Outdoor Almanac

This June, look for butterflies, fireflies, and dragonflies. Red fox kits are playing while baby birds are learning to fly. Listen for wood frogs and look for Bobolinks. Take a hike on National Trails Day, visit the beach on World Ocean Day, and soak up the sun on the summer solstice. 

What will you discover this June?

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

June 

1 

National Trails Day. Head outside to explore a new trail or a favorite old one.  Find a Trail

2 

On a midday walk you could happen upon a Garter Snake—the state reptile of Massachusetts—basking in a sunny forest clearing or grassy meadow. 

3 

Look for Bobolinks in fields and grasslands. Males are easily recognizable with their distinctive pale-yellow feathers on the back of an otherwise black head.  

5 

Red Fox kits are learning to be independent by play fighting with siblings and accompanying their parents on hunting trips. In a few months, they will be ready to hunt on their own. 

8 

World Ocean Day. Celebrate by enjoying some of Massachusetts’ beaches. Keep an eye out for sandy-colored Piping Plover chicks running between the shoreline and their nests.  

14 

If you live near a vernal pool, multitudes of tiny wood froglets may appear in your garden or yard on their way to wooded uplands. 

17 

Young birds begin to leave their nests about this time. They often have some downy fuzz left and are still attended to by their parents, but they will soon be on their own. 

18 

Garden butterflies are about. Watch for favorites including swallowtails, Painted Ladies, fritillaries, and sulphurs. After dark, look for large, lime green Luna Moths on the side of buildings where there are no lights. 

20 

Summer solstice. It’s the first official day of summer and the longest day of the year. 

21 

Full moon 

23 

At nightfall, watch for flickering fireflies in fields and shrubby areas. Each species has its own pattern of flashes. 

25 

The larvae of Baltimore Checkerspot Butterflies are feeding and pupating—the beautiful black and orange adults emerge about 10 days later. The new adult females will lay eggs soon and this season’s larvae will live and eat in communal silken webs until October when they drop to the ground to create shelters of leaves held together with silk to overwinter in. 

29 

Look carefully at vegetation around the edges of ponds for emerging damselflies and dragonflies, which will be soft and colorless. These new adults are very vulnerable to predators—birds and frogs— as it can take several hours for their wings to unfold and become functional.