Category Archives: Beauty on the Wing ~ Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly

Catching up!

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Dear Friends,

I hope you had a lovely end of summer and Labor Day. I feel so very grateful to have our home here in Gloucester, a home where our family wants to gather to share wonderful dinners, fun times, and explore all the beauty Cape Ann has to offer. We’re lucky that I love to cook, our son loves to cook, and husband Tom likes to grill, so there is no shortage of happy meals here. If I had to choose, September and the first half of October I think have to be the most exquisite time of year on Cape Ann, and this first week of September has proven to be true.

So much to catch up with. I want to first share about an outstanding organization, the American Oystercatcher Working Group, which is a co-operative network of biologists, researchers, and resource managers that is dedicated to the conservation of American Oystercatchers. Members work across the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the US, the Caribbean, and parts of Central and South America. The thing is, anyone can join!

American Oystercatcher and 14 day old chick

I was recently contacted by Debra Reynolds, who is on the AMOY Working Group steering and leadership committee. She requested to share my short film about AMOY on their website. Here is the link: Award Winning Filmmaker Kim Smith Delights in American Oystercatchers. You can also find a fantastically detailed species account from Birds of World on their website here.

Methuselah Monarch

I don’t recall if I sent this link for a most impressive insect spotted while filming pond stories, Ammophila nigricans, a species of thread-waisted wasps. Their common name describes them to a tee! I am seeing many more butterflies this summer than in the previous several summers, including just this past week, a Orange Sulphur, Common Wood Nymph, and a first for me, a Yellowjacket attacking a butterfly. Yesterday Charlotte and I saw our first Methuselah Monarch of the season, one of the super generation of Monarchs migrating to Mexico. We have had so many Monarchs on our Common Milkweed, lots of good rainfall, warm days, and no super storms. I hope this all portends of a strong migration along the Atlantic. We can Hope!

Those green eyes and pink legs! Orange Sulphur

Every Labor Day weekend, Gloucester also celebrates Schooner Festival and this year was the 42nd! Here is a link to a time lapse video of the beautiful, beautiful Parade of Sail.

Friends have recently written requesting how to subscribe to my blog, where I can share more photos and videos than in emails. I’ve posted instructions here in case you’d like to subscribe. Please let me know if you encounter any problems.

I hope you enjoy these last few weeks of summer.
Warmest wishes,
xxKim

How to Subscribe to Kim Smith Films – Kim Smith Designs

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Hello Friends,

Recently, a number of readers have written requesting information on how to sign up for either my blog or newsletter. Thank you for that and I so appreciate your interest!

To subscribe to my blog at Kim Smith Designs: Click on the image in the heading or this link and it will take you to the home page. In the lower right hand corner is a Subscribe link. If that does not work, please let me know.

To receive my newsletter via email, please send me an email request at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com.  You will receive an email confirmation from me but it will be through my gmail account and the newsletters also come through gmail. I don’t post my gmail account information here because of nefarious types.

More photos and videos are posted on my website’s blog page than the newsletter because I don’t want to jam up friend’s emails. But I usually provide a link from the newsletter to the blog in case you’d like to see more. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

Please feel free to email or to leave a comment in the comment section if you encounter any problems.

Thank you again for your interest. I look forward to hearing from you 🙂

xxKim

A Summer of Monarchs!

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Have you noticed so many more Monarchs this summer than in a very many previous years? Not just Monarchs, but the Ladies, both Painted and American, Tiger Swallowtails, Pearl Crescents, and Summer Azures, too? Our milkweed and zinnia patch has half a dozen Monarchs daily and at every pond that I am filming at for my Pond film, winged beauties grace the water’s edge, sipping nectar from wildflowers growing along the banks of the ponds.

The past few years I had gotten away from raising butterflies but this year Charlotte really wanted to. So we brought indoors a few eggs, which quickly blossomed into a dozen and a half caterpillars as I had forgotten to check for eggs tucked into the buds on the sprigs of milkweed. Each time we cut fresh milkweed to feed the caterpillars, we discovered more eggs. Note- You have to separate out the leaves with eggs and teenies so that the caterpillars that are older do not inadvertently devour them.

