Dave’s Nature Almanac: May
Nature Almanac: Monthly Menu
Spring REALLY gets down to business in May.
Tent caterpillars show up in early May in silken tents in chokecherry bushes – the caterpillars grow into brown fuzzy moths that feed the bats. And yes, the bats are BAAAACK! Wild plums and chokecherries bloom in May. The plums go first, with a delicious odor before any leaves appear on their stems. Meanwhile the chokecherries are producing their leaves, and only bloom after the leaves are out. The plum leaves develop after all the flowers are done.
Photo credit: Jan Liverance
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Western Tanagers
Western Tanagers arrive in a sudden pulse in mid-May, traveling up from the rainforests of Central America. Suddenly they seem to be everywhere! Most will continue northward (some as far as the Yukon) but a few will remain in Boulder to nest.
Photo credit: Kevin Smith
You might see a Western Tanager on Dave’s Birds of the Jungle hike, offered in May.
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Prairie Dogs
Baby prairie dogs appear above ground in May! Females in a family group or coterie will suckle each other’s young.
Photo credit: Kevin Smith
View more prairie dog photos in the Mammal Photo Gallery
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Blue Mist Penstemon
Blue Mist penstemons cover the mesa tops and may have given their name to Bluebell Mesa. Superficially the flowers resemble the Lance-leaf Chiming Bells; the latter hang down like little bells but the former point forward like tiny blue trumpets.
View more flowers in Dave Sutherland’s Native Plant Garden
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Broad-tailed hummingbirds
Listen for the high-pitched metallic whir of the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds that returned to Boulder in April. The distinctive whirring sound is made by air passing over specially modified feathers in the wings, not by vocalizations.
Photo credit: Kevin Smith
Visit the Hummingbird Photo Gallery