Ken Lassman has been keeping this almanac for over a decade, He invites you to share your observations and photos in the comments section. You can find his book Wild Douglas County at The Raven Bookstore and The Community Mercantile in Lawrence.
Coon Breeding Moon – November
As you drive down roads this time of year, be aware of the raccoons who are crossing, especially at night. Look for their human-like footprints in the mud and it will clarify why they held such an important place in local storytelling lore.
This month is peak waterfowl migration and the eagles are returning to cottonwood trees along the river. Their white heads and black bodies with large flat wingspans can also be seen in the blue skies, and if you lay on the ground and watch the sky for a while, chances are that you’ll see some migratory bird flocks fly by, sometimes at very high altitudes.
Most leaves are migrating to the ground, with most trees becoming mostly bare in the first week of the month or so. It’s time too get your bird feeders going and this month is when some hunting seasons begin–check the Parks and Wildlife website for details.
It really is a great time to take walks, with insects gone and wildlife made more visible by the leaf drop. The longer nights can draw you into watching the winter constellations which are beginning to rise in the east, with some of the prettiest and dramatic stars of the year, whether you are looking through binoculars, a telescope or your eyes.
Within the past week, we have had the best sightings ever of three very large beavers in/along Overland Park streams. We look in earnest every single morning to see ‘something’ in the water, and have only caught glimpses of beavers a few times in the past two years, so it was amazing to see two on the banks (one cleaning itself, one climbing out to cut down a small leafy plant and swim off with it) as well as one one slowly swimming along. All were bigger than I would have ever imagined, seemed serene and didn’t appear to notice us?
A wood duck still had her six babies with her this morning, there have been six for almost a month. Four baby squirrels in my tree are starting to venture down to the ground more frequently. A baby snapping turtle (shell the size of a half dollar) was in the grass near a pond yesterday. A lot of bird activity at dawn on Saturday at Heritage Park; great egret, great blue herons, teals, indigo buntings, green herons, northern kingbirds.
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Sounds like great places to visit, Debbie. Hope they are recognized as great habitat by those folks who tend the areas! Feel free to upload pictures of on this website if you like, and thanks for sharing.
Ken
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