Newly eclosed Monarchs

We were hoping to have a butterfly release day with Charlotte’s friends but the last two batches have emerged so early in the morning that they are ready to fly before breakfast. All in all, including the five remaining chrysalides, we have had fifty or so Monarchs emerge from eggs and caterpillars in our garden.

I think perhaps hot weather spells interspersed with some good amounts of rainfall have awakened our local butterfly populations, and steady winds coming from the west are moving traveling Monarchs in our direction.

Notice below that included in the captions along with the names of the butterflies are the wildflowers that are providing loads of nectar and they are all wonderfully garden worthy plants. #plantandtheywillcome!

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) and American Lady Butterfly

The tiny Summer Azure butterfly with a mere 7/8 inch wingspan, drinking nectar from Joe-pye

Monarchs and Ironweed

Monarch and Joe-pye

 

American Lady and Joe-pye

Pearl Crescents

 

The Very Best Milkweeds for New England Gardens! #plantandtheywillcome

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Dear Friends,

Why we LOVE milkweed!

Over the past few days we have seen more Monarchs in our garden than in the previous several years combined. One particularly feisty Mama  has laid claim to the patch of orange Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa). We usually only see this bossy territorial behavior with males. She however flies at any one or thing that approaches. She spends half her time drinking nectar from the A. tuberosa, then flits over to the patch of Common Milkweed (A. syriaca) to deposit a batch of eggs. She has quite possibly done this routine 100 times.

From a visit several weeks ago by a different female Monarch, we have a minimum of 15 caterpillars on the Common Milkweed, all very teeny weeny. Let’s hope the spiders don’t devour them!

Milkweeds are not only the larval host (caterpillar food plant) for Monarch Butterflies, they also provide a rich source of nectar for myriad other pollinators including bees, hover flies, many species of Lepidoptera, and hummingbirds.

Monarch ovipositing egg on Common Milkweed

The very best native (native to the Northeast) milkweeds for our New England gardens, in order of productivity:

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Aptly named because it is the milkweed we see growing everywhere, from dunes to meadows, backyards to parklands, and even the cracks of sidewalks. It spreads greatly and if you plant, know you are giving that plot of land forever to the milkweed. Common Milkweed has the most wonderful honey hay scent and is especially potent in the evening. At this time of year when lying in bed at night I love how the dreamy scent comes wafting through the open windows.

What is meant by “productive” is that from studies comparing which species of milkweed produces the greatest amount of caterpillars, Common is first, followed by Marsh Milkweed.

Common Milkweed

Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

What Marsh Milkweed lacks in fragrance, it surely makes up for with its deep rosey pink florets. And it is much better behaved, growing in clumps rather than spreading vigorously. Don’t worry about planting in a marsh or wetlands, Marsh Milkweed grows beautifully in average garden soil There is also a pretty white cultivar named ‘Ice Ballet.’

Marsh Milkweed

Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

The most brightly colored of our New England natives, Asclepias tuberosa flowers in shades of tangerine, yellow, and reddish orange. Whereas Common and Marsh are somewhat shade tolerant, A. tuberosa needs a sunny spot with well draining soil.

Butterflyweed

Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)

Although native I have never seen a caterpillar on the Whorled Milkweed in our garden, and only very seldomly, a Monarch drinking nectar. The leaves are delicate and finely pointed as you can see from the photo below. Our little patch is growing in full sun and the plant only spreads mildly, not invasively.

Whorled Milkweed

To learn more about milkweed and the life story of the Monarch Butterfly, see our film on PBS at Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly

Please write and let me know of your Monarch sightings. Thank you!
Happy July!
xxKim

helllo and thank you!

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Dear Friends,

I hope you are doing well. We are all in this together and I just know we will get through these difficult times. I am so proud of my community for the way organizations and individuals are pulling together to help the food insecure, especially The Open Door and Common Crow.

