Fall Monarch Migration

monarch on flowers

Fall migration for Monarch butterflies is in full swing! Typically fall migration goes from September to October. Monarchs are the only insect that migrate up to 3,000 miles to find warmer weather. Unlike other insects, monarchs cannot survive the cold winter. The monarchs that are located west of the Rocky Mountains fly to the California Read More »

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Do Animals know it’s the New Year?

sunset with fence

Do animals know when to celebrate New Year’s Eve or do they celebrate it whenever they want? Well, animals probably don’t celebrate it at all but, they do follow environmental cues. An environmental cue is something like the days getting longer or the blooming of certain plants which are food sources. Animals have always had Read More »

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Seven waterfowl to look for during migration

hooded merganser

The Iowa Great Lakes and the smaller lakes and wetlands in the area are starting to melt. That means that birds that flew south to warmer areas for the winter are now flying back north to their summer breeding grounds. Waterfowl are definitely on the move this month, and it’s fun to see the birds Read More »

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Osprey fly south in the winter to whereabouts unknown

female osprey with chicks

The Okoboji osprey pair and their three grown chicks are gone for the season, last spotted about the second week of September before heading south. But where exactly are they going? And why do they leave? Where are they going? We’re not exactly sure. Although the osprey male that has habited the Dickinson County Nature Center Read More »

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How do monarch butterflies find their way south?

Those wonderful orange-and-black butterflies that we love so much. They fly overhead this time of year, and we know they are headed to their overwintering sites outside of Mexico City. But how do they get there? Plenty of studies have been done throughout the years to try to figure out how a brain the size Read More »

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