northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's someone who's potentially around all winter, but I have to admit I didn't see a lot this particular winter: an American Robin . Though renowned as a harbinger of spring, and even having migration in its scientific name (Turdus migratorius), people are sometimes surprised to see them on a cold winter day. Since we know some of them migrate down south, there are 2 main thoughts on what the wintertime robins are: They could be a subset of the robins we see in the summer that has decided the perils/strains of migration outweigh the perils/strains of our winters. It's possible that the robins that winter here spend their winters even further north (northern NE, and Canada), and they're escaping the winters of their summer homes for the more moderate NJ winters. It's certainly possible that our winter robins are a mix of these two theories too. We still don't fully understand how even very common birds like robins operate, or whether climate change is affec...

Here's yet another Monarch butterfly from last July. Previously I talked about what they eat and how they grow, yet the other interesting thing about Monarch butterflies is their migration . I'm going to talk about the 2 big migrations here in the US. Apparently there are Monarchs in Australia and New Zealand that migrate relatively short distances, and other populations (mostly outside the US) that don't migrate at all. The first thing to realize is that most Monarchs don't engage in a long migration route. If you're a Monarch that hatches in spring or most of the summer, you may stay in the area (perhaps if milkweed and nectar are abundant), but there's a good chance you'll want to migrate north (where the milkweed is younger and is less likely to have been eaten by your generation). After (hopefully) successfully breeding in your new northern home, you'll die of old age and your kids will engage in the next northward migration. It's only when yo...