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  • From: KNat <knat AT sprintmail.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] What wildlife did you conserve and observe today
  • Date: Sat, 07 Oct 2006 07:45:19 -0500

Thanks for asking. The outdoors is so alive right now with our migratories. My joy this time of year is the migrating insects. I took my daughter on a much belated summer day off Monday and we went to Cape May for the most successful nature experience of decades. THOUSANDS of monarchs covering trees. It reminded me of a long long ago childhood in Pacific Grove, CA. Each year I go to hot spots on the east coast and my highest time in Cape May, in the last 18 years, was 300.
I finally got to understand (maybe) the migrating dragonflies so common with the Monarchs in our field. We saw a stream of butterflies along a jetty over the water and mixed in were the dragonflies. Birds cycloned overhead and worked to dart in and grab a tasty dragonfly without accidentally getting a toxic monarch. There were so many birds daintily flying to chase the bugs that the Peregrines and Eagles would swoop in and grab a bird. Awesome. We watched for hours and the dance kept replaying. We walked the beach until nightfall and went to a roosting spot to watch a pine tree converted to look like a White Oak with drooping "leave clumps" made of Monarches with folded wings.
Only question is. We note the butterflies arrive in our area the same time a certain tree turns exactly the shade of orange of their open wings. Now we see them become our White Oaks to sleep. If scientists are right they are poisonous and birds don't hunt them, why are they camo'd? Do birds need to eat one to learn and personal survival protects them from being the tastetester?

Kathyann




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