Nesting & Molting!
Nature Happenings
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NABA National Butterfly count.*
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Peak of River Bluet (dragonfly) flights
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Bison mating season
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First brood of immature hummingbirds begin to show up at nectar feeders early in the month.
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Thistle plants begin to seed; goldfinches gather thistledown for nesting material and begin nesting.
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Many species (robins, cardinals, bluebirds, etc.) may be in their second nesting.
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Mallards and Wood Ducks molt into "eclipse" plumage and are unable to fly for several weeks.
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Fall migration starts this month with shorebirds returning later in month.
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Katydids and Cicadas are in full chorus by late-month.
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Listen for the feeding screeches of young Barred and Great Horned Owls.
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Look for hummingbirds feeding on Trumpet Creeper and Jewelweed flowers.
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Many songbirds go into heavy molt.
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Great Blue Herons fledge.
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Delta Aquarids Meteor shower peaks in late-July.
*Missouri
NABA-St. Louis
Yvonne Homeyer - President
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://nabastl.org
Regal Fritillary
River Bluet Dragonfly & Damselfly
American Bison
Immature Ruby-throated Hummingbird → Order your hummingbird feeder now!
American Goldfinch gathering nesting material from thistle.
Nesting Robin
Cardinals tending to their nest
Nesting Bluebird
Molting Mallard Duck (Moulting is to 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, typical of ducks but found in other birds as well, is dull, female-like plumage worn by the male for a month or more in summer after breeding. It “eclipses” his usual bright plumage. Ducks are unable to fly during this period.)
Missouri Katydid
Cicada
Immature Barred Owl
Immature Great Horned Owl
Hummingbird on Trumpet Creeper
Molting Cardinal
Molting Finch
Immature Great Blue Heron
