September Nature Almanac: What to Look for

September Nature Almanac

By Tait Johansson, Naturalist

6    Full Moon.

10   Nodding Lady’s Tresses, a small, elegant, white orchid, blooms about this time.  Look for it in wet meadows.

17   Broad-winged Hawk migration peaking. Watch high overhead for flocks, called kettles, climbing thermal currents and then gliding off to the southwest, on their way to Central and South America. (It’s also a great time to visit our Chestnut Ridge HawkWatch!)

22   Autumnal Equinox, the official beginning of autumn. Daylight and darkness are now of equal length.

25   The occasional Spring Peeper, the species of small chorus frog that fills our wetlands with sound in spring, will give a few stray “peeps” on a mild, humid autumn day or night.

30   Showy Goldenrod in bloom. Look for its tall, bright yellow spires in dry, unmowed fields.