Wildlife stories and dramas continue despite all and I am grateful for that. I’ve only touched very lightly on posting about the amazing fall migration still underway. Look for upcoming stories about a tiny bird with the outsized name, Golden-crowned Kinglet, a pair of sweet Pectoral Sandpipers that stayed for a one-day stopover on their supreme 17,000 -20,000 mile round trip migration, a three woodpecker sighting day, and much more. Aren’t these atmospheric months of September, October, and November wonderful! Stormy weather and high winds sometimes bring not often seen creatures to our shores, only needing a brief respite, before resuming their extraordinary journeys.A male Pectoral Sandpiper – you can see he is a male because males have an inflatable air sac in his chest that he also utilizes to puff out his feathers during mating displays

I don’t think I shared the video about the fabulous four plants for pollinators – The Fab Four Plants for Monarchs (and Bees)! There are still a few Monarchs straggling along, some still even in Ontario. The latest I have ever seen a Monarch in our area was November 4th. It was memorable because it was also the year Barack Obama was first elected president. A note about the Fab Four plants. Common Milkweed can be substituted with Marsh Milkweed, Seaside Goldenrod with Canada Goldenrod or Tall Goldenrod, and Smooth Aster with either New York or Purple-stemmed Asters. The idea is sturdy nectar-rich plants that also provide a convenient landing pad and that bloom late in the season.

I was nominated for the City of Gloucester’s Kindness Campaign by our Ward One City Councilman Scott Memhard, and accepted the award on behalf of our wonderful team of dedicated and kind Plover ambassadors and friends. Please read more here.

November 1st and 2nd are the days Dia de Muertos is celebrated. One of the most evocative locations we were invited to film at during the making of Beauty on the Wing was a small family cemetery in Macheros, a remote village at the base of Cerro Pelon Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.

Honoring our loved ones with offerings on this beautiful Dia de Muertos.
xxKim

The Fabulous Four Plants for Monarchs (and Bees)!

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Plant goldenrods, asters, and milkweeds to provide Monarchs (and as you can see, many other pollinators) all the sustenance they will need during their breeding season and southward migration.

Wildflowers in order of appearance:

Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens)

Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)

New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Homegrown National Parks Coming to Cape Ann!

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What are Homegrown National Parks?   HNP is an exciting movement that raises awareness and urgently inspires EVERYONE to address the biodiversity crisis. How can we as individuals and organizations do this? By adding native plants and removing invasives where we live, work, learn, pray, and play.

We all know that wildlife populations are crashing the world over. The statistics are staggering, with approximately one-third of our breeding birds lost since 1970, or about 3 billion birds, and 40 percent of our insects (bird food!) in the past 40 years. HNP is showing people how we can address this crisis, backyard by backyard.

Sunday evening, Doug Tallamy, the esteemed entomologist, author, and co-founder of Homegrown National Parks, presented “The Power of Plants.” The event was hosted by 400 Trees and the Annisquam Village Church, and was followed the next morning by an informal idea-sharing discussion at our newly renovated gorgeous library. The presentation was rich with imagery and case studies of what can be accomplished in our own backyards, from teeny urban lots to suburban homes to substantial acreage. The group discussion was especially thoughtful and interesting, providing a wonderful opportunity to meet people in our community with similar interests, missions, and goals, Many, many thanks to Peter Lawrence and Sara Remsen for organizing the Tallamy talk and discussion.

Visit the Homegrown National Parks website. It is overflowing with super helpful information to get you started on your native plants journey. You can also listen to several of his excellent talks right there on the website. I have been teaching people how to grow pollinator gardens and documenting the wildlife supported by native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and ground covers for over twenty years now. Not a day goes by where I don’t observe and learn some new, vital and fascinating information about the beautiful ecosystems created in a native plant’s habitat. When you plant native they will come!

Join the Movement Now!

1. Plant Native

2. Remove Invasives

3. Get on the Map

Where Shall We Start?

Images courtesy Doug Tallamy “The Power of Plants”

Identify the most productive plants. How to find native plants keystone species –

Native Plant Finder from the National Wildlife Federation: go to the following website and type in your zip code for an extensive list of highly valuable native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and ground covers specifically beneficial to wildlife in your region. https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/

I was listening to Doug’s talk via Zoom in my office, which is also Charlotte’s art room. Charlotte is illustrating a book she is working on, all about the history of Gloucester’s monsters. It’s very imaginative and even includes mini side bars of illustrations of the eggs unique to each monster, along with the monster’s baby pictures (Nessie is well-represented). She was also enjoying glancing over at all the fascinating caterpillar images in Doug’s slideshow, when she overheard the expression ‘keystone species.’ She commented, “just like oysters are a keystone species for the ocean.” We had been to the Seacoast Science Center a week earlier where she had learned about the importance of keystone species in an ecosystem. I just thought how wonderful for her to connect the two and how much like mental sponges are these beautiful curious-minded children of the up and coming generation. I surely never learned at eight years old what a keystone species is, but how easy it was for her to understand the concept. If for no other reason, our beautiful children, and our children’s children, are why we simply can not leave to them a barren, diversity-less world.

