Chicago Botanic Garden

at 4:37pm
Summer's secrets are revealed in autumn at the Garden when leaves fall and nests created by birds and insects become exposed. Today, I discovered a goldfinch nest and bald-faced hornet's nest in one of the maples near the administration building. Take a look.

A flock of fall migrants has descended on the Garden. Golden-crowned kinglets are everywhere, sometimes close enough to see their golden crown. I saw the first junco of the season, as well as white-crowned sparrows and white-throated sparrows. Get out there and enjoy fall at the Garden!

Get over to the Circle Garden, quick! Hummingbirds are feasting on the blooming Forsythia sage (Salvia madrensis ), with its yellow tubular flowers and Tutti-Frutti hyssop (Agastache 'Tutti-Frutti' ), with its lavender-pink flowers.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are migrating through the region right now, and they're easy to see. No matter how many flowers are blooming, the hummers like to chase each other off "their" territory. So you can see them feasting, zipping, chasing and buzzing in the garden.
Enjoy the show now before the hummers are gone. You'll find them all day long!

The Garden's Bulb Bazaar Sale is October 4 and 5. It's a great way to find the best bulbs for next year's garden.

Warblers are back at theGarden!

Late this afternoon I visited McDonald Woods to see if I could coax out the first of the migratory warblers. A little "spishing" yieled two different species. (Note to non-birders: Spishing means creating a sound with your lips that resembles a scolding house wren. Curious songbirds including warblers sometimes come out to take a look.)

The species I saw that you should be able to find fairly easily at the Garden in September is called the American redstart. Roger Tory Peterson labeled this species as the butterfly of the warbler world. That's because it frequently fans its tail out to appear like a beautiful Lepidoptera.

The males are deep black with black-and-orange tails and orange shoulders. The females and immatures have light greenish backs, black-and-yellow tails and yellow shoulders. I saw an immature and likely you'll see more of the black-and-yellow variety in fall. Enjoy!
Sheryl DeVore