We know what the cool breeze and the changing leaves mean for the seasons, and so do the plants and animals in Burlington. The geese are beginning to form teams and fly through the city, and other migrators are soon to follow. Although it may seem melancholy, it is important for us to mark the calendar with the "lasts" of the summer. As our climate shifts, we need to learn how species adapt and shift with it... or not. This month, try and make the last observations of the year of double-crested cormorants, yellow garden spiders, box elder bugs, and purple flowered raspberries.

In August, we surpassed 400 observations for the year! This was thanks to many garden spiders in the later half of August and the "reappearance" of several species that had gone unseen for a month or more like muskrats, ospreys, and red fox. Stay vigilant for the Isabella tiger moth, yet unseen in Burlington.

Check on the current clock and see a GIF past years' clock data here:
https://burlingtonwildways.org/projects/burlington-seasons-clock-2020

-Gustave Sexauer
Burlington Wildways

Welcome UVM students who are just joining the project! There has certainly been an influx of observations of our focus species this month. As summer is winding down and the mornings get chillier by the week, many of our species will be hanging it up for the year. Now is the perfect time to go and find them before they're gone! Traditionally, beavers, box elder bugs, monarchs, phoebes, woolly bears, and garter snakes are all still around in the coming month. Also, be sure to check check the Project List page to make sure you are submitting observations of the focus species with the focus phenology characteristics (in italics under some species):

https://www.inaturalist.org/lists/2945013-Burlington-Wildways-Phenology-Clocks-Check-List?rank=species

For instance, we are interested in when crows form murders, but not when they are solitary or in pairs, and we want to know when chickadees sing the "fee-bee" song, so only observations with those sound bites will end up linked to the project. However, some focus species have no qualifiers and we are just recording their presence, like robins, milkweed, and monarchs.

Check on the current clock and see a GIF past years' clock data here:
https://burlingtonwildways.org/projects/burlington-seasons-clock-2020

Happy observing!

-Gustave Sexauer
Burlington Wildways