October phenology

Heron on Lost Lake

Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate.

These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event.

“Now is the time of the illuminated woods. They have a sense of sunshine even on
a cloudy day. Given by the yellow foliage, every leaf glows like a tiny lamp; one
walks through their lighted halls with curious enjoyment.” –John Burroughs

“Beauty before me, beauty above me, beauty below me, beauty all around me.” –Navajo Prayer Song

October, a month to spend time outdoors enjoying the lovely colors of autumn and other natural events. It is a month of clear, sunny, warm days and a bright blue sky.

Mornings are misty or hazy. Days become shorter and cooler. Birds continue to arrive from their breeding grounds in the north. Some will spend the winter here. Others will journey south for the winter. Asters and a few goldenrods, gentians, sunflowers and “Susans” (the Rudbeckia species) provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Seeds and colorful fruits are abundant. Mammals prepare for winter. Frost creates a glittering landscape. The “Hunter’s” moon is big and bright.

I encourage you to visit the well-cared-for prairies, savannas and woodlands here at Holy Wisdom Monastery. I hope you will enjoy this oasis of quiet beauty. Visit often, observe, listen and breathe in the scents of autumn. Remember what you experienced when the first snowflakes fall.

My years of favorite observations follow. Please note, October biological events can vary from year to year in relationship to changes in climate and other factors.

Birds

Resident birds are more vocal now. Listen for fragments of song, calls and chip notes from the following: chickadee, cardinal, nuthatch, goldfinch, titmouse, house finch, blue jay, crow, woodpecker and owl. Migrants can also be heard making chip notes, contact calls and “whisper” songs.
Neotropical and short distance migrants spend time here before continuing their journey to Central and South America and the southern U.S.
Most warbler species passed through in late August and throughout September.
A few can be seen in early October. My list includes Nashville, Tennessee, magnolia, chestnut-sided, bay-breasted, redstart, black-throated green, black-and-white, golden-winged, orange-crowned and others. I have observed the uncommon and beautiful black-throated blue as late as October 12.
Look for flocks of yellow-rumped and palm warblers. These late migrants will spend the winter in the southern U.S.
Other southbound migrants to look for include eastern towhee, eastern phoebe, house wren, catbird, flicker, yellow-bellied sapsucker and thrush, vireo and flycatcher species.
I have observed a few chimney swifts, tree swallows and nighthawks in early October.
A few ruby-throated hummingbirds can be seen throughout October. Keep your feeders up.
October is sparrow month! Look for the following native sparrow species: chipping, field, clay-colored, vesper, savannah, song, fox, swamp, Lincoln’s and flocks of white-throated and white-crowned. Most of the sparrows will migrate to the southern states for winter. A few uncommon sparrows include Harris’s, Le Conte’s and Nelson’s sharp-tailed.
Flocks of tree sparrows and dark-eyed juncos arrive. These seed eaters will spend the winter here.
Brown creeper, red-breasted nuthatch, winter wren, pine siskin, purple finch, and ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets arrive from the north and pass through. Some will stay.
Look up for the resident red-tailed hawk and migrating eagles, broad-winged and rough-legged hawks, kestrels, turkey vultures, geese, and sandhill cranes. Cranes start staging and can be found feeding in fields during the day.
Waterfowl migrate. Look for coot, loon, canvasback, common merganser, pied-billed grebe, bufflehead, redhead, shoveler, scaup and others.
There is no shortage of turkeys!
Especially at dusk, listen for the deep muffled hooting of the great horned owl.
Barred owls call back and forth and can often be heard during the day.
Screech owls are very nocturnal and usually call late at night.
Saw-whet owls migrate during the night and might roost here during the day. A few spend the winter in the Madison area and possibly at Holy Wisdom.
Please do not play recordings to attract owls!

