly count.

  • Eastern Tailed Blue Butterfly (native to Kansas)

 

  • Peak of River Bluet (dragonfly) flights

  • River Bluets Dragonfly & Damselfly

 

  • First brood of immature hummingbirds begin to show up at nectar feeders early in the month.

  • Immature Ruby-throated Hummingbird at feeder 

 

  • Thistle plants begin to seed; goldfinches gather thistledown for nesting material and begin nesting.

  • American Goldfinch gathering nesting material from thistle. 

 

  • Many species (robins, cardinals, bluebirds, etc.) may be in their second nesting.

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  • Robin Nesting

 

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  • Nesting Cardinals

 

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  • Bluebird Nesting

 

  • Mallards and Wood Ducks molt into "eclipse" plumage and are unable to fly for several weeks.

  • Molting Mallard Duck (Molting-shed old feathers, hair, or skin, or an old shell, to make way for a new growth.)

 

  • Male Wood Duck with eclipse plumage

  • Eclipse plumage is temporary or transition plumage. Ducks are peculiar in that they shed all their flight feathers; the long, wing feathers; at once. Ducks are not able to fly during this period.

 

  • Fall migration starts this month with shorebirds returning later in month.

  • Shorebirds

 

  • Katydids and Cicadas are in full chorus by late-month.

  •  Katydid

 

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  • Cicada (Don't spray them, birds will eat them!)

 

  • Listen for the feeding screeches of young Barred and Great Horned Owls.

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  • Immature Barred Owl

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  • Immature Great Horned Owl

 

  • Look for hummingbirds feeding on Trumpet Creeper and Jewelweed flowers.

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  • Hummingbird on Trumpet Creeper

 

  • Many songbirds go into heavy molt.

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  • Molting Cardinal

 

  •  Molting Finch

 

  • Great Blue Herons fledge.

  •  Immature Great Blue Heron

 

  • Delta Aquarids Meteor shower peaks in late-July.

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