June Week 1

Some warblers return again and again to the same territory to nest. Banding records show that both a redstart, Phoenicurus sp., and a black-throated blue warbler, Setophaga caerulescens, returned to central New Hampshire nine years in a row. They each weigh in at 8 or 9 grams and winter in the Caribbean. Mother whitetail deer with twin fawns, Odocoileus virginianus, are keeping them in separate hiding places. Star nosed moles, Condylura cristata, give birth. They prefer wet areas and are excellent swimmers

Luna moths, Actias luna, the largest of the giant silk moths, are searching for mates. The gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus, will climb trees and jump from branch to branch like a cat. Look for a ridge of black guard hair on the tail, which also has a black tip. Broadwing hawk chicks, Buteo platypterus, are hatching; often their nest is high in a tree. By now, eggs of the spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum, have hatched and the larvae are developing,. About 70-100 days after hatching, miniature adults, 3 inches long, will crawl ashore

Common yellowthroats, a new-world warbler, Geothlypis trichas, are good news for slow drivers: they sing loudly and seem to like roadsides. Sapsuckers, Sphyrapicus variusz, are excavating new nest cavities. The prefer Aspen trees, Populus tremuloides or Populous grandidentada, infected by the false tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius. Look for horse-hoof-shaped brackets, which are the fruiting bodies of this fungus. The brown thrasher, Toxostoma rufum, loves to sing, and he has as many as 2000 songs in his repertoire. Honeybee lore: a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon. Firefly displays begin this week. The Lampyridae family has 2,400 species worldwide. In New England four different species have four different flashing patterns. The harmless nectar-eating Photuris lucicrescens is the childhood favorite.