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Outdoor Almanac Summer 2008
The Outdoor Almanac is excerpted from Mass Audubon's Sanctuary magazine, which is sent to members four times a year.  | June | July | August | September |
June 20
Summer solstice, longest day of the year. Celebratory bonfires were lit in many European countries on this night. June 23
Gray treefrogs begin singing about this time. Listen for their birdlike trill on sultry days just before a rain.  June 25
Bullfrog chorus begins; listen for them at night by ponds in rural areas.
June 30
Check your garden for the fast-flying robber flies. They hover in midair and then zip off. Back to top  July 1
Daylilies are in bloom by this date; watch for them on roadsides along with other wildflowers. Most of the wildflowers you see by roadways (and many in fields as well) are nonnative species.
July 2
New moon. July 5
Listen for indigo bunting songs. July 7
Watch for adult toads in the garden. (Watch also for the tiny black baby toads on old dirt roads near water.)  July 8
Blueberries ripen.
July 11
Snowy tree crickets and katydids begin singing around this date. July 14
Fireflies appear above meadows and overgrown lawns. July 16
On warm summer nights, listen for the mournful wail of the screech-owl.  July 18
Full moon. The Buck Moon.
July 20
Cicadas, or seventeen-year locusts, may be whining in the trees on hot days by this time. July 23
Meadowsweet and steeplebush bloom in old fields. July 25
Shorebirds begin migrating. Watch for the flocks along the coast. July 27
Look for the appearance of Indian pipes and beechdrops in forested areas. Back to top August 1
New moon.  August 5
Yellow warblers and northern waterthrushes begin moving south.
August 8
Black fruits appear on the curving stems of Solomon’s seal about this time of year. August 12
Goldfinches are nesting at this time. Watch for them in flowers, gardens, and field edges. August 14
Sweet pepperbush blooms near lakes and ponds about this time; sniff the air for its spicy odor. August 16
Full moon. The Sturgeon Moon August 18
In wooded areas, the woodland asters, the first asters of the season, begin blooming. August 20
Cardinal flower blooms along clean freshwater streams. August 24
Nighthawk migration is in progress; watch for these slender-winged birds overhead at dusk. August 26
Fall webworms begin to appear; watch for their nests at the tips of tree branches. August 30
New moon. Back to top September 4
This is the peak of the fall warbler migration; watch for them in backyard shrubbery and treetops. September 7
Asters bloom in wayside and woodland thickets.  September 13
Broad-winged and sharp-shinned hawks migrate about this time of year. Watch the ridges on clear days with a northwest wind.
September 15
Full moon. The Harvest Moon. September 18
After rains watch the woodland floor for wild mushrooms. September 22
Autumnal equinox. Days and nights are of equal length. First light frosts may occur about this date. Back to top
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