July 31 - Silver Lupine

SilverLupine - (Lupinus albifrons) a silvery grey perennial with sweet pea-like flowers, lilac to violet in color from the family Fabaceae.

TrueHot - Although Earth is at its farthest point from the Sun, its tilt, combined with the abundance of landmass in the Northern Hemisphere, produces Earth's highest average temperatures in July.

The Legend of the Thornbird

The legend of the Thornbird

A mysterious bird who sings just once in life, the sweetest song ever to be heard. In fierce pursuit of the thorn tree, the Thornbird leaves its nest and does not rest until it has fulfilled its final quest. Silent its entire life until the final hour, its voice begins to float through the air and the whole world stops to listen to the music from the tree. And God looks down and smiles upon the beautiful melody. More lovely than the Nightingale, more melodious than the Lark, the very first song it sings comes flowing from its heart before dying among the thorns. What kind of bird would save so sweet a song until the end of its life? Its months of utter silence and then one single ballad to transcend toward the heavens. Who is this peculiar creature, who would so beguile and mystify us with its exotic, bewildering and transforming song?


Freckle-Breasted Thornbird - (Phacellodomus striaticollis) a small passerine bird species of the family Furnariidae, found in South America.

* A couple of naturalists observed a pair of these South American Thornbirds in a reserve near Buenos Aires, Argentina. After observing their behavior for quite some time, they found them unusually quiet and very passive in nature.

July 28 - Delta Peak

HotClouds - When air passes over very warm ground, it rises quickly and forms fluffy convection clouds. They can climb up to 10 miles in the atmosphere.



Aquarids - The aquarid meteor shower is expected to peak tonight.

July 27 - Mourning Cloak

MourningCloak - (Nymphalis antiopa) This is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America. The immature form of this species is sometimes known as the spiny elm caterpillar.

The larvae feed gregariously, and then disperse to pupate and emerge after about three weeks. Soon after emergence, they will disperse further from their breeding grounds in order to find food (sometimes nectar, but more commonly tree sap) to build up fat stores for hibernation, and will often enter parks and gardens to do so. They are single-brooded and hibernate as adults.

MarsMoon - These two celestial bodies appear together in the evening of July 27.

July 26 - Grosbeak

Grosbeak - is the name given to several species of seed-eating passerine bird with large bills, in the finch and cardinal families. There are more than 2 dozen different species of Grosbeak, and here are a few of them.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - (P. ludovicianus)










Pine Grosbeak - (Pinicola enucleator)












Blue Grosbeak - (Guiraca caerulea)

July 25 - Bur Oak

BurOak - (Quercus macrocarpa) native to the eastern and midwestern US and south-central Canada, grows to be one of North America's most massive oak trees. It commonly lives to be 200 to 300 years old, and may become significantly older. The Bur oak is a tree that prefers to grow in the open, away from forest canopy. For this reason, it is an important tree on the eastern prairies and is often found near waterways in more forested areas. It is also a fire-resistant tree. The tree also possesses significant drought resistance by virtue of a long taproot. New trees may, after two to three years of growth, possess a 1 to 2 meter deep taproot.

July 21 - Happy Birthday!

July 20 - Hoary Marmot

HoaryMarmot - (Marmota caligata) this species of marmot inhabit the mountains of northwest North America. The largest populations are in Alaska. Hoary marmot live near the treeline on slopes with grasses and forbs to eat, and rocky areas for cover. It is the largest North American ground squirrel and is often nicknamed "the whistler" for its high-pitched warning issued to alert other members of the colony to possible danger. These animals hibernate 7 to 8 months in a year in burrows that they excavate in the soil, often among or under boulders. Mating occurs after hibernation, and 2 to 4 young are born in the spring. Males establish "harems," but may also visit females in other territories. Predators include golden eagles; grizzly and black bears; and wolves.

SaturnLeavesEvenings - Beginning around July 20, Saturn disappears from the evening sky.

