(Townsend's Warbler, WBU Inc)

Nature Happenings- August 

• Day Lillies are in bloom.
• Young loons learn to fly.
• Yellow jackets make paper-like nests.
• Watch for migrating nocturnal Common Nighthawks.
• Turtle eggs are beginning to hatch.
• Hummingbirds are active at feeders and at flowers, sourcing protein from spiders and insects and sipping nectar for sugars.
• Male hummingbirds start their southbound migration this month, averaging 20 miles a day to their wintering grounds in Central America and Mexico. Females head south later, with juveniles sticking around until early October.
• Migration begins. Keep feeders full with fresh food for "stopover" migrants.
• Geese, ducks, cranes, etc. usually fly in 'V' formation. The theory is that all, but lead bird, gain lift from wing-tipped vortices produced by lead bird.
• American Goldfinches finish nesting late this month.
• Perseids Meteor shower is early to mid-month, peaking August 12 and 13.
• Plains garter snakes can be seen along the road bordering the west fence of Elk Island National Park.
• By mid-August, warbler migration is at its peak.
• Major hatches of mayflies occur in the Medicine Hat area.
• Richardson's Ground Squirrels (gophers) are already hibernating.
• Antler development for male deer, elk and moose is complete. Rub marks, tree bark shredded off tree trunks, are visible. They result from the animals rubbing the dead velvet layer off their mature antlers.