Plants

The parade of prairie, savanna and woodland flowers is almost over and will end with a hard frost. Many species of asters, goldenrods, gentians, sunflowers and “Susan’s” bloomed in September. Asters and a few of the others continue to bloom in early October and provide pollen and nectar for insects.
Look for the following asters: New England, frost, calico, Short’s, arrow-leaved and a few silky, sky blue and smooth.
Most goldenrod species bloom in August and September. A few continue to bloom in early October. They include showy, elm-leaved, zig-zag and a few last blooms on Canada, old field and stiff.
Stiff gentians have showy clusters of lavender, tubular flowers. Fringed, bottle and downy gentians are blue. Creamy gentians bloomed earlier and now display little brown “bottles” of seeds.
Brown-eyed (Rudbeckia triloba) and black-eyed (R. hirta) Susans continue to brighten up the landscape. Woodland, tall and sawtooth sunflowers have a few last blossoms.
Other flowers in bloom include fleabane and a few last flowers of gaura, yarrow, white snakeroot, heal-all, chicory and Queen-Anne’s lace. It is not unusual to find a violet or dandelion in bloom.
Look for the fleshy green and purple inflorescences (teepees) of skunk cabbage in wetlands. The plants will bloom in late winter or early spring.
Witch-hazel is the latest native shrub to bloom in Wisconsin. Yellow star-like flowers decorate the branches. Each flower has four delicate twisted petals.

Insects

Some insects spend the winter as adults. Others prepare for future generations in the form of eggs, larvae, or cocoons.
A few monarch butterflies continue on their journey to Mexico.
In early October and during warm days, look for these last few active butterflies: eastern tailed blue, painted lady, red admiral, mourning cloak, buckeye, clouded sulphur, alfalfa and cabbage white.
Woolly bear caterpillars reach peak numbers and seem to be in a hurry to find a place to spend the winter.
Green darner and yellow-legged meadowhawk dragonflies are active during mild days.
Black field and tree crickets are active when the temperature is above 50 degrees. Snowy tree crickets call during the day now. Count the number of chirps in 15 seconds and add 40 to find out the temperature. I love listening to the loud continuous trill of the black-horned tree cricket calling from tall prairie grasses.
Red-legged grasshoppers and Carolina locusts are the most common short-horned grasshoppers. They are active on warm days. There are about 95 species in Wisconsin. Six overwinter as last instars.
Bumble bees, flower bees and honeybees visit asters and other flowers for nectar and pollen.
Bald-face hornets and German yellow jackets reach peak numbers and are aggressive.
Box-elder, leaf-footed and stink bugs are active. Look for the orange and black and red and black milkweed bugs on milkweed plants.
There are many kinds of lady bird beetles (or bugs). They prey on aphids, and a few eat pollen. Most are orange with different numbers of black spots or dots on their wings. The number of spots can help you identify the species.
Asian lady bird beetles (Harmonia axyridis) congregate in masses for the winter. These non-natives arrived in Wisconsin around 1992. They have a black M against white on the upper back. They bite!
Mosquito season is over.
Woolly alder aphid egg masses are found on the stems of alders. They look like cotton and are white and sticky. The adults look like fluffy white puffs of cotton when in flight. (I call them pom-pom fairies).
Look for the small, brown, thorn-like, two-marked treehopper (Enchenopa binotata) and their sticky-white egg masses dotting twigs of nannyberry and other shrubs.

Arachnids

Deer or blacklegged ticks continue to seek blood meals and often carry diseases.
Daddy longlegs or harvestmen are numerous. They have only one body part and are not considered spiders.

Spiders

Silky webs of orb weavers shimmer with sparkling frost and/or dew.
‘Ballooning’ spiders are often newly hatched. They climb to the tops of vegetation and release a silver thread of silk that is caught by the wind. Then the spiderlings float through the air to a new location.

Mammals

Male white-tailed deer (bucks) continue to make scrapes on the ground and polish the velvet from their antlers on small trunks. Mating season begins soon, and males can be dangerous. Do not approach them.
White-footed mice use abandoned bird nests and bluebird boxes during the winter.
Field mice, voles and chipmunks gather thistle down and milkweed floss for their nests.
Squirrels and chipmunks scurry about gathering and storing nuts and seeds.
Flying squirrels are very nocturnal. Look for them at your bird feeders at night.
Woodchucks fatten up in preparation for winter.
Muskrats build lodges in wetlands.
Little brown bats and several other species congregate and hibernate in Wisconsin during the winter. A few other species migrate to the southern states.