July 19 - Willow Tit

WillowTit - (Parus montanus) a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate. They feed on caterpillars, insects and seeds.

EstivatingButterfly - Some species of butterflies estivate - a strategy of summer hibernation to conserve energy and food.

July 18 - Black Footed Ferret

BlackFootedFerret - (Mustela nigripes) a small carnivorous North American mammal of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, mink, polecats, martens otters and badgers. They are nocturnal hunters that are almost entirely dependent on a plentiful supply of prairie dogs to prey on, and shelter in a prairie dog burrow during the day. A single family of four Black-footed Ferrets eats about 250 prairie dogs each year, and cannot survive without access to large colonies of them.

*Endangered*

The Black-footed Ferret is the most endangered mammal in North America, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). They became extinct in the wild in Canada in 1937, and were classified as endangered in the U.S. in 1967. The last known wild population was taken into captivity in the mid-1980's, a few years after its accidental discovery in Wyoming.

July 17 - Brook Trout

BrookTrout - (Salvelinus fontinalis) is a species of fish in the salmon family. It is native to a wide area of eastern North America, Canada, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River. The fish return upstream to spawn in the late summer or autumn. The female constructs a depression in a location in the stream bed where groundwater percolates upward through the gravel. One or more males approaches the female, fertilizing the eggs as the female expresses them. The eggs are slightly more dense than water. The female then buries the eggs in a small gravel mound. The eggs hatch in approximately 100 days.

July 15 - Photic Zone

PhoticZone - In the top hundred feet (thirty meters) of ocean, where sunlight can penetrate, live 50,000 species of plankton - the smallest marine plants and animals.

Salamander - Amphibians such as salamanders and frogs breathe through gills until they grow into lung-breathing (or skin-breathing) adults and leave the water.

July 14 - Golden Rod

GoldenRod- (Solidago) This flowering plant from the Family Asteraceae, can be found in the meadows and pastures, along roads, ditches and waste areas in North America, and a few from Europe. Goldenrods can be used for decoration and making tea. Their bright, golden yellow flowers bloom in late Summer. In some places, they are held as a sign of good luck or good fortune; but they are considered weeds by some. The Goldenrod is the state flower of Kentucky, Nebraska and South Carolina.

July 13 - Desert Spoon

DesertSpoon - (Dasylirion wheeleri) A flowering plant native to arid environments of the Southwestern US and Northern Mexico. It is a moderate to slow-growing evergreen shrub with a single unbranched trunk. The flowering stem grows above the foliage, to a height of 5 m tall, and 3-6 cm diameter. The stem is topped by a long plume of straw-colored small flowers. The Desert Spoon is grown as an ornamental plant. It can be planted any season but summer, and pruned in October. The drink sotol is made from the Desert Spoon. It was also used in the past by the natives of the region for food and fiber.

July 11 - Thunder Moon

ThunderMoon - Tonight you can observe the first full moon of July, known as the "Thunder Moon". The traditional English name for it is "Hay Moon", and the Native American name is "Buck Moon".

MercuryLeavesEvenings - Beginning around July 11, Mercury appears too close to the Sun for observation.

July 7 - Scarlet Tanager

ScarletTanager - (Piranga olivacea) This colorful songbird can be found in large forested areas, especially with oaks, across eastern North America. They build a cup nest on a horizontal tree branch, and after raising the chicks, they migrate to northwestern South America. These birds are often out of sight, foraging high in trees, sometimes flying out to catch insects in flight. They mainly eat insects and berries. Their numbers are declining in some areas due to forest fragmentation.

July 6 - Sand Dragon

SandDragon - (Progomphus obscurus) This dragonfly can be found throughout the Eastern US along streams and rivers with sand bottoms. Also along sandy or gravel roads and weedy fields away from water. Their flight period runs May - September. This is the only dragonfly found in the state of Wisconsin.

DragonNymph - Dragonfly eggs hatch into wingless nymphs in freshwater. It can be five years before the winged adult sheds it's skin and emerges from the water.