Indholdsfortegnelse for August/September 2019 i Birds & Blooms

It’s normal for me to leap up in the middle of a conversation to get a better look at a bird flying overhead or flitting about the trees. And more recently, I find myself hugely distracted by butterflies, too. Monarchs and red admirals are the most common fliers in my yard, but this issue, brimming with butterflies, has me watching for even more varieties amid my urban landscape these summer months. Butterflies are small—some the size of a thumbprint—and they pause for only seconds at a time. This makes it difficult enough to glimpse the intricacies of their wings, never mind look long enough to identify a particular species. Many stories in this issue will help boost your ID skills. See close-up views of the commonly confused American, painted and…

Seeing a vibrant yellow American goldfinch at a feeder is enough to make any birder’s heart skip a beat. Among the muted plumage of pine siskins, chickadees and sparrows, these bright beauties are a shock to the system. “They are very striking,” says Scott Gremel, a wildlife biologist at Washington’s Olympic National Park. “They look like tropical birds.” Male and female goldfinches appear markedly different during breeding season, when males molt into bright yellow body feathers with black wings and cap and an orange bill. Juveniles and females are less colorful year-round. In winter, males have a dark bill and dull yellow body feathers, and look more like the females. These feathered friends mainly eat seeds, cracking them open with their short bills. Favorite seeds include Njyer, thistle, black oil…

Drying flowers is easy—it’s remembering to actually cut them that is a challenge. Just before your favorite flowers reach their peak, think about how you might use a dried version of them, whether it’s for classic indoor wreaths and arrangements or a decoration on your favorite straw hat. Pick flowers for drying in the early afternoon on a sunny day, when their water content is lowest. Collect blossoms right at their peak—any older and the petals may drop as they dry—and play around with these simple drying methods. FORGET THE WATER If you’ve ever forgotten to add a little extra water to a vase, you may have already succeeded at the easiest method of drying flowers—simply deprive them of water. Now do it deliberately! Clip a small handful of stems,…

SUBSCRIBE Sign up for Birds & Blooms Extra to get more of what you love between your regular issues of Birds & Blooms. birdsandblooms.com/extraspecial Read Look for our newest publication, Backyard Bird Field Guide, on a newsstand near you! Use it to help ID birds, recognize common behaviors and attract more of your favorite fliers. Grow Tara Steffen of Berne, Indiana, planted mums for fall color and was surprised by how many painted lady butterflies stopped to enjoy them. BUY FRESH Support your local markets this summer, especially during National Farmers Market Week, the first full week of August. Share your best finds at birdsandblooms.com/submit. TRAVEL Go to the Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah, Aug. 17 in Henderson, Minnesota.…

1 Butterfly weed ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA, ZONES 3 TO 9 Distinctive clusters of bright orange flowers are a must-stop destination for butterflies, especially monarchs and black swallowtails. After all, it didn’t get its name for nothing. Butterfly weed grows 1 to 2 ½ feet tall and blooms from mid- to late summer. It tolerates dry soil and prefers plenty of sunshine. Why we love it: The showy bright orange blooms are deer resistant and drought tolerant, and butterfly weed is easy to grow from seed and super resilient—a major win! 2 Cleome CLEOME HASSLERIANA, ANNUAL This old-time garden favorite, also called spider flower, gets its common name from the long and threadlike flower stamens and elongated seedpods. Cultivars come in white, pink, rose or purple flowers and quickly reach 5 to…

A ruby-throated hummingbird at a hardy hibiscus bloom shows you just how small this bird is! Last year was my first attempt at growing hibiscus, but it is pretty hardy and should come back year after year, even here in Indiana. Carol Holliday TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA EASY ID If you spot a hummingbird and you’re east of the Mississippi River, it’s most likely a ruby-throated. It’s the only hummingbird species that breeds in the eastern half of the U.S. Dickcissels prefer tall grassland habitat. The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City, Iowa, is one of the best spots to find them during the breeding season. A dickcissel’s song is part of the sound of summer here in Iowa. Douglas Lambert DES MOINES, IOWA ON THE MOVE Dickcissels shift…