 

Winged Wonders Migration!

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The great North to Central to South American magnificent southward migration of wildlife is fully underway. These beautiful creatures do not see borders, religion, nor ethnicities and bind us together in myriad meaningful ways. As birds are taking to the skies by the hundreds of thousands, we are seeing the beginnings of the Monarch migration as well. During these first weeks of September local meadows and gardens are  graced with newly emerged Monarchs. At this time of year, these recently eclosed butterflies are nicknamed the “Super” Monarchs.

You can see the above Monarch has just emerged from his chrysalis as his wing cells are still a bit crumpled. 

A tell tale sign of a male Super Monarch, also called a Methuselah Monarch, is that they are not at all interested in finding a mate. A male Monarch that is not migrating stops only briefly to nectar. For the most part he ceaselessly patrols the milkweed looking for a female and chases away any other winged pollinator. He has evolved with the main objective of reproducing; whereas a Methuselah Monarch takes its time sucking up nectar and is very tolerant of other butterflies it encounters.

Methuselah Monarchs emerge in a state of sexual immaturity, called diapause. They evolved to drink lots and lots of nectar to build their fat reserves for the long journey south and to sustain them through the winter. This super generation of Monarchs are oftentimes larger but will lose some of their body weight by the time they reach the trans-Mexican volcanic forests

The Monarchs rest through the winter, then will break diapause next spring when they begin their journey north.

To help all of our winged friends during the spectacular southward migration please remember Lights Out for Birds

To learn more about the magnificent Monarch migration see our documentary Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly streaming on PBS Passport. To arrange a screening and QandA for your organization, please contact me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com or leave a comment in the comment section.

I hope you enjoy these last glowing days of summer,

xxKim

Female (left) and male Monarch Butterflies, Stone Harbor Point NJ

Wing warming

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A newly emerged male Monarch warms his wings before take-off.

 

Finding Monarch Cats in the Garden!

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We’ve been graced with Monarchs and fat healthy caterpillars this summer. Please write and let me know if you are seeing Monarchs (or not) in your garden <3

National Learn About Butterflies Day

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In recent years, March 14th has been designated National Learn About Butterflies Day. Butterfly populations, as are many species of insects, plummeting around the globe. Climate change, loss of habitat, and the use of pesticides are at the top of the list as to why we are losing our insects.

What can we do as individuals, and collectively with like-minded friends? I have been writing about the plight of butterflies for nearly 30 years and at the risk of sounding repetitive, the following are easy to follow guidelines:

Refrain from Using ALL Pesticides and Herbicides. 

Do Not Spring Into Spring Cleaning!

For the sake of all pollinators, and many songbirds, do not do a spring garden clean up too early. When is a good time? Wait until your grass is growing tall and needs to be mowed and ideally, apple and pear trees in your area have finished blooming. You can also clean-up some spots and leave others unkempt for an even later season clean-up.

Grow Native and Not Invasively

Plant native species of trees, shrubs, vines, wildflowers, and ground covers. Only plant non-native species (such as tulips and zinnias for example) that do not spread outside the area in which you wish them to grow.

American Copper, Bee, and native aster

Provide Continuous Blooms from Early Spring Through November 1st

Create a landscape that provides nourishment for pollinators and songbirds, from the earliest days of spring though the last hard frost. Include colorful nectar plants and equally as important, grow native larval host plants for butterfly caterpillars.

Although these lovely pink Korean Daisies are not native, they are not invasive and bloom until the first hard frost. They are especially welcome to late migrating scragglers such as the Monarch pictured here.

Plant in Clumps and Drifts  Whenever Possible.

Butterflies and bees love to drink nectar at a buffet where they can flit easily from one floret to the next. Allow perennials to spread into drifts and clumps. Panicle-shaped flower heads (think goldenrods) and aster-type flowers, with their ray flowers conveniently arrayed around a center disk of florets, provide a convenient landing pad onto which butterflies can land while they are sipping nectar.

