Nature Happenings

• NABA National Butterfly count.
• Prothonotary Warblers start to leave for Central and South America in late July after nesting here.
• First brood of immature hummingbirds begin to show up at nectar feeders early in the month.
• Mississippi Kites begin fledging their young.
• Except for goldfinches and late bluebirds, bird breeding and nesting season ends this month.
• Garter snakes give birth to live young.
• Mallards and Wood Ducks molt into their "eclipse" plumage and are unable to fly for several weeks.
• Fall migration starts this month with returning shorebirds.
• Blackbirds begin to flock and appear at feeders.
• Katydids and Cicadas are in full chorus by the mid-month.
• Listen for the feeding screeches of young Barred and Great Horned Owls.
• Butterfly and Dragonfly diversity peaks.
• Butterfly milkweed in bloom. Look for Monarch Butterfly adults, eggs and larva.
• Delta Aquarids Meteor shower peaks in late-July.