September
Days of Celebration
September 16
September 20 September 22 September 24 usually last full week usually last full week |
Natural Happenings
Early September
Early September
- A sure sign of the return to school are Red Maple samaras that that helicopter to the ground, providing entertainment on the walks to school.
- Blue Jay calls are common sounds. Some Blue Jays move south, while others will stay.
- With the change of season, many birds are on the move to Central and South America. To get an idea of the volume of bird migration, stand outside on a calm, clear night and you’ll hear the contact calls of thousands of migrating songbirds – particularly thrushes and warblers.
- Migrating Common Nighthawks are most visible during the last three hours of daylight. They migrate in groups, sometimes quite high, and all moving in a southwesterly direction.
- Red-winged Blackbirds are massing prior to migration. Check your local marsh!
- American Pipits show up in recently ploughed fields.
- Some butterflies are migratory, too. In the early morning and evening, migrating Monarch Butterflies can be found clustering in trees and shrubs along shorelines, on their way to their wintering areas in Mexico. You can see the isolated mountaintops where they will over winter and the incredible profusion of resting butterflies.
- Shorebird migration is well underway by the time the school buses begin to roll. One such traveler is the Semipalmated Sandpiper(Calidris pusilla). In Atlantic Canada, early September marks the departure of the last of these arctic nesters who have been gathering on the shores of the upper Bay of Fundy in August to fatten up before moving on to their winter destinations in South America. What is truly amazing about this final leg of the journey is that it must be completed non-stop and requires the little bird to sustain its flight for up to 96 hours. The sandpipers are drawn in large numbers to the mudflats of the Bay of Fundy due to an abundance of one particular species of shrimp (Corophium volutator) that they rely on for energy. This annual stopover attracts naturalists and birdwatchers from around the world. Check it out.
- Fall Webworm nests are noticeable on shrubs and broad-leaved trees. They will over-winter as pupae.
- Beavers get busy cutting trees for their winter food supply. Look for loose piles of branches near their lodge.
- Eastern Chipmunks, Eastern Grey Squirrels, and Red Squirrels are also busy storing food for the winter.
- Goldenrod are now in full bloom and will continue to the first frost in early October. It is worth a trip to look at these every few days. They can be found in some schoolyard naturalization sites, most old fields or the manicured edges of parks. Goldenrod attract many insects which make observing them so interesting. These include Monarchs,bees and spiders. The children’s picture book On One Flower is a great resource to use before or after a goldenrod field trip.
- Pegasus, the flying horse, is a well-known fall constellation in the southeast sky. The Great Square, which makes up the body of Pegasus, is the most obvious part. One of these stars is also shared with Andromeda and can be used in locating the Andromeda galaxy – the most distant object viewable with the human eye. Andromeda is our closest galactic neighbour and is also a spiral galaxy. If you are able to make it out, you are seeing the past. The light that you see actually left the galaxy two million years ago! Stellarium is a great, free program for introducing and teaching the night sky in the classroom.
- Venus and Mars light up the morning sky early in September, and the moon joins them on the 10th. Mercury is furthest from the Sun on the evening of the 4th.
Mid-September
- White-throated Sparrows are arriving from further north, and will be around for several weeks. Look for them at backyard feeders, or scatter sunflower seeds on the ground close to cover.
- Migrating hawks are high in the sky travelling south on NW winds. For viewing tips in your area check out the HMANA site. Just after a cold front is a good time to see many migrating birds, as they get an extra push from the north wind.
- Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are leaving – keep an eye on feeders for a final fill-up before departure.
- White-tailed Deer are getting their warmer, gray-brown winter coat, and bucks are rubbing the velvet off their antlers in preparation for the rut.
- Small groups of bats will be on the move in the evenings, migrating south (Red, Hoary and Silver-haired) or to hibernation sites (Big Brown and Little Brown). Mating may also take place, though the sperm is stored in the female until spring, when ovulation and fertilization happen.
- Frogs are on the move to their hibernation sites in streams, ponds and rivers, particularly on warm, wet evenings. Avoid low-lying roads at that time!
- Baby turtles are hatching. Look for shallow pits in gravely areas near water, and you may find the discarded eggshells.
- Beechdrops bloom. Mushrooms pop up in woodlands – be careful, some are poisonous!
- Red Maples growing near water turn bright red , beginning the change in colours - more will follow…
- There are seasonal colours underwater too! Brook Trout are feeding closer to shore and sometimes sun themselves. The orange and red pigments on the males are acquired from consuming crustacean bodies. Brook Trout will spawn in late October to late November.
Late September
- The end of the flowering plant season is heralded by Heath Aster, a white-flowered aster with tiny leaves. It is one of our last flowering plants.
- White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos have joined the White-throated Sparrows under backyard feeders. The sparrows can be hard to tell apart, as both can have either white or tan crowns. Look for a tuft of yellow above the eye of the White-throated, and a definite white throat patch. Some Juncos may spend all or part of the winter in southern Ontario.
- Osprey are departing on migration, and will fly over resident populations in the southern U.S. to winter in Central and South America. They are being joined by many other raptors for the flight south. Good Ontario viewing sites can be found here.
- Northern Canada Geese are beginning to fly over southern Ontario, usually in V’s or skeins moving south or southeast high in the sky. Local Giant Canada Geese, a subspecies, are flocking and moving around, but will not leave unless and until there's a local freeze up.
- Eastern Chipmunks, Eastern Gray Squirrels, Red Squirrels, and Groundhogs are still busy eating, and in the case of the first three, storing, food. Only the Groundhog is a true hibernator, and will stuff its face until fall frosts kill the plants it eats. It will then waddle into its burrow and sleep until March (or February, if you believe the weather guys).
- A few Spring Peepers and Gray Treefrogs may be calling from wetlands during the day. These are typically first-year males, and they may be responding to similar day/night patterns as in the spring.
- Woolly Bear caterpillars are on the move, among the last caterpillars (along with Yellow Woolly Bear and American Dagger Moth) to be out and about. They will over winter under bark, rocks or logs. A narrow middle band is supposed to foretell a mild winter. Find some and make a prediction!
- This part of the month brings the fall equinox, the time when day equals night.