On a recent visit to National Wildlife‘s PhotoZone page on Facebook, I came upon this query in a post: Which wild creatures signify the coming of fall for you? Good question!
For me, it’s monarch caterpillars feasting on the common milkweed in my backyard (as I type this post!)—and the beautiful butterflies they become.
Monarch on chrysalis by Kelly Senser
It was at a Labor Day picnic last year that my family discovered larvae munching on our plants. A first for us then—and quite exciting. In the weeks that followed, we delighted in watching them grow, pupate and emerge from their chrysalides as adults. (I photographed this butterfly on a drizzly morning soon after it emerged.)
We had hoped we’d get to marvel at the monarch’s life cycle anew. So glad we do.
Is there an animal in your garden (or local area) that signifies the coming of fall for you?
Kelly gardens in northern Virginia. She’s excited that this weekend’s episode of Growing a Greener World will include a segment on National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program.
© 2010, Kelly Senser. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Kelly Senser
Unfortunately: Grasshoppers and Spiders
Fortunately: Dragonflies
Red wooly worm caterpillars with their black bands signify the beginning of fall for me. And I have seen them already!
Sandy Parrill recently posted..Whats My Name
We were just talking about this at dinner the other night. Sure signs of fall in our beautiful wildlife garden: huge pumpkins, blooming goldenrod and finches feasting on coneflower seeds! A wonderful season ahead!
In the Boise area, it’s the appearance of Oregon Juncos. They appear 10-14 days after the last hummer is seen and spend the winter in the valley. In the spring, they leave 10-14 days before the first hummer arrives.
Well, I am crazy about monarchs and their plight (see my article here? http://www.prairiefirenewspaper.com/2010/07/monarch-butterflies-the-last-migration). But for me it has to be Canadian geese. My family moved to Minneosta from Oklahoma when I was 10, and the geese flying low overhead–you could hear their wings–were like strange jurassic beasts to me. Their calls are always a call home for me no matter where I am, so when they settle in the cornfields near my house in Nebraska, I am home.
Me too Kelly, but until you posted this, I never asked the question. The reduction in humidity, for me signal fall to me weather-wise, but the Monarchs signal fall to me beautiful wildlife-wise.
Definitely the dark-eyed juncos. Although I never can put my finger on when they arrive–just one day I realize I haven’t seen a goldfinch all week, and there are the juncos are hopping around under the feeder, and I know that winter is somewhere off in the distance (or as winter as we get in the South.)
For me it is the return of the White-throated Sparrows who will spend the winter in my Philadelphia wildlife garden. They are quite cheerful birds, despite their sometimes sad “Old Sam Peabody” call.
Carole recently posted..Beautiful Wildlife Garden- Chris McLaughlin