Naturally
When in need of an altitude adjustment, I look up to watch swallows feeding on flying insects.
I kept company with butterflies—monarch, eastern tiger swallowtail, red admiral, painted lady and mourning cloak. I looked at bluets (damselflies) and widow skimmer dragonflies. When perched, a dragonfly's wings stick straight out like an airplane's wings. A damselfly's wings fold back in line with its body, giving it a sleek, slender appearance at rest.
I saw many Critical Habitat vehicle license plates. Contributions allow the Minnesota DNR to purchase critical resource lands and improve habitat for fish, wildlife and native plants. The plates present images of anglers, deer (two different plates), black-capped chickadee (on my car), lady slipper, loon, moose, pheasant, rusty patched bumble bee (this plate includes a monarch butterfly and a purple prairie clover), and turkey.
Bindweed blooms in ditches and on fences. It resembles a morning glory. Dogbane, bergamot, Joe-pye weed, blue vervain, black-eyed Susan and various sunflower species bloom. The name "Joe-pye weed" is believed to have originated from a historical figure, a Native American herbalist named Joe Pye, who reportedly used the plant to treat various ailments, including fevers and dysentery. Asters bloom August-October. The name "aster" comes from the Greek word for star, a nod to the flower's star-shaped blooms. In Greek mythology, asters came from the tears of the goddess Astraea, who cried because there weren't enough stars in the sky. When her tears hit the ground, star-shaped asters sprouted in their place.
Juvenile bald eagles, trumpeter swan cygnets and sandhill crane colts roam the Earth. A red-headed woodpecker, a vision of delight, left its position on a utility pole and swooped low across the road to catch insects in the air or on the ground.
Fleabane has tiny white flowers; its genus name (Erigeron) comes from the Greek words eri meaning early and geron meaning old man in reference to the early bloom time and its downy plant appearance, suggestive of an old man’s white beard.
A bird landed on a scarecrow, which gave the figure a chirp on its shoulder.
Crows had expressed their objections in the morning. Crickets voiced a great amen to the end of day.
Q&A
Mike Murtaugh of Albert Lea asked where fireflies spend the day. Fireflies stay near the ground in damp areas during the day, often hidden in leaf litter or tall grasses. At night, they emerge to fly and flash, especially after dusk, to attract mates. Females stay lower, often on the ground or in low vegetation, while males fly and flash to locate them.
Ken Nelson of Clarks Grove asked when the Baltimore Orioles leave. I think they leave far too soon. As their young become independent, parents molt their body and flight feathers. Migration peaks in August and September. They winter in Florida, the Caribbean, Central America and the northern tip of South America.
Joel Erickson of Albert Lea asked when and where purple martins go. They’re the largest swallow in Minnesota. Other swallow species are bank, tree, northern rough-winged, barn and cliff. On my walks, barn swallows fly lowest, tree swallows in the middle, and purple martins the highest. After nesting is completed, martins congregate at a roost, typically near water. I’ve seen thousands roosting at Lake Osakis in Todd and Douglas counties in west-central Minnesota after the breeding season. Individual roosts could remain active for six weeks, but individual birds stay at a roost an average of four weeks. Purple martins begin leaving Minnesota in late July, hitting a peak in August, and departing by early September for their wintering grounds in South America.
“Do bats have a sense of smell and good eyesight?” Bats have a variety of senses, and their vision and sense of smell are both well-developed. The saying "blind as a bat" is a myth, but bats often rely on other senses, like echolocation, for navigating and hunting in the dark. The idea that bats are blind likely originated from their nocturnal nature and their remarkable use of echolocation. If they flew and hunted seamlessly in the dark, many assumed they must not rely on vision at all. The truth is that most bats can see well. Different species have varying abilities, with some capable of seeing ultraviolet light. Bats have a unique way of combining echolocation and eyesight, making them skilled hunters both day and night. All eight bat species found in Minnesota each weigh less than one ounce, the weight of a standard letter, are insectivorous and eat up to their body weight in night-flying insects, including moths, beetles and mosquitoes.
Thanks for stopping by
“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.”― Cherokee proverb.
“A good chief gives, he does not take.”―Mohawk proverb.
Do good.
©️Al Batt 2025
The wild turkey was once considered extirpated from Minnesota. The National Wild Turkey Federation says a turkey’s vision is five times better than that of humans, its hearing is estimated to be four times better than ours, and a gobble can be heard up to a mile away. That’s why I hired this hen to be the yard’s official watch turkey. Photo by Al Batt.