Late Summer’s Comings and Goings
Late August
Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).
It’s late August, which, in the North Country, is late summer. Even though we recently endured a short spell of 90-degree days that were too hot to do anything, we know that the summer is coming to an end. The usual branches of the big maples have already turned red; the redwings have headed south; the goldenrod and asters are in full bloom, and we have already had some nights when we needed all of our blankets.
Photos and text by Carl D. Martland, a founding member of ACT and a long-time resident of Sugar Hill. Quotations from his journals indicate the date of and the situation depicted in each photograph.
On the Hillside
The bears know what is coming, and they spend their days feeding in the meadows, not caring who’s watching, at least not for a few minutes:
August 11, 2021. As we walked through the fields on Bronson Hill, we noticed a bear foraging amid the wildflowers near the bottom of the field. We watched for several minutes, taking some photos and a video. Only when we walked about fifty yards further along the trail did he decide to scamper off into the woods. Yes, as shown in the photo, a big, black bear can indeed scamper.
Wood frogs and American toads have long since left the pond. Now we only see them by chance as we walk along the trails through the woods. I say “by chance”, because these guys are well camouflaged for their woodland habitat. (I do hope you didn’t think I included a photo of dead leaves.)
August 27, 2015 — This toad’s colors were no help when it landed on a bunch of green leaves.
August 25, 2017 — I ventured a ways into the Back 80, but only noted that I took a picture of a small wood frog that was nearly invisible in the duff by the trail. If the frog hadn’t moved, I never would have seen it.
By the Pond
So long as the sun is shining, there will be a lot of activity at the pond. Turtles climb out onto any available rock for - for what? A nice lazy afternoon sunbath? I don’t know, but they do seem happy to sit motionless at Rock Island for hours, alone or with up to a half dozen of their relatives. Each turtle has a unique pattern of lines on its shell, which last year helped me to identify more than 20 painted turtles living in our 1-acre pond.
August 22, 2020 — Painted Turtle at the Point
I always approach the edge of the pond very slowly, for who knows who else might be there. Could the big snapping turtle, a bullfrog, or a group of small green frogs be loitering just off shore? Or might there be something much more exciting? You yourself may have been surprised by a great blue heron or a bittern suddenly flying up when you unwarily approached the edge of a pond at this time of year. One day last year, after reaching our end of the pond, I caught sight of a great blue heron hunting along the opposite shore. Not content with just another photo of one of these stately creatures standing at attention in shallow water, I inched closer and closer, camera at the ready – and I did capture the big bird’s explosive take-off:
August 27, 2020 — A great blue heron was hunting for frogs on the other side of the pond.
While anyone is happy to see another great blue heron, I am just as happy to find the first of the late summer dragonflies. Although one or two green darners, widow skimmers, slaty skimmers, and blue dashers may still be seen, I am more interested in documenting the first of the meadowhawks and mosaic darners that are just now due to arrive.
The most common species of meadowhawks all look pretty much the same: barely an inch long, the males are mostly red and the females yellow/brown. The first to appear, in early August, are the white-faced meadowhawks, followed in a couple of weeks by the yellow-legged, cherry-faced, and saffron-winged meadowhawks. Since these names identify the key characteristics of each species, you might think it would be easy to tell them apart.“All” you need are clear photographs showing the dragonfly’s face, thorax, legs, and the subtle colors of its wings, and that may require many photos and a lot of patience.
August 23, 2020, 74 degrees, light breeze, nice — White-faced meadowhawks very common today along the dam. I took a photo of a pair hanging on a cattail in a wheel. I also saw the first yellow-legged meadowhawk of the season, along with a couple of cherry-faced meadowhawks. One of the many mosaic darners tried to chase away the only green darner still here looking for a mate.
The mosaic darners are much larger than meadowhawks, but no easier to tell apart. The family name reflects their blue and black abdominal pattern, which is basically the same for the most common species. The only mosaic darner that is easily identified is the largest - the black-tipped darner. The female of this species can often be seen at the base of a cattail, dipping its abdomen into the pond to lay its eggs. After five or ten seconds, it may move to a nearby cattail or fly off, but it will likely return to the same area again and again. Eventually it will land in a spot where you have a clear view from the side, and you can easily see that it has two broad, straight thoracic stripes. The other species of mosaic darners have crooked or kinked thoracic stripes that are difficult to see even on the rare occasion when they land.
August 20, 2016 — A female black-tipped darner lays eggs from her characteristic perch on a cattail.
Canada darners are also commonly seen flying in and out among the cattails at the edge of the pond, but they almost never land. They are best identified by their behavior. The males fly into an opening in the cattails, hover for several seconds, fly in and out around the edge of the opening, hover again, then fly a few circular inland paths, hover again, then out across the pond to check out another opening.
I admit to a special affection for dragonflies, because as several different species can be found by the pond on any sunny day from the end of May until the middle of October. However, other insects can be equally attractive. Damselflies are no less diverse and attractive than dragonflies, but they are much thinner and shorter than their cousins. As in boxing, the heavyweights attract the most public attention, even though they lack the agility and skills of the lightweights. So, if you are patient and have a camera with a good zoom, you can get appreciate the beauty and diversity of these commonly seen, but frequently ignored insects. Bluets are the most easily identified family of damselflies, as dozens of these 1- to 1.5-inch blue insects can frequently be seen swarming low over a pond, often landing on floating leaves, cattails, or any other vegetation or detritus found near the shore or floating on the surface. Other families include spreadwings, so-called because they usually rest with their wings outspread like a dragonfly’s rather than folded together like a bluet’s. The most common species in late August are pale brown, almost translucent, and easily missed even though some species are close to two inches long.
Azure Bluet, August 25, 2017 — Male bluets have a blue thorax and at least a couple of blue segments at the tip of the abdomen. Some species, including the azure bluet show in this photo, have an abdomen that is largely black, but others have one that is mostly blue. The females are less colorful and stouter.
In the Meadows
In late August, the last of the resident birds are preparing to leave, while the first of the migrants are arriving. Song sparrows, who make their nest low in brushy meadows, often near apple trees, may still be around by the time that the first chipping sparrows start foraging in the driveway. It’s the same with the warblers. The young common yellowthroats may still be out with their mothers, seeking bugs in and among the goldenrod, asters and young willows at the same time that an early arriving migrating pine or yellow-rumped warbler is flitting above in the alders.
August 22, 2018 — Song Sparrow, Juvenile
August 15, 2015 — Chipping Sparrow
The meadows are now dominated by goldenrods and asters. Everyone recognizes goldenrod by the multitude of tiny, yellow flowers sitting atop hundreds of tall stems creating a sea of color across nearly every wild, open area. Almost anyone, by taking a closer look, will quickly see that there are many different shapes and sizes of goldenrod. Almost no-one, even those like me who photograph the different species, knows or even cares to know their names. Asters are almost as numerous and almost as diverse, and many of us can name some of the ones that we see. The white flat-topped aster stands four or five feet tall in an uncut meadow, and its flowers spread out over an area a foot or two across. New England and New York asters are more colorful, not quite as tall, but equally attractive to bees, butterflies, wasps, and other insects. Some milkweed will usually be found among the goldenrods and asters in any of our meadows. If you look carefully, you may find one of the black & yellow monarch caterpillars hanging on a milkweed pod or crawling along one of its leaves.
September 3, 2019 — Painted Lady on New England Aster.
August 11, 2021 (Long Pond Picnic Area) — Monarch Butterfly on a milkweed pod.
