Birds
In August, early migrants—including Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, and Blackburnian Warblers—begin passing through North Carolina as they head toward the Neotropics for the winter. Most will look duller than they did in spring, having molted out of their vibrant breeding plumage and into drabber winter attire.
Many insect-eating (“vermivorous”) warblers stop briefly in