Fall color

According to my notes, peak color can occur as early as October 5 or as late as October 25. It usually peaks in mid-October. Most years the colors are brilliant with shades of red, crimson, orange, yellow, gold, apricot, pink, purple and more. Dry, sunny days followed by cool, crisp nights seem to produce the best colors. Some years leaves turn dull colors. They fade quickly, turn brown, and fall. Perhaps fall color has something to do with weather and other factors.
Watch leaves fall and listen to the sound they make letting go. Listen to the wind rustle the leaves. Listen to your footsteps on the carpet of leaves.

Leaf color

Red and orange when in the sun: sugar and red maple, sumac, dogwood, blackhaw, viburnum, poison ivy, blackberry, chokeberry and Virginia creeper.
Yellow and gold: sugar maple, aspen, basswood, birch, hickory, elm, hackberry, walnut, ash, hazelnut, witch hazel, silver maple and willow.
Maroon, burgundy, copper and brown: white and black oaks, older needles of white pine and Arborvitae.

Seeds and fruit color

Many flowers, grasses, vines, trees and shrubs have finished blooming and have produced a rainbow of colorful fruits and seeds. Those that have not been consumed by birds or mammals remain.
White fruit: gray dogwood, red-osier dogwood and poison ivy.
Blue cones: red cedar.
Bluish-purple to black fruit: nannyberry, arrowwood, grape, chokeberry, Virginia creeper, hackberry, pokeweed and buckthorn (on female trees).
Red and orange fruit: rose hips and clusters of dry, fuzzy fruit on female sumac shrubs. American bittersweet has red-centered fruit in clusters at the end of the vine. Oriental bittersweet has yellow-orange fruit scattered along the vine. Jack-in-the-pulpit fruit or berry is bright red.
Brown: acorns, hazelnuts, bladdernut pods, hickory nuts, basswood nutlets and box elder samaras (winged seeds).
Seeds are all sizes and shapes. Most are brown, black, gray or white.
Seeds are dispersed in many ways. They drift or float, hitch-hike or propel. Birds and mammals deposit seeds of berries.
Prairie grasses turn yellow, gold, bronze, copper, orange and bluish-purple. Their seeds are usually brown. Little blue turns reddish-pink to bronze-orange and their seeds are attached to silvery-white fluff.

Other color and happenings

Gaura and flowering spurge plants turn a brilliant orange-red.
Stems of pokeweed are brilliant scarlet or reddish-purple.
Mushrooms of all sizes, shapes, and colors often appear in October especially after wet weather. Look for hen-of-the-woods, russula, bolete, honey, meadow, shaggy mane, Dryad’s saddle, destroying angel, puffball, fairy ring, oyster and the delicate marasmius often found on fallen leaves. Jack-o-lantern mushrooms are bright orange and usually grow on stumps. They glow with a greenish light when it is very dark.
Indian pipe is not a fungus but a flowering plant. It often parasitizes honey mushrooms.
Chorus, spring peeper and tree frogs call occasionally. I have heard them as late as the 27th. They start to look for overwintering sites usually in wooded areas under leaf litter. Leopard frogs leave meadows and head for ponds, streams or lakes for winter.
Toads hop to woodlands and dig in for winter.
I have recorded a few migrating salamanders October 1 (most migrate to woodlands earlier).
Galls can be found on most plants. Three different kinds occur on Canada goldenrod: ball, elliptical and bunch.
Northern lights are possible.
Frost can be expected. My notes indicate we had frost as early as October 5 and as late as October 30.
Snow fell on October 12, 2006!
Usually, most leaves carpet the ground by the end of October.

“In that little leaf was all the poetry of fall, the first soft prelude of the symphony just finished. They cycle was complete once more. Now the snows could come.” –Sigurd Olson

Have a beautiful October.

Sylvia Marek

Sylvia Marek is a highly trained and experienced naturalist. She works for the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and is a first-rate birder.

Please share the biological events you notice while at Holy Wisdom Monastery below (remember to include what you see, where and when).