Monarchs are among the most recognizable and best loved butterflies in North America. But you may have noticed fewer of them traveling through your garden over the last couple of years. It’s true that monarch numbers have declined recently, and that decline is more extreme in some places than others—but, luckily, it’s not all bad news. Researchers split monarchs into two groups at the Rockies: eastern and western. They’re not distinct species, but their migration paths and overwintering habitats differ. And one group may be more robust and healthy than the other. In the East, monarchs appear to be rebounding for the first time in years. Some researchers counted a 144% increase in overwintering monarchs in late 2018, the highest numbers recorded since 2006. Emma Pelton, a conservation biologist leading…

Find the Hummingbird In each issue, we hide a hummingbird like the one above left. Enter to win at birdsandblooms.com/contests if you find it. Winners receive a one-year subscription to Birds & Blooms. In the June/July issue, we hid it on page 45. HIDDEN OBJECT GUIDELINES No purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec). Sweepstakes begins on July 9, 2019, and ends on Sept. 10, 2019. Visit birdsandblooms.com/contests for official rules. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC. Contact Us! CUSTOMER CARE For subscriptions, renewals, gifts, payments, account info and inquiries: Email: customercare@birdsandblooms.com Visit:…

Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata, Zones 3 to 6 Perfect for filling out butterfly gardens, swamp milkweed is less aggressive than common milkweed yet has all the nectar benefits. It grows in challenging conditions, but prefers a sunny, moist spot. Blooms range from shades of pink to white. Attracts: Light needs: Full sun. Size: Reaches 5 feet high and spreads 2 to 3 feet. Grown for: Showy, fragrant midsummer flowers. Foliage: Long, tapered leaves. Cultivars to try: Ice Ballet dazzles with all-white flowers and darker green foliage, or host the belle of the ball with Cinderella’s fuchsia blooms.…

Q I love catbirds, but they seem to leave by mid-July. Where are they going? Barbara Keefer MARMORA, NEW JERSEY Kenn and Kimberly: Catbirds are spring and early summer favorites. But in many places, they become much harder to find by midsummer. They don’t start migrating south that early. However, they become much quieter after their young have left the nest and learned to fly, and they often disperse far away from their nesting territories. In late summer, catbirds may move to areas of woodland or dense thickets to look for wild fruits and berries. They spend their time fattening up to prepare for migration, and by the end of summer they may start moving south. Q This insect doesn’t quite look like a dragonfly or butterfly. Can you ID…

MOUNTAIN HIGH! Marvel at majestic peaks, birds and wildflowers. Crowned by the strikingly picturesque Teton range, the 310,000-acre Grand Teton National Park is more than an alpine playground. Its diverse ecosystems include pine forests, aspen stands, sagebrush flats, and aquatic and riparian areas that attract over 300 bird species, most migratory. Be sure to see the late-blooming wildflowers that color the landscapes at higher elevations in August and September. 1 Pass historic Mormon Row along Antelope Flats Road to see northern harriers, sage grouse, sage thrashers, American kestrels and sparrows—plus moose, bison, pronghorn and elk. Stay at least 25 yards from all wildlife, 100 yards from wolves and bears. 2 See trumpeter swans at Oxbow Bend on the Snake River. Fish congregate in this lazy stretch of water, also attracting…

answers on the bottom! True or False? A. MONARCH AND VICEROY butterflies look nearly identical. B. ALL BUTTERFLIES go through metamorphosis, the process that takes a small egg to an adult flier. C. YOU CAN LURE more butterflies to your yard with rotting fruit, animal dung and nectar-filled blooms. ANSWERS 1. EASTERN TAILED-BLUE 2. ROCKY MOUNTAIN PARNASSIAN 3. GULF FRITILLARY 4. COMMON WOOD-NYMPH 5. VICEROY A. TRUE B. TRUE C. TRUE…

60,000 Hives have a very strict social structure composed of three groups: queens, workers and drones. There’s only one queen in healthy hives, plus 2,000 to 60,000 female workers that collect pollen and keep the hive running, and up to 500 larger male drones whose main job is to mate with the queen bee. 20 There are more than 20 subspecies of western honeybee, none of which are native to North America. They spread here after being brought from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 7 The life span of a bee depends on where it falls within the colony. Queens live up to seven years; workers born in spring or early summer live only five to six weeks. 2000 Queen bees are the only females that reproduce. The pheromones…