Monarchs and Seaside Goldenrod

Plant and They Will Come!

 

 

CALLING ALL GARDENERS – MONARCHS NEED OUR HELP!

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Please don’t tidy up your garden just yet. The Monarch migration is really lagging compared to other years. The weather has not been cooperating and they have been waiting for the winds to shift from the northwest. Finally, it happened and yesterday and we saw our first signs of the migration with several small passels. The issues are that because the migration is later than normal and because of the drought, many wildflowers have passed peak. In other words, the Monarch migration is out of sync with the blooming time of the most nectar-rich native wildflowers.

Monarchs and Seaside Goldenrods back in September

How can gardeners help? If we must tidy up, please at least wait until the end of the October. Leave your sunflowers, asters, goldenrods, dahlias, verbenas, cosmos, Mexican sunflowers, zinnias, butterfly bushes, and Montauk Daisies in place. Even if they appear a bit unruly, in many instances, the butterflies are still able to extract some nectar.

Monarchs migrating in October need our garden stalwarts, such as Zinnias

Tracking the migration overnight roost population numbers from Journey North, you can see that by October 10th, 2024, so far, the Atlantic Flyway population is way, way down.

The northwest winds are predicted for the next several days. Please write and share any Monarch sightings. Thank you!

Monarch and Mexican Sunflowers – safe travels Monarca!

Sneak Attack!

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Some years are better than others for butterflies and this is definitely a banner year for butterflies on Cape Ann. Please write and let me know what you are seeing in your garden.

Daily we have a bunch of half a dozen or so male Monarchs staking out their territory. They not only chase each other but also try to shoo away other species of butterflies.

Mama Monarchs!

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Have you noticed how lush our gardens are this year? Perhaps it’s because we never had a sudden deep, deep freeze this past winter but whatever the reason, the blossoms and growth of flowering and fruiting trees, hydrangeas, roses, lilacs, milkweed, and butterfly bushes (to name a few) haven’t looked this grand in a number of years. And our wildflower meadows are also simply spectacular with blossoms. For the past month while looking after the Plovers, we have been delighted with the rich honey-hay smell wafting down to the beach from the Common Milkweed blooming widely across the dunes.

We’ve had a bunch of Mama Monarchs flitting through our milkweed patches and ovipositing a treasure trove of golden drops over the past several weeks. She gently curls her abdomen, ovipositing one egg at a time, while simultaneously, each egg attaches with a quick drying sticky glue. I was showing a friend how to look for the eggs and she was amazed at how teeny they are. Only about the size of a pinhead, we most often find them on the tender new growth emerging in the center of the plant or on the leaves more towards the top of the plant. Wild Monarchs deposit one egg at a time. You can see in the pairs of photos the egg she deposited after carefully inspecting each leaf.

Monarchs held in captivity in breeding cages and tents are observed dumping quantities of eggs in large clusters (not one at a time) on milkweed plants as they are not free to travel around to investigate foliage. This is one reason why Monarch diseases are on the rise. Captive reared Lepidoptera also diminish genetic diversity, weakening a species. If you would like to raise Monarchs, it is highly recommended by organizations such as Monarch Watch and The Xerces Society to raise in small batches, only ten or so at a time, from eggs collected in your garden, not purchased over the internet and from butterfly farms.

MONARCH ALERT! #plantandtheywillcome

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This past week, Monarchs have been spotted at my friend Patti’s garden in East Gloucester, at Wolf Hill Garden Center, and in our garden. I was overjoyed to see she was a female, depositing eggs on the tender new foliage of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

Please write and let us know when you see your first Monarch. Thank you!

Wolf Hill is carrying a fabulous array of native plants, including both A. syriaca and Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa).

Monarch egg – a miniature golden dome, the size of a pinhead

Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly at the Essex Greenbelt Film Series!

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Please join me for a FREE screening and Q and A of Beauty on the Wing as part of the Essex County Greenbelt Film and Lecture Series, tomorrow evening from 6:30 to 8:30.

Beauty on the Wing – Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly Mar, 14

WHEN: Thurs., March 14, 6:30-8:30 pm WHERE: HC MEDIA, Studio 101 2 Merrimack St., Haverhill WHAT: Experience the magical migration that happens in our midst, unfolding in backyards, farms, meadows, fields, and along the shoreline, wherever milkweed and wildflowers grow. Stay after the film for a Q&A with Director Kim Smith. Photo: Kim Smith

PiPl Update and Save the Dates!

