Nature Enthusiations

Just in time for an evening moth program, our first polyphemus moths emerged from cocoons they spun last July! In typical form, males started emerging first & the first female joined them a couple days later.

Similar to red-winged blackbirds in the bird world, males 'arriving' first have a chance to get their house in order, so to speak, before the females join them. In the case of silk moths, males patrol for females so this extra time gives them a chance to strengthen their wings before following their feathery antennae to the up-to 5-mile journey to a pheromone-calling female.

Opposite of red-winged blackbirds, it's female moths who do the calling to attract a male, rather than male birds who call & sing to attract a female.

Though it's difficult to post when/where we're releasing moths for you to join us, since it's so weather-dependent & we obviously don't know when they'll leave their cocoons, we're working on setting up a local mothing program this summer. We were lucky the first males emerged right before the moth program at so participants could see, ask questions, and help release them into the woods as part of the program. It was so heartwarming to hear the first release volunteer, around 12 years old, gently & caringly explain to the second volunteer, an adult, all the steps we had just shared to ensure the smoothest transition for this moth to the wild. We hope that family continues caring for nature the way they so clearly showed that evening, & we hope you all have a chance to see amazing moths like these!

For more information on s, check out the Bugguide link: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/427. Or maybe we'll see you at an event or program with some of the moths or caterpillars we're raising!

The butter butts are back, the butter butts are back!

Leaf buds popping, spring flowers blooming, & insects awakening have all been such wonderful . But what especially stands out to us are all the spring migrators! Waves of waterfowl have made appearances for the last month or more, so now's when we start to see more raptors & songbirds making their way, including the bright & flighty, insect-eating warblers!

Yellow-rumped warblers are typically the first warblers to into each spring. Yellow rumps are easy to spot, with the males' dashing black & yellow vests & the bright yellow patch on the male & female rears that remind some of a pat of butter, giving them both their common name and their extra-charismatic nickname, butter butts. We saw some over the last dew days, but today's walk at our favorite local wildlife refuge revealed hundreds of these adorable birds including the two pictured. Such a joy.

If you're interested in seeing which bird friends are migrating through your area, we strongly recommend checking out Birdcast.net, from the same folks who brought us the & apps, the All About Birds website, & more. has live migration maps, migration forecasts, & so much more! We love checking our local dashboard to see how many birds have migrated, where the largest numbers are expected, & who's on their way through. April 15th had the biggest nocturnal migration numbers through Minnesota so far, & it looks like some sparrows & shorebirds are most likely to come through next. It also offers migration alerts to help notify people when it's most important to turn off outside lights to avoid confusing migrating birds. So many amazing tools for us to learn about birds; they've done wonders to make birding accessible to even more people.

We hope you get a chance to look for butter butts in your area, & enjoy all these new spring beginnings! What signs of spring have you seen, or are most looking forward to seeing?

Amidst ice, cold, & storms, we look for moments of joy & appreciation this winter. We're so thankful to find both in our nature-focused & human communities, & proudly support efforts to help both our wildlife & human neighbors.

Melting ice, sparkling snow, watching animals (of all kinds!) explore the wintry landscape have brought us joy... along with our community supporting local businesses, helping when help is needed, & generally being good neighbors. Where are you finding your moments of joy this winter?

Photos of Leah's basset hound, Cooper, joyfully (& blurrily) exploring & bounding through snow at the dog park. Off-leash dog parks have been a wonderful joy-inspiring blend of nature-focused & human communities for us.

It's been so fun to participate in markers' markets over the last few years. Sharing wildlife photos, stories, & appreciation with attendees makes them so enjoyable. Every year, we donate 100% of profits from these markets to wildlife-focused organizations but this year, we were thrilled to be able to donate 100% of our total market income!

A huge thank you to everyone who supported us (& therefore these organizations) & to everyone who donates their time/funds to organizations who do such great work for wildlife & the people who appreciate it.

2025 financial donations went to:
-Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of MN https://wrcmn.org/
-Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation https://xerces.org/
-Urban Bird Collective https://urbanbirdcollective.org/
-MN Wildlife Tracking Project https://www.mntracking.org/
-Monarch Joint Venture https://monarchjointventure.org/
-MN Dragonfly Society https://mndragonfly.org/
-Friends of Sax Zim Bog https://saxzim.org/

P.S.- if you hear of any 2026 makers markets that could be a good fit for us, please let us know!

