These beautiful birds have been back for a few weeks and are now beginning to build their amazing nests. They weave complex
Listen for this bird’s sweet, musical song in the wooded edges at CWES. Baltimore orioles are closely related to blackbirds and meadowlarks. They eat a variety of caterpillars, fruit, insects, spiders, and nectar. Putting out orange halves at your bird feeder will provide these colorful birds with a sweet treat.
Did you know?
The Baltimore oriole originally got its name from its colors, which were the same as the family colors of the Baltimore family (the English family of Lords and Ladies who ruled the colony of Maryland).
Learn more: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
See an oriole build its nest (video by Laura Erickson)
That’s right, along with all the beautiful birds and flowers that are re-emerging, so too is this irritating plant. Right now, poison ivy leaves are growing from the plant’s short, woody stem. Touching any part of a poison ivy plant or touching something else that has touched it, can transfer oils that will make you itch. Even if you have been immune to ivy in the past, your immunity can change and you can have reactions to it, so always be cautious. If you think that you have brushed up against a poison ivy plant, wash the area immediately with cold water and soap. Also be sure to wash your clothes with detergent and make sure that they haven’t rubbed against furniture or something else that could spread the oils. A reaction usually appears within 12-48 hours and produces red, itchy skin and blisters.
Poison ivy can be found in a variety of habitats and looks a bit different from place to place. Poison ivy has groups of three, usually reddish-green leaves. If you’re not sure, follow the “leaves of three, let it be” rule!
Learn more: American Academy of Dermatology
After migrating to Mexico and spending months there in large groups, monarchs are beginning to return to us. However, these are not the same monarchs that left us eight months ago. Those monarchs made their way to Mexico, spent the winter, and then journeyed to the southern U.S. There, they laid eggs and then died after an eight month life. The eggs they laid became caterpillars that turned into butterflies who continued the journey Northward. These new monarchs will only live 2-6 weeks. Several generations of these short-lived monarchs will live and die during the spring and summer, and then in late summer the longer-lived monarchs will emerge and make their own journey to Mexico.
Watch for female monarchs laying their eggs on the underside of milkweed plants. Eggs are laid singly, and are the size of a pinhead. You can tell male and female monarch butterflies apart by looking at their back wings. Male monarchs have a small black spot on each back wing, and females do not.
Monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. Milkweed has toxins in it that make both monarch butterflies and caterpillars unappealing to predators.
Learn more: Journey North
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