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Good Morning Piping Plover Friends,

Much to catch up with but I first wish to thank everyone who is contributing to our Piping Plover film project fundraiser. Thank you so very much for your generous contributions and very kind comments on our fundraising page.

Not wanting to count our eggs before they have hatched, but we have interest from PBS! and are hoping to have a fine cut ready to submit to film festivals by May1st.

With gratitude to the following PiPl friends for their kind contributions – Lauren Mercadante (New Hampshire), Sally Jackson (Gloucester), Janis and John Bell (Gloucester), Jane Alexander (New York), Jennie Meyer (Gloucester), Alice and David Gardner (Beverly), JoeAnn Hart (Gloucester), Kim Tieger (Manchester), Joanne Hurd (Gloucester), Holly Niperus (Phoenix), Bill Girolamo (Melrose), Claudia Bermudez (Gloucester), Paula and Alexa Niziak (Rockport), Todd Pover (Springfield, MA), Cynthia Dunn (Gloucester), Nancy Mattern (Albuquerque), Marion Frost (Ipswich), Cecile Christianson (Peabody), Sally Jackson (Gloucester), Donna Poirier Connerty (Gloucester), Mary Rhinelander (Gloucester), Jane Hazzard (Georgetown), Duncan Holloman (Gloucester), Karen Blandino (Rockport), Duncan Todd (Lexington), Sue Winslow (Gloucester), Amy Hauck-Kalti (Ohio), JoAnn Souza (Newburyport), Karen Thompson (San Francisco), Carolyn Mostello (Rhode Island), Susan Pollack (Gloucester), Peggy O’Malley (Gloucester), Hilda Santos (Gloucester), Maggie Debbie (Gloucester), Sandy Barry (Goucester), and my sweet husband Tom 🙂

Can you believe it’s that time of year already – Piping Plovers will begin returning to Cape Ann at the end of the month. We hope so very much that Super Dad and our amazing, disabled Super Mom will return for their ninth year nesting at Good Harbor Beach. Typically Plovers only live for five to six years however some, like “Old Man Plover,” lived, and fathered offspring, through his fifteenth year. If you would like to join our group of incredibly dedicated Piping Plover Ambassadors, please email me at kimsmitghdesigns@hotmail.com.

Some upcoming events and screenings – I am honored to write that I am being presented with the Conservation Award at the 130th annual March Conference of the Massachusetts DAR. And will also be giving a Piping Plover presentation to our local Cape Ann chapter of the DAR on April 6th at 11am, which I believe is open to the public. On Thursday evening at 6:30, please join me for a public screening of our documentary Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly as part of the Essex County Greenbelt 2024 Film and Lecture Series. Last, but not least, this coming Friday, I am joining a group of talented Cape Ann women writers. We will be reading excerpts from books by Cape Ann women writers of note, in celebration of International Women’s Day.

As the weather warms, please think about purchasing one of our awesome Plover Besties decals, tees, or onesies at Alexandra’s Bread. We have a pretty cerulean blue in stock, some pink, and I am planning on printing yellow tees and onesies for spring. They are a really great quality, pure cotton, a little longer than is typical, and printed locally at Seaside Graphics. Alexandra’s Bread is located at 265 Main Street, Gloucester.

Thank you again for your kind support.

Warmest wishes,

xxKim

Upcoming Events for March

March 8th, Friday at 7pm. In Celebration of International Women’s Day Women – Women Authors of Cape Ann. Presented by the Gloucester Writers Center at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church Street, Gloucester.

March 14th, Thursday, at 6:30pm. Essex County Greenbelt 2024 Film and Lecture Series. “Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly” documentary film screening and Q and A with Director Kim Smith. HC Media, Studio 101 at 2 Merrimack Street, Haverhill.

March 15t at 12noon, Friday. Massachusetts DAR 130th March State Conference and Luncheon. Kim Smith honored with the Conservation Award. Wellsworth Hotel Conference Center, Southbridge, MA.

April 6th, Saturday, at 11am. Cape Ann DAR . Kim Smith presentation  “The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay.” Veteran’s Service Building 12 Emerson Avenue, Gloucester.

