Natural Events

By Jack MacRae

Here’s what’s debuting on nature’s stage in Chicago Wilderness

Early Summer

Sack Life

Life in a hanging house cannot be comfortable, especially if you’re squished with squirming, squawking siblings. But the pendulous nest of the Baltimore oriole isn’t intended for long-term housing; the brood will fledge after a few weeks. During early summer, the young will learn the important lessons of oriole life while living high in the canopy. By July, they should be flying and perching and eating little hairy caterpillars with ease. In the post-breeding season — at the end of summer — the juveniles will hang with mom, while the fathers take off to live solo.

Butterflies and Blues

Eastern tailed blues are small butterflies with barely a one-inch wingspan. Both male and female have a cute little tail on each hind wing. The females are an attractive brown with two small orange crescents on the pale, blue-gray underside. Adult males, especially those in late summer, have dark, iridescent blue wings. Eastern tailed blues are city dwellers and can be found in most open areas.

Many years ago, I bumped into some eastern tailed blues in the parking lot of the Jazz Record Mart on Grand Avenue, near State Street in Chicago. I was watching them while standing in the parking lot of the best blues record store in the universe. “Eastern tailed blues” sounds like the name of some old Delmark recording. Like, wow, daddio.

Middle Summer

Precious Gem

Medicinally speaking,I think jewelweed is vastly overrated. Following a decade of semi-intentional self-experimentation, I’ve learned the mucilaginous sap of jewelweed is no more effective against poison ivy than pump water. Science agrees with me. Contrary to popular belief and countless testimonials, a number of investigations have demonstrated jewelweed extract was not effective in prevention or treatment of allergic contact dermatitis from urushiol oil, the itch agent in poison ivy. Too bad.

Our jewelweed comes in two colors, yellow and orange. Both species have brightly colored flowers, succulent stems, and pale green foliage. The elliptical leaves of jewelweed collect beads of morning dew, looking exactly like drops of mercury.

Here’s a conversation starter to use at your 4th of July picnic: When white-footed mice eat jewelweed seeds, their stomach contents turn turquoise blue.

Blue Broods

Young bluebirds develop quickly. Only 20 days after entering the world, the brood will leave the nest. Just six weeks after hatching they’ll be hunting their own crickets and katydids. The young are mousy gray in color. Their brilliant blue hue won’t be apparent until after losing their feathers in post-juvenile molt. Most bluebirds will raise two families during the summer. Learn about the Illinois Bluebird Project.

 

Late Summer

Chicago Bulls

Some of the most impressive serpents of Chicago Wilderness are the big bull snakes of the Kankakee sand prairies. They’re big (close to six feet long) and love to hiss. They have rich brown spots on a golden background and several black bands near their tail. They spend their summer days searching the interiors of rodent burrows for a meal. Bull snakes can’t tolerate thick muck and are not found out of their habitat of loose, sandy soil. The only bull snake recorded in Cook County that I know of — a young one found caught in a sticky mouse trap behind a Calumet restaurant — is believed to be an escaped captive.

Sideways Grass

I really dig grasses. One of the prettiest local species is sideoats grama. Its name describes the oat-like seeds that hang uniformly, lined up on one side of the slender, zig-zag stem. In late summer, look at the flowers through a magnifying glass. The plant’s reproductive organs — bright red anthers and feathery, white stigmas — will blow your mind. Sideoats grama is a dominant grass of dry hilltop prairies. It tolerates extreme heat. Scientists say the range of sideoats grama expanded during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. In the Chicago Wilderness, it can be found in most prairie restoration areas.