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| Tall grasses dominate the prairies now Holland Sand Prairie is no exception |
I feel autumn coming.
My "I Spy" lists of plants and wildlife are beginning to shrink rapidly. That, if nothing else, speaks of the coming fall. Our autumn equinox is just three weeks away and the signs of nature's pulling up her blanket to get ready for her winter rest are apparent everywhere.
And who can blame her? While she's had a wild and wonderous summer celebration of blooming flowers and lush growth, the nights are lengthening and the slowing results are everywhere as I hike.
During the past two weeks we saw temps moderate (and air quality improve). We had one hard rain day (2.5” by us), a sprinkle or two, a few foggy mornings and a last week of pleasant daytime temps combined with cool night temps. There was plenty of time to enjoy the last puppy days of August and observe the subtle changes going into fall.
Songbird migrations are beginning in earnest. Waterfowl migration is just beginning as well. These journeys will continue well into November on our Mississippi flyway. Recent strong north winds jumpstarted songbird migration in numbers large enough to be seen on Doppler radar.
Remember to keep your outside lights off and curtains closed to help birds along in their nightly migrations. You can keep your eye on Cornell Lab's Birdcast to stay current on migration peaks. Also watch your bird feeders and the trees for surprise guests migrating through.
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Pollen-covered common eastern bumblebee on a stiff goldenrod |
Mushrooms and fungi continue their strong showings on the damp forest floors. Fruiting plants including roses, false Solomon's seal, Solomon's seal, Jack-in-the-pulpit and mayapple are displaying their berries and fruit along the trails. Beetles and other insects like grasshopper and cricket populations are burgeoning.
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| Red-legged grasshopper on Jerusalem artichoke |
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| Graffiti lichen Image -Tyler Barnhurst |
Beginning this month through the end of April, this column will switch from bi-monthly to monthly as nature slows down. But my hiking will continue at it’s usual mad pace!
See you on the trails!
- agrimony, tall hairy
Roundhead bushclover - alyssum, hoary
- aster, aromatic
- aster, calico
- aster, Drummond's
- aster, purple-stem
- aster, white-panicle
- beebalm, spotted
- blazing star, dwarf
- blazing star, rough
- boneset, false
- bushclover, roundhead
- cardinal flower
- cliffbrake, western dwarf
- coneflower, cutleaf
- coneflower, grey-headed
- Culver’s root
- fern, bulblet bladder-
- fern, interrupted
- fern, lady
- fern, northern maidenhair
- fern, ostrich
- fern, sensitive
- fern, spinulose wood
- flax, grooved
- fleabane, daisy
- fleabane, prairie
- forget-me-not
- goldenrod, Canada
Jersey tea - goldenrod, early
- goldenrod, elmleaf
- goldenrod, giant
- goldenrod, grey
- goldenrod, prairie (Missouri)
- goldenrod, showy
- goldenrod, stiff
- goldenrod, tall
- goldenrod, white flat-topped
- goldenrod, zigzag
- harebell
- horsetail, rough
- ironweed, prairie
- jersey tea
- Jerusalem artichoke
- jewelweed, orange
- jewelweed, yellow
- Joe-Pye-weed, spotted
- leafcup, small-flowered
- lobelia, great blue
- partridge pea
- poppy mallow, purple
- primrose, common evening
- rattlesnake master
Great blue lobelia - self-heal
- snakeroot, white
- spurge, flowering
- sunflower, fewleaf
- sunflower, giant
- sunflower, hairy
- sunflower, stiff
- sunflower, swamp (sneezeweed)
- sunflower, woodland
- Susan, black-eyed
- Susan, brown-eyed
- thistle, field
- tobacco, Indian
- vervain, hoary
- wild bergamot
- yarrow
Sprouts/unbloomed/past bloom:
- aster, calico
- aster, smooth blue
- aster, white heath
- aster, western silver
- bloodroot
- leadplant
