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Summer needs the least explanation when it comes to understanding what animals do throughout the season. It’s easy to spot birds, squirrels—even occasional reptiles and amphibians—going about their business all day long. At Nature Boardwalk, urban wildlife abounds in a lush garden environment that is at its peak of growth. Turtles sun themselves on logs, beavers swim at twilight, and insects such as bees and butterflies land on flowers in their search for nectar.
Here’s what you should know about what’s happening in the natural world around you during the summer months.
Birds Finish Migrating and Chicks Learn to Fly
By June, most of the birds that migrate in the spring are done with their long flights, but some stragglers, including migratory shorebirds, are still coming north. Many birds have been actively breeding throughout the spring and their eggs are at the hatch stage. Chicks start fledging and become capable of flight. Some species, which are altricial, have young that are undeveloped at birth and require a period of growth and care. Such birds have a shortish incubation period of just a couple of weeks and their chicks will start to leave their nests just two or three weeks after hatching—like eastern bluebirds and robins. Many birds of prey, like red-tailed hawks and kestrels, also have altricial young.
Some birds, like ground-dwelling ducks and turkeys, have precocial young, which are born with open eyes and can be immediately mobile at birth. The young of Canada geese, for example, are ready to feed, swim, and leave the nest within just one or two days after a month-long egg incubation but will take up to six weeks to fledge.
Meanwhile, red-winged blackbirds continue their peak breeding season, so be cautious through spaces frequented by these fiercely territorial birds.
How toCoexist With Red-winged Blackbirds
In June, red-winged blackbirds remain very active and will defend their territory with flighted attacks. Remember to observe, don’t disturb. Give animals their space. If you are in an area that includes red-winged blackbirds, place an object, such as your hand or a water bottle, vertically on your head. The birds may view this as akin to a rooster comb and be discouraged from approaching. You can also protect your head by wearing a hat.
At the black-crowned night heron colony that roosts above Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo, chicks spend five weeks in the nest before fledging. Some of the adult herons leave the colony to start their post-breeding, pre-migration activities. By July, some of the young will be almost adult-sized. They’ll start to fly around the colony as most of the adults leave. Zoo data suggests that the adult night herons spend the rest of summer and fall in northern Illinois and south or central Wisconsin.
As August arrives and the weather becomes even hotter, birds will be more active in the early morning whether they are visitors to the area or live here year-round. Great blue herons beat the heat with strategies like gaping and wing-spreading, which help them relax, thermoregulate, and regulate ectoparasites. The black-crowned night heron young also begin to leave their natal grounds and can be seen foraging further afield, such as at Foreman Island on Nature Boardwalk. Fall migration will begin at this time; orioles, warblers, and thrushes are among the species that start their southbound migrations.
Amphibians Transform and Reptiles Spend Time in the Sun
As with other animals, reptilian and amphibian young are growing and developing throughout the summer. Tadpoles, which are the larval stage of the order of animals called anurans, will have metamorphosized into toadlets or froglets, losing their tail and gaining legs, and they are ready to leave the water completely by July.
As they are ectothermic (cold-blooded), reptiles often bask in the sun in order to maintain their body temperature and activity levels for finding food. Amphibians do not bask as often, since their skin must remain moist in order for them to breathe; sun exposure for hours at a time spurs evaporation and thus dehydration.
If it gets too hot out, reptiles and amphibians my cool down by finding shade, soaking in the water, or wallowing in mud. If the wetlands they inhabit tend to become drier this time of year, mud is a good option. Some may become more active at night to avoid the hotter conditions of the day.
The turtles that live at Nature Boardwalk are various species in the order Testudines. They include painted turtles, pond sliders, and common snapping turtles. To locate them, look on top of the large tree branches surrounding Foreman Island in the middle of South Pond. In general, they’ll spend their summer sunning, swimming, and eating.
Fish Adjust Their Activities in Hot Weather
As summer weather becomes ever warmer, some fish become more active and feed more frequently. They adjust their foraging schedules to accommodate more comfortable temperatures and may therefore be more active at dawn and dusk or at night. They’ll also go where water temperatures are cooler, vegetations or structures offer shade, and the levels of oxygen in the water are high. Of course, each local species has its own way of surviving a Chicago summer. Many fish species are also spawning around this time and doing activities that will help them survive into the next generation.
Pumpkinseeds, for example, will probably be hiding in vegetation near the shore in calm waters. They aren’t as sensitive to low oxygen levels as their cousins the bluegills, but they prefer cooler water than bluegills do. At the end of spring and in early summer, when water is in the high 60-degree F range and higher, is their spawning time, so they are building circular nests and laying up to 3,000 eggs at a time. Males protect the nests for the three days it takes the eggs to hatch, then stick around to protect the fry (their young) before they leave the nest. This happens several times before the spawning season is done. Both bluegills and pumpkinseeds live in the pond at Nature Boardwalk; pumpkinseeds can be distinguished by the red spot on their gill covers. Please note: Fishing is not allowed at Nature Boardwalk.
Image by Linda Miller. Featured image is by Violetta Dominek.
Follow the Rules at Nature Boardwalk!
Nature Boardwalk is a popular spot for local residents as well as tourists to ride bikes, walk their dogs, and basically enjoy the views. This is definitely true in the summer, when the sun is shining and it’s tempting to enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings and prairie ecosystem. Here are some rules to follow that will protect you, your family, and your pets.
Stick to the designated paths. This will help prevent conflicts with wildlife; coyotes are present in the area and can be especially defensive when disturbed during denning season from May–August.
Keep all pets on-leash, as required by Chicago law. Off-leash dogs trample plants that local pollinators—including monarch butterflies—use, and disturb animal habitats. This can also help prevent animals from getting ticks.
Use area trash and recycling receptacles. Litter can be harmful to the fish, turtles, birds, and small mammals that live here.
Do not feed the animals. Fishing is not allowed. Please help protect the health and safety of the wildlife that reside at Nature Boardwalk.
Insects Are Everywhere
As with other ectothermic animals, insects are more active when it’s warm and sunny out—feeding, growing, and reproducing throughout the season. They are adults now, many with fully functioning wings, and the warmth of summer accelerates their metabolism. They are hungry, ready to mate, and ready to have young. Wet springs like the one we just had help plants thrive. This also helps insects such as aphids, which are in turn used as food by many other insect species, from ladybugs to wasps.
During late spring and early summer, dragonflies and damselflies transform from water-dwelling larvae to beautiful flying insects. They still remain near lakes or ponds like Nature Boardwalk’s South Pond, since this is where they lay eggs, hunt for prey, and even cool down by taking dips in the water. As adults, they have fairly short lifespans of up to five weeks, which they use to hunt—they are fast and have incredible eyesight, and they often target mosquitoes or midges. They also use this time to mate, which they do while flying, after which females lay fertilized eggs in water. Depending on the species, local temperatures, and food availability, dragonflies may take up to three years to develop into the next generation.
Protect Yourself From Ticks
Some insects are considered pests, and this is prime time for them as well. In this blog post, learn how to protect yourself from ticks. And know that Lincoln Park Zoo is on the case! The zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute is studying ticks in urban green spaces to better understand how urban sprawl affects disease transmission between wildlife and humans.
Plants Become Beautiful and Lush
In the summer, plants provide animals and humans with a source of shade, reflect sunlight, and use energy for transpiration (evaporation through their leaves) that would otherwise go to increasing the temperature of the air. Bushes, trees, grasses, herbs, and flowers grow and thrive throughout summer, thanks to photosynthesis. Through photosynthesis, plants make their own food, grow up as well as down into the ground, and become mature enough to flower.
Because photosynthesis transforms sunlight into nutrients and chemicals that plants need, the quality of light they receive and the length of the day influences their growth patterns—although, as many gardeners know, each plant is different and requires different amounts of sunlight and water. Each plant experiences a photoperiod, an environmental cue related to the amount of daylight, which triggers seasonable development processes such as flowering. Each plant has a different photoperiod, so tulips flower in April and May, while hardy hibiscus plants flower July through October. Flowering isn’t just about blooming, though. During this process, plants develop fruits and seeds, which, often with the help of pollinators like butterflies and birds, promote the survival of plant species into the next year.
At Nature Boardwalk, pollinators abound this time of year. Multiple bees, wasps, birds, and butterflies can be seen on plants like milkweed, swamp rose mallow, perennial flax, purple bush clover, and more.
Can You Spot the Mammals?
Sightings of mammals are common during the summer, since they, too, are actively foraging, mating, and raising young. These include bats, squirrels, chipmunks, muskrats, and minks.
At Nature Boardwalk, a beaver family has been delighting lucky wildlife watchers at dawn and dusk for several years, and Lincoln Park Zoo has even learned to leverage their presence in managing the prairie ecosystem there. Zoo staff simply fence trees they consider important to the health of the region, and these protected trees will remain standing and thriving. The beavers are free to chew the unfenced ones that should come down. And yes, Lincoln Park Zoo keeps very close track of where the beavers are, since they often have an outsized effect on their immediate environment, thanks to their amazing structural engineering skills.
Coyotes are denning during this period. In general, coyotes are conflict-averse, but having pups around may make them more defensive if they feel they or their young are threatened. Coyotes are an example of a species that does very well in many urban environments and definitely live in the Nature Boardwalk area, so stay safe!
Keep Safe Around Coyotes
Summer is prime time for human-wildlife conflict. While coyotes pose little threat to humans when given space and treated with respect, you should be alert and watchful in an area you know has coyotes. Here are some tips for safe coexistence with coyotes:
Be loud. Let coyotes know you’re around. Give them a chance to stay out of your way.
Maintain your distance. Observe, don’t disturb, and certainly don’t pet or hand-feed them—even if cute coyote pups approach you.
Know that healthy coyotes may be active during the day. This is normal, especially during the denning season. Coyote parents may extend their summer days to collect enough resources for their young.
If you’re at Nature Boardwalk or in the zoo, know that UWI is monitoring coyote presence in the area.
