You may see these medium sized songbirds near the tall grasses at Minister Lake. A great way to identify them is to look for the bright white band at the end of their tail. A member of the flycatcher family, the Eastern kingbird loves to eat insects and is often seen hovering in the air hunting them.
The kingbird's 2-5 eggs have hatched by now, and the chicks will be cared for by its parents for about 7 weeks. Because kingbird parents spend so much time on their young, they usually only raise one clutch of eggs each year. Kingbirds are excellent parents who aggressively defend their nest against predators such as hawks and crows.
Did you know?
The kingbird has a small, red patch hidden in its crest. When it is alarmed, the red feathers pop out and serve as a warning.
Learn more: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
On warm summer nights, you are sure to notice the winking lights of fireflies or lightening bugs as they search for mates. Not all species of fireflies use light to attract a mate, but the ones that do have a specific flashing pattern that attracts the opposite sex. In some firefly species, the female cleverly uses this to her advantage by mimicking the flash patterns of another firefly species. When a male from the other species is drawn to her in his search for a mate, the female pounces on him and eats him. Not all fireflies eat other insects, some eat nectar or pollen, and some don’t eat at all.
Chances are good that you have seen an adult firefly, but did you know that firefly larvae glow as well? As far as we know, all species of fireflies have eggs and larvae that glow. The larvae have special organs that produce the light, which warns predators that they taste bad. If disturbed, the larvae begin to glow more brightly. Larvae live in or near the soil and are predators that eat earthworms, snails and slugs. The larvae will even gang up to hunt large prey such as big earthworms.
Fireflies glow because of special chemical reactions that occur in organs in their abdomens.
Learn more: EEK!
This dandelion look-alike grows in sunny areas around CWES. You may find two species of this plant here, an orange hawkweed and yellow hawkweed. This plant was named by a Roman naturalist who believed that hawks got their fantastic eyesight from eating it. Hawkweed will be blooming well into late summer. If you feel the stem and leaves of this plant, you will find that they are covered in small hairs.
Did you know? This plant is not native to the United States.
Learn more: Robert Freckmann Herbarium
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