No monarchs. Troubling. On Fri, Jul 19, 2024, 12:17 PM Jeffrey Saffle <jeffrey.saf...@hsc.utah.edu> wrote:
> We have a few hummers here in Lake Elmo but I’m much more struck by a > near-total absence of monarch butterflies. I successfully raised and > released 16 monarchs in June/early July but since then I’ve only found one > caterpillar and seen one adult. I suspect the relentlessly rainy weather > was hard on them. What are others’ thought? > Jeffrey Saffle > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Jul 19, 2024, at 11:27 AM, Jason Frank <jmfran...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > I'm in Ortonville, and haven't seen a single hummingbird all summer > long. I > > only saw a few in the spring. > > > > There are no Japanese Beetles this far west yet, so no one around here is > > spraying for them. Plenty of people are spraying for everything else, > > though. Ortonville is governed by the type of 20th Century idiocy that > > employs a municipal mosquito spray truck which circles the town once a > week > > to kill every flying insect in its path (can't have all dem golfers and > > lakeshore dwellers gettin all itchy, don't ya know). There are plenty of > > flowers around town, and good nesting habitat in the parks and ravines. I > > too am noticing low numbers of Barn and Tree Swallows... and I haven't > seen > > a Kestrel since April. At this point, it could be a whole cumulative > effect > > of climate, over-spraying and insect population collapse, and bird flu, > > which I'd imagine could spread to hummers if their feeders are in close > > proximity to seed and suet feeders. All those storms and heavy rain > during > > nesting season probably didn't help, either. > > > > Jason Frank > > > >> On Thu, Jul 18, 2024 at 8:36 PM Nancy Steinhauser <nancyhu...@gmail.com > > > >> wrote: > >> > >> Wondering if anyone else has seen the numbers go down this summer. > From a > >> great start (over 30 birds arrived at the feeders.....and who knows the > >> ones I didn't see) in mid-May, the numbers now have dwindled to less > than a > >> dozen, and that's up from 3 or 4 because the little ones have fledged. > >> Neighbors and co-workers (the north shore and inland above Two Harbors) > >> have reported the same "drop" in birds. Bewildered. They started to > >> disappear early to mid-June and have not returned. Wondering about bird > >> flu. > >> We have had a huge mosquito population this summer because of all the > >> rain. But that hasn't dropped hummingbird numbers coming to feeders in > >> previous wet summers. > >> Any ideas/experiences? The numbers here have been steadily going up for > >> over > >> 25 years. Many feeders out. Such a shock to have so few birds. > >> Thanks in advance. > >> Nancy in Superior Highlands > >> > >> ---- > >> General information and guidelines for posting: > >> https://moumn.org/listservice.html > >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > >> > >> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice > social > >> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > >> > > > > ---- > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice > social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > ---- > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