Beauty on the Wing Screening at The City Gardens Club of New York!

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Looking forward to presenting a screening of “Beauty on the Wing” Monday to The City Gardens Club of New York City!

WONDERFUL WILD CREATURES 2023 YEAR IN REVIEW!

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Saying goodbye to 2023 with a look back at just some of the magnificent creatures and scenes we see all around our beautiful North Shore.

The slide show begins with January and runs through December. When clicking through, you can see the photos are captioned and dated. If you would like more information, all the photos are from posts written throughout the year, and most of the posts have short videos featuring the animal.

Some of the highlights were a Northern Lapwing blown far off course, Barred Owls, flocks of Snow Buntings, successful Gray Seal rescue by Seacoast Science Center, the return of handicapped Super Mom and Super Dad to Good Harbor Beach, Great Blue Herons nesting, Rick Roth from Cape Ann Vernal Pond team helping me find frog’s eggs for my pond ecology film, Bald Eagle pair mating, Earth Day Good Harbor Beach clean-up, Osprey nesting,Creative Commons Collective native plantings at Blackburn Circle, mesmerizing encounter with a Fisher, Mama Dross Humpback and her calf, Beth Swan creating PiPl logo, PiPl chicks and Least Terns hatching, Pipevine Swallowtail pupa, PiPl t-shirts and decals selling at Alexandra’s Bread, rare Nighthawk, Spring Peepers, chicks fledging, trips to Felix’ Family Farm with Charlotte, Monarchs in the garden, Merlin, juvenile Glossy Ibis, and a  flock of Horned Larks.

Perhaps the very most memorable moment was a wonderfully close (and extended) encounter with a Fisher. Read more about that here: Lightning in a Bottle

 

Happy New Year Friends. We’ll see what 2024 brings our way <3

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD NOT SHARING GARDEN WITH MIGRATING MONARCHS!

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Our summer resident Ruby-throated Hummingbirds stayed at our Cape Ann garden well into the fall. Daily, and frequently throughout the day, they made their rounds from the back borders to the front borders, making brief stops at each nectar station. But the backyard was clearly their personal fiefdom. Here they spent a great deal of time splashing in the bird bath and preening while perched in the ancient pear trees.

The Monarchs and other late summer butterflies mostly stay in the sunnier front border however, whenever a Monarch ventured to the New England Aster patch round back, a hummingbird was sure to harass. The attacks were seemingly not vicious; the RTH would simply fly to and from the butterfly until it departed. I wondered if this was a juvenile RTHummingbird checking out a never-before-seen-butterfly-equal-to-its-size, or a more experienced female defending her territory.

Despite repeated attempts on my part, this was extremely hard to capture on film. I was looking at footage from this past season and was delighted to find a very few brief seconds of both beauties together.

MONARCH STRAGGLER ON CAPE ANN WHILE BUTTERFLIES ARRIVE TO THEIR MEXICAN WINTERING GROUNDS

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As Monarchs are beginning to arrive at the butterfly sanctuaries in Mexico, one more was spotted in our garden, intently fortifying for the long journey south. I am so thankful to the friend who gave me a clump of these old-fashioned pass-along daisies. The asters and goldenrods have turned to seed but the Korean Daisies are still going strong, providing nectar to the late, late stragglers.

Monarchs oftentimes, but not always, arrive at the sanctuaries around the time when Dia de Muertos is celebrated. In the language of indigenous Purépecha, a group centered in Michoacán (one of the states where the Monarchs overwinter), the name for the Monarch is the “Harvester.”Coronas de flores (crown of flowers) are replaced each year during the Day of the Dead – photo credit from the Moreno Family

Notes from Butterflies and Their People and the Moreno Family, November 3, 2023

We’re so happy to share the good news, just one day after Day of the Dead, It was 12:52 pm when Pato Moreno sent us a message saying they (BTP Guardians and CEPANAF Rangers) spotted the first monarch, and one hour later they’ve counted around 27.
Meanwhile in Macheros, Joel Moreno saw around 8 butterflies while he was staying on the rooftop at the B&B.

