Ah, September, when autumn is at hand and summer is trying to hold on a while longer. This tugging of the seasons, though, makes September a great time to be outdoors in Georgia.
Here are some observations from Septembers past, and a few of the wild happenings you can expect as the month progresses:
Fall migration becomes a mass movement and peaks by month’s end as countless neo-tropical songbirds head south for the winter. Most of the migrants fly at night to avoid predators and the heat of day. Their colors are less brilliant now than when they arrived in the spring for the start of their breeding seasons.
Beginning around mid-September, several hawk species -- sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, red-tailed, red-shouldered and broad-winged hawks -- can be seen migrating south during the day. Some of them, especially the broad wings, may be seen soaring and gliding high in the sky in groups called "kettles" to conserve energy. Also migrating will be other raptors, including kestrels, merlins, peregrine falcons and ospreys.
September also is prime time for migrating shorebirds in Georgia. Large concentrations of dunlins, dowitchers, black-bellied plovers and other shorebirds can be found on barrier island beaches this month.
Migrating monarch butterflies begin passing through, so make sure your milkweed plants are spruced up. Monarch caterpillars feed on milkweeds; if there were no milkweeds, there would be no monarchs.
As the evenings cool and days shorten, a whole new wealth of wildflowers come to life, rivaling spring for color and beauty. Yellow and purple flowers predominate, probably because late-summer pollinating insects are attracted most to those colors. The majority of fall bloomers are perennials while most of spring's wildflowers are annuals.
Plants such as dogwoods and sumacs that bloomed earlier in the year are laden now with ripe berries, prime food for wildlife. A particularly important fall food plant is the American beauty berry, now sporting its eye-catching clusters of lavender berries that are eaten by a host of wild animals, including more than 40 species of birds. For migrating birds, beauty berries are an especially good source of energy-rich food. Another important wildlife food ripening now is wild muscadine grapes.
September is a great time for mushrooms, especially if there is adequate rainfall. Two families of common, easily identified families of fall mushrooms are the boletes and chanterelles. Boletes have tubes instead of gills under their caps. Chanterelles have ridges instead of gills. Many forest mushrooms are edible, but some are poisonous. Unless you know the difference, don’t consume any wild mushrooms.
In the sky: The moon will be first quarter tomorrow, rising out of the east around lunch time and setting in the west around midnight, said David Dundee, astronomer with Tellus Science Museum. Mercury is low in the east just before sunrise. Mars is low in the east about three hours before sunrise. Jupiter rises out of the east a few hours after sunset. Venus and Saturn are not visible now.
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