Excited to be part of this market again! This was the first market we ever participated in, 3-4 years ago, & it's Silverwood staff who convinced us to keep creating. 💜

We have a few brand new items including animal pins; all wood ornaments will be buy one, get one free; & we're finishing out the year by continuing to donate 100% of our market income to wildlife-focused nonprofits.

Hope to see you there!

What an amazing look at a juvenile double-crested cormorant on a blustery bird walk at Wood Lake Nature Center today. The cryptic coloration of those juvenile feathers initially blended right into the downed tree it was resting on. But the brightly shining blue eye(s) & yellow/white beak stood out magnificently in the sun, similar to the statuesque pose cormorants make while drying their feathers after diving to catch fish. What a treat to see so closely before it migrates south. Good luck on your journey, friend!

The first monarch tag was retrieved in Mexico almost 50 years ago, tagged by a fellow ! Monarch tagging is an awesome community science opportunity Leah's participated in for the entirety of her 20+ year naturalist career & it's been so fun to welcome new & returning monarch taggers since Nature Enthusiations began 5 years ago. Have *you* tagged monarchs before?

Though we unfortunately didn't find the opportunity to tag with the public this year, Leah's converted-to-native front yard has seen more monarchs than ever before. Meadow blazing star is a known favorite of monarch butterflies & thanks to that new yard addition, she even netted a monarch tagged by someone further north!

If you find a monarch with a tag, please report it! Get a picture so you have the tag details, then go to mntag.org to submit your information. Tags like these help scientists understand monarch migration and how it may be changing over the years. & with such a low recovery rate, every recovered tag can give useful data.

High-tech radio & bluetooth transmitters are now small enough to attach to monarchs & are giving scientists tons of new information, but these simple sticker tags are a more accessible, low-tech science opportunity almost anyone can participate in. Whether high- or low-tech, it's fascinating how much we can learn about monarch migration, even 5 decades after that first tag was recovered.

A belated happy ! As a major food source for so many animals (especially baby birds!), along with pollination & much more, moths have a huge impact on this planet & we're so glad they're around.

The & caterpillars we've been raising have been making appearances at artist markets, summer camps, & elsewhere; showing off their impressive size, colorful accessorizing, & flower-shaped frass to people of all ages. Some of their siblings were happily shared with other responsible, education-focused caterpillar raisers, like our friends at , so even more people could learn about & behold their awesomeness.

All our polyphemus caterpillars are now comfily tucked away in their silk cocoons, which they'll likely stay in until May of next year. summers have now been warm enough for some adult polys to make an early appearance at the end of summer, but their babies would now be at risk of running out of food before making their own cocoons this fall, so we're hoping they stay cozy in their cocoons. Our cecropia caterpillars (pictured), with their spiky rainbow tubercles, still have a bit of growing to do but should start making cocoons in the next week or two. They'll grow to be human thumb-sized before that happens.

If you'd like to meet them, chat about moths & MN wildlife, &/or purchase our moth-themed jewelry/magnets & more, we'll be at two events in August:
-Sunday, 8/17: 's Duluth Summer Market
-Saturday, 8/23: ' Butterfly Days in Belle Plaine
Links with more event info below. If we don't see you there, we hope you have a chance to observe & appreciate some of the amazing moths on this planet this month!



https://wildstatecider.com/event/duluth-summer-market-local-food-music-art-5/

https://monarchjointventure.org/events/prairie-oaks-butterfly-days-2

A belated happy !

Most plants on this planet rely on animal pollinators to help them reproduce, and Minnesota's 500+ native bee species are the ultimate pollinators! As more flower species are coming into bloom, more bees & other pollinators are heading out to collect plant pollen, nectar, &/or resin/oils. This mutually beneficial partnership potentially even pre-dates flowering plants! Most bees are specially adapted to intentionally collect pollen, which makes them some of the best pollinators on the planet.

Some of the first worker bumblebees are just starting to collect floral resources for their growing hives, & native plants give them their best chance to find what they need. Planting a variety of native plants that bloom throughout the full growing season is the best way to help these animals we so heavily rely on. And sharing info and appreciation about these pollinators can really help, too!

We're thrilled to be sharing our love of pollinators (especially the endangered rusty-patched bumblebees) and other amazing animals this Friday (June 27) & Friday, July 11 at the adult-only at the ! We'll have jewelry, magnets (new!), and more for sale that highlight MN-native wildlife species. And, as always, 100% of our profits will be donated to wildlife and conservation-focused organizations. If you're at the event, please stop by!

Minnesota Zoo