Also one of my sisters, Oralia Moreno, went to Zitacuaro and on the way back she saw at least 5 butterflies in a place called Rosa Santa, just like 20 minutes away from us, it was around 12:30 pm. (She came back to the village at 12:58 pm that’s when she told us she saw them).
The temperature right now is 63.8 F / 17.6°C.

Map of the places mentioned in the post

GREETINGS TO YOU ON THIS DIA DE MUERTOS

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Thank you to all our friends who stopped by last night for Halloween treats. It was fantastic to see everyone and we love seeing all the kid’s costumes.

Alex and Charlotte, Mr. Bones, and Meadow and Sabine

I treasure this time of year for myriad reasons and especially love celebrating Dia de Muertos. It’s a time to give pause and to think about our family and friends who have passed. We set up our porch ofrenda over the weekend and will keep it up through November 3rd. Ours is a little different than traditional ofrendas. The porch is narrow so therefore the ofrenda is relatively small and narrow so that we can still fit guests on the porch. We have lots of animal figures: an owl to represent Snowy Owls, a pudgy Plover-shaped colorfully painted bird to represent Piping Plover conservation, a cat to keep all our cats safe, an alicorn for Charlotte, and dozens of Monarchs, including a beautiful life-like hand-painted Monarch given to me by Mary Weissblum. With all the objects, there is little room for offerings of food, so that is placed on adjacent tables. Charlotte especially enjoys helping set up the ofrenda and she has lots of ideas of her own on how to make it special.

What is the way to properly greet someone during Dia de Muertos? Perhaps we don’t want to say Happy Dia de Muertos, like Happy Halloween. Although celebrated with much festivity, Dia de Muertos really is a somber occasion, meant to honor loved ones who have passed. Greetings to you is the best I can think of but perhaps you may know of a better way. Please write if you do!

LAST MONARCH FROM THE GARDEN

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Last of the season’s Monarchs from our garden eclosed, despite being so late in the year and the big dent in her chrysalis. Happily, Charlotte was home when she emerged. The butterfly attached itself to Charlotte’s hair, and to her great joy, stayed there while she skipped around the garden collecting flowers and food for her fairies.

Monarchs that emerge late in the year, when some are already arriving to Mexico, migrate nonetheless and have a good chance of reaching their destination.

Fairy Tree House

APPLE PICKING AND MONARCHS AT RUSSELL ORCHARDS!

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Last week on Election Day, the elementary kids that attend East Veteran’s had the day off.  Charlotte is in love with Cloud, the resident sheep at Russell Orchards, so off we went to go visit Cloud. We were in luck as one of my favorite apples, Gala, was perfectly ripe for the picking. To find out which variety of apples are available to pick, check out Russell Orchard’s website here.

After filling two bags with sweetly delicious little pink gems, we stopped at the gorgeous zinnia patch adjacent to the apple orchard. The patch was abuzz with myriad pollinators, including Monarchs, Sulphurs, Swallowtails, bees, and as is typical at this time of year, Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackers weren’t interested in Charlotte and I, only in pestering the Monarchs. One even alighted on a Monarch’s wings!

Russel Orchard’s zinnias are a knock this year and I believe the variety of zinnias is Benary’s Giant.

Flowers of the Air

A BIT OF MONARCH FAKERY – THE BEAUTIFUL VICEROY BUTTERFLY

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Over the course of past week, we on Cape Ann have been graced with a splendid mini Monarch migration across our shores, and many other species of butterflies too are on the wing. To my utter delight, yesterday while filming at what I like to think of as a butterfly hotspot, a pint-sized butterfly went zooming past. Wow, that is the smallest Monarch I have ever seen. But no, the butterfly traveled across the field, and when it paused for a few moments to warm its wings, I realized it was a Viceroy Butterfly! This was the first time I have observed a Viceroy on Cape Ann.

The Viceroy has a faster flight pattern than the Monarch and I was only able to get a few minutes of footage and only several photos before it disappeared over the horizon however; you can see from the photos how very similar the wing pattern is. To make a quick comparison when out in the field, the Viceroy does not have the mitten-shaped cell that the Monarch possesses and it has a prominent black line running along lower wings.

Monarch Butterfly

Viceroy Butterfly

To read more about Monarch and Viceroy fakery, read the following terrific article from New Jersey Audubon here: “Monarchs and Viceroys: A Tale of Mimicry”

The ‘royal’ butterflies –