Thursday, July 14, 2011

Phenology: 7/14/11

Weather: not really hot, yet, but humid. Can't step outside without perspiring. (It gets worse though. I was able to breathe through my nose while walking to the computer center.)

Birds: Most seem to have retired from flying and singing, except for crows, of course, and a flock of grackles I heard grating on the way to the computer center today. I last saw one of the robins on Sunday. It was flying; I didn't see whether it was the male or the female.

Insects: All summer I've noticed how few moths there are and how far off schedule the ones I've seen have been. There were hardly any tiger moths in June (most years a few species are very numerous at the Cat Sanctuary). This morning I saw a tiger moth caterpillar crossing a road. It was one of several that can be called "brown bears" because they're similar in size and hair texture to woolly bears, but all brown; this one could even be called tan.

Flowers: Vetch is still blooming as I've never seen it bloom before here--crown vetch in all shades of pink, and native vetch in bright buttercup yellow, still making swatches of color. Clover. Thistles. Trumpetvines have started opening a few of their orange-red "trumpets."

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