Tag Archives: Monarchs

Monthly Journal – October, 2016

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October’s journal is in two parts:  photos from the neighborhood, followed by photos of wildlife from Jekyll just after hurricane Matthew.

We’ve been seeing Monarchs in our yard all month.  One stayed and visited flowers for most of one afternoon.  This Monarch was so pristine we speculated that perhaps it had just morphed out.  There were many Monarchs on Jekyll as well, which was most encouraging.

Monarch butterfly on Georgia Aster
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Brown Thrasher
Tufted Timouse

We arrived on Jekyll on October 12, two days after the island was re-opened and five days after hurricane Matthew hit.  While the island sustained a fair amount of damage, things were in better shape than we had feared.  And we were encouraged that wildlife seemed to have made it through.  Also, very glad to see that the magnificent Live Oak in Brunswick known as Lover’s Oak, which is said to be over 900 years old, made it through as well.

Deer on the north end of Jekyll
Zebra Longwing
White Ibis
Tufted Titmouse
Sulfur and Gulf Fritillary
Tricolored Heron
Roseate Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill
Red-bellied Woodpecker
adult Bald Eagle
juvenile Bald eagle
Gulf Fritillaries on Bottlebrush
Osprey
Northern Parula
Monarch butterfly
Lover’s Oak – Brunswick, GA [1]
Green Darner dragonfly
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Florida Softshell Turtle on Horton Pond
Great Egret
Carolina Chickadee with signs of leucism [2]
Wood Storks and Roseate Spoonbills near the toll booth

References and Additional Information

[1]  Golden Isles, GA: Lover’s Oak
[2]  Wikipedia: Leucism

Two Classics

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In our mid-September post we asked Can You Spot the Monarch in the Crowd?   The great news is that a few are being spotted here now!  In our yard we saw two the first of October and two more yesterday.  The photo below shows a monarch on a Georgia Aster, both stunning beauties in need of your help.

Monarch Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly on Georgia Aster

While the egg and caterpillar stages of the monarch are restricted to milkweed (the Monarch’s only host plant), adults require other flowers to feed on.  Some great fall blooming pollinator-friendly plants are Georgia Aster, Goldenrod, Black-eyed Susan, native Sunflower and Pineapple Sage. [4]

Georgia Aster
Goldenrod
Black-eyed Susan
native Sunflower
Pineapple Sage

Georgia Asters bloom in October and November providing food for pollinators.  They are perennials with woody stems up to 3 feet tall, have thick, dark green leaves and purple flowers  ranging from dark purple to lavender-violet to dark reddish purple.

Georgia Aster
Native Bee on Georgia Aster

The Georgia Aster is suffering in the wild due to its small, isolated populations and having its natural environment disturbed by humans. [5]  Only 146 populations are estimated to remain. [7]

References and Additional Information

[1]  The Intown Hawk:  Monarch Butterfly
[2]  Georgia Native Plant Society:  Georgia Aster: 2015 Plant of the Year
[3]  USDA Forest Service:  Conservation Partners Save Georgia Aster from Endangered Status
[4]  Dunwoody Nature Center:  The Milkweed Project – Initiative to Save the Monarch Butterfly
[5]  National Park Service:  Georgia Aster
[6]  Monarch Butterfly Garden:  Butterfly Plants List
[7]  U.S. Fish and Wildlife: Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Form – Georgia Aster