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.
July: Buffalo Mating Moon
The Osages commemorate the keystone species of the prairie, the bison, for its mating season, which used to be one of the greatest spectacles found in North America. The book The Osages has descriptions of the titanic battles between competing bulls and how they would plow up large areas of prairie sod as they pushed each other aroound. Read that and you’ll understand why the Osage clled this the Bufffalo Mating Moon.
This month is a time when many songbirds molt, or lose their colorful feathers that helped attract a mate in the spring. It is a time when many gooseberries are ripe in the woods, when warm season grasses shoot up tall and wildflowers grow taller to compete for the sun. Cicadas sing during the day, with damelflies and dragonflies eating mosquitoes while dodging the watchful eye of the bullfrog. At night, katydids begin their song while lightning bugs stitch across yards, meadows and fields.
Thunderstorms seem to lose their way, appearing, moving and disappearing almost at random this time of year, causing flash flooding at one spot while leaving nearby areas dry. A wet road at night can host steamy fog and fast jumping frogs crossing the pavement, while moonlit nights can bring out many a nocturnal animal beating the heat of the day. If the moon isn’t bright, take a look at the milky way that the summer so nicely showcases, including the constellation Sagittarius in the south, which looks like a teapot outline in the sky but holds the center of our galaxy.
Hi, I haven’t seen or heard any chipmunks so far this year, which is really unusual. What are your thoughts on why that might be? Thanks very much!
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Are you talking about the thirteen lined squirrel? Here’s a picture of it:
http://kufs.ku.edu/libres/Mammals_of_Kansas/spermoph-13.html
If not, check that website for your critter, as all the mammals in Kansas are listed there. According to that article on the 13 lined squirrel, they are probably in the midst of having young ones right now, so maybe they are just preoccupied at home and don’t get out much right now! Of course there could be a disease or even worse, someone could have put out poison and exterminated the local population you are used to seeing. That’s exactly what happened to a population I enjoyed over in Topeka where I work. The colony was exterminated by housekeeping because they were afraid the friendly critters might bite someone.
Same folks knocked down a bunch of swallow nests because some folks complained about their swooping behavior, thinking they were attacking them. I quickly told housekeeping that they are insectivores and most likely they are drawn to people walking outside, hoping that the person will scare up a bug or two for them to pick off, and that they are a great asset for keeping the bugs down. I also found out that knocking down their nests now and then can actually keep parasite and nuisance bug populations down in the nests, which are re-used and therefore can build up enough mites and other parasites to create a health issue for the young as well as the parents.
The swallows have since rebuilt and they are now sitting on eggs for hatching, soon to eat that many more bugs!
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