Outdoor Almanac

This July, listen for the cheerful chorus of Gray Treefrogs on hot afternoons, and marvel at the bright green hues of the young frogs. Watch for the graceful dance of butterflies by day and the enchanting presence of Primrose Moths at night. Look out for Eastern Bluebirds feeding their fledglings near orchards and field edges and striking juvenile Red-tailed Hawks learning to hunt. Don't miss the spectacular blooms of milkweeds, bee balm, and pickerelweed that add a splash of color to the landscape.

What will you discover this July?

Visit a wildlife sanctuary or join a program to make the most of the month. 

JULY

1

Listen for the chirping chorus of tiny Gray Treefrogs on hot and humid afternoons. Young Gray Treefrogs are bright green, while adults are variably mottled from whitish gray to green. 

5

When not eating their summer diet (mostly grasses, ferns, and aquatic plants), Beavers spend a lot of time cleaning themselves or each other. 

6

Look for native summer-flowering plants, including milkweeds (common, swamp, and butterfly weed), nodding onion, bee balm, black-eyed Susan, native honeysuckle, and more.  

8

Along with the beautiful butterflies that float from flower to flower during the day, stunning moths like the Primrose Moth visit night-blooming plants in the evening. Primrose moths are easily distinguishable with their soft pink and white wings.  

10

The Virginia Opossum’s breeding season is ending. At birth, newborn opossums are not fully developed and are no larger than a honeybee. They spend two months in their mother’s pouch, where they finish developing. 

11

When juvenile Red-tailed Hawks start hunting independently, they may spend several days incessantly squealing for the food their parents are no longer supplying. 

15

If you have dill, carrot, parsley, or celery in your garden, watch for female Black Swallowtails as they flit from leaf to leaf laying a single egg at each stop. 

21

Full moon 

22

Around field edges and orchards, watch for Eastern Bluebirds feeding their newly fledged spotted young. Young Eastern Bluebirds look a lot like young American Robins, except they are smaller and have blue on their wings. Bluebirds and robins both belong to the thrush family, and that familial relationship is easily seen in their fledglings. 

24

Moose are feeding on aquatic vegetation, tree leaves, and twigs near wetlands. Wetlands are not just great places for a moose to find a meal, but the cool water helps these large mammals beat the heat and escape pestering mosquitoes and deer flies.  

25

White meadowsweet and butterfly-friendly common milkweed bloom in old fields. Purple-fringed orchids bloom on the edges of wetlands, swamps, bogs, meadows, and fields. 

26

Once they are on territory and have nested, songbirds are much quieter the rest of the summer. One voice you can still hear is the sharp song of the Indigo Bunting. 

29

In sunny, moist meadows, look for the white blooms of common dogbane and the hummingbird moths that use them as larval host plants. Get close to the plants, and you may be rewarded with the sight of a small, iridescent green and copper dogbane leaf beetle—one of our most beautiful beetles. 

30

The tall, lavender spikes of blooming pickerelweed appear around the edges of shallow ponds.