- sagebrush, white
- thimbleweed, tall
Blue Cohosh fruit - wild ginger
Fruited:
- blue cohosh
- false Solomon's seal
- Jack-in-the-pulpit
- mayapple
- spikenard, American
Grasses/Sedges:
- grass, big bluestem
- grass, bottle brush
- grass, green foxtail
- grass, little bluestem
- grass, sideoats grama
- grass, smooth brome
- indiangrass, yellow
- obscuregrass, Scribner's
- switchgrass
Fungi/Moss/Lichen:
- fungus, crowded parchment
Rare dog-nose fungus -
note the “nostrils” on the left - fungus, dog-nose
- fungus, white jelly
- ghost pipe
- lichen, asterisk
- lichen, candle flame
- lichen, graffiti
- lichen, hooded sunburst
- lichen, hoary rosette
- lichen, mortar dot
- lichen, orange fire dot
- lichen, speckled shield
- mushroom, American slippery Jack
- mushroom, artist's conk
- Mushroom, bolete - bitter
Fluted white helvella saddle mushroom - mushroom, bolete - chestnut
- mushroom, bolete - ruby
- mushroom, bolete - two-colored
- mushroom, bolete -weeping
- mushroom, chanterelle
- mushroom, corrugated cap cort
- mushroom, deer
- mushroom, earthball
- mushroom, saddle - fluted white helvella
- mushroom, golden bittergill
- mushroom, golden reishi
Indigo milk cap mushroom - note the
blue latex drops where it’s been touched - mushroom, - milk cap - Indigo
- mushroom, hexagonal polypore
- mushroom, laccaria - common
- mushroom, laccaria - purple-gilled
- mushroom, lactarius (milky cap)
- mushroom, orange mycena
- mushroom, oyster
- mushroom, golden oyster
- mushroom, lung oyster
- mushroom, puffball
- mushroom, puffball - skull-shaped
- mushroom, purple-bloom russula
- mushroom, turkey tail
- mushroom, red waxy cap
Wildlife Observations (seen, heard, detected)
Birds:
- bluebird, eastern
- blue jay
- bluebird, eastern
- catbird, grey
Image -Evan Lipton Merlin Bird ID - cedar waxwing
- chickadee, black-capped
- crow, American
- finch, house
- goldfinch, American
- grosbeak, rose-breasted
- hawk, red-tailed
- hummingbird, ruby-throated
- killdeer
- kingbird, eastern
- nuthatch, white-breasted
- redstart, American
- robin, American
- sparrow, chipping
- sparrow, field
- sparrow, house
Great blue heron at
MacGilvray's Seven Bridges - sparrow, song
- swallow, barn
- veery
- vireo, Bell's
- vireo, warbling
- vireo, red-eyed
- warbler, chestnut-sided
- woodpecker, downy
- woodpecker, hairy
- woodpecker, pileated
- woodpecker, red-bellied
- wood-pewee, eastern
- wren, house
- yellowthroat, common
Waterfowl/fish:
- geese, Canada
- heron, great blue
- pelican American
- swan, trumpeter
- trout, brown
- frog, northern leopard
- turtle, painted
Insects/arachnids:
- bee, striped sweat
Canoodling male and female walking sticks - beetle, goldenrod soldier
- bumblebee, black-and-gold
- bumblebee, brown-belted
- bumblebee, common eastern
- bumblebee, two-spotted
- butterfly, clouded sulfur
- butterfly, eastern comma
- butterfly, pearl crescent
- butterfly, eastern swallowtail
- butterfly, Monarch
- cricket, tree
- damselfly, tule bluet
- dragonfly, autumn meadowlark
- dragonfly, 12-spotted skipper
- dragonfly, widow skimmer
- grasshopper, red-legged
- grasshopper, differential
- spider, yellow garden
- walking stick
What are YOU seeing on your hikes?
Two weeks of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions/location of the trails found online
Holland Sand Prairie, Holmen WI (3); Frontenac State Park, Old Frontenac, MN (2); Bluffside Park, Winona MN; Weaver Sand Dunes, Kellogg MN (2), Riverside Park, La Crosse WI, McMillan Marsh Wildlife Area, Marathon Co, WI
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| Oncoming fall's greying landscape at Beaver Creek Valley (MN) State Park |
The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.
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| Crossing a ravine the easy way Image -Nola Larson |
Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters
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