Except for goldfinches and late bluebirds, bird breeding and nesting season ends this month.
Goldfinch
Bluebird
Fall migration starts this month with returning shorebirds.
Shorebirds
Butterfly and Dragonfly diversity peaks.
Gulf Fritillary
Whitefaced Meadowhawk Dragonfly
NABA National Butterfly count.
Butterfly milkweed in bloom. Look for Monarch Butterfly adults, eggs and larva.
Monarch Butterfly, the state butterfly of Texas
Prothonotary Warblers start to leave for Central and South America in late July after nesting here.
Prothonotary Warblers building a nest in tree cavity
First brood of immature hummingbirds begin to show up at nectar feeders early in the month.
Immature Ruby-throated Hummingbird on nectar feeder
Mississippi Kites begin fledging their young.
Mississippi Kites
Garter snakes give birth to live young.
Immature Texas Garter Snake
Mallards and Wood Ducks molt into their "eclipse" plumage and are unable to fly for several weeks.
Molting Mallard Duck
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.
Blackbirds begin to flock and appear at feeders.
Flock of Red-winged Blackbirds
Katydids and Cicadas are in full chorus by the mid-month.
Texas Bush Katydid
Listen for the feeding screeches of young Barred and Great Horned Owls.
