This Month on Our Preserves - Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation

JUNE

Explore! By Master Naturalist Pam Johnson

June is the month I begin actively looking for Milkweed and Monarchs. Bird migration is over and the resident birds are raising their young. Fledging occurs soon. Monarch migration from Mexico started in April and takes two generations of monarchs to reach Illinois. So by June I am starting to see newly hatched butterflies.

Twenty-four species of milkweeds grow naturally in Illinois. Five species are listed as endangered in Illinois. The Wapello Reserve has common milkweed, butterfly milkweed, swamp milkweed, and Sullivant’s milkweed.

The monarch’s in the eastern US start their multi-generational journey in the cool high mountains of central Mexico. Environmental triggers such as daylight getting longer tell them it is time to go to their summer location east of the Rocky Mountains. It takes them two generations to reach their destination.

How do they know where to go?

Experiments have shown that ultraviolet light, an internal time-compensated sun compass and possibly other factors, like mountain ranges or bodies of water, may all play a role in navigation. Learn more about monarchs here.

Other butterflies to look for: swallowtails, viceroys, banded-hairstreaks, fritillaries, yellows and whites. The hackberry butterflies are very friendly and will land on your body and drink the sweat. They will appear this time of year wherever the Hackberry tree can be found. If you see them, start looking for the hackberry with warty bark. An Illinois butterfly ID guide from the Field Museum can be found here.

Bluebirds are ubiquitous in our area due to the efforts of the Bluebird Recovery Program started in 1992. Many of our preserves have bluebird boxes installed to provide nesting homes for the returning bluebirds. Volunteers monitor the boxes and repair, clean and count the numbers of broods per year.

On August 12, 2024, the City of Galena officially became the 10th municipality to designated a Bird City of Illinois. Audubon Council President Jennifer Kuroda presented the honor to the Mayor Terry Renner during a City Council Meeting.

“Galena met 14 criteria to fulfill their designation. The city achieved important criteria to meet the ‘Habitat’ category including the conservation work of the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation with land preservation, the long-term establishment and success of the Bluebird Recovery Program, and educating public with presentations that support the use of native plants for landscaping.”

The Wapello Reserve prairie is awash with blooms in the whites and pinks and blue. The ruby-throated hummingbird has returned from its winter in Central America or Mexico, often returning to the same spot. Of the 360+ hummingbird species, 15 are in the US but only this one regularly occurs in Illinois. It makes a nest the size of a walnut with lichen and spiderwebs.

The Indian paintbrush at Wapello attract the returning hummingbirds. They are designed to take nectar with their long, narrow beak and tongue. They are good pollinators because the small hooks on their feathers collect and transfer pollen. Throughout the year you can see them on are bee balm, trumpet honeysuckle vie, columbine, salvia, penstemon and cardinal flowers. And always it is best to get up close and personal. You miss so much just driving by.

Dickcissel and meadowlarks have arrived. Listen for the dickcissel sound that says their name: a clicky buzzing (dick-dick-ceessa-ceessa). Then scan the prairie looking for a tall plant that they will perch on to sing their song.

Flowers blooming now are popular with the bumblebees. Baptisia, penstemon, Culvers root, pale pink coneflower, and spiderwort cover the prairie. They attract all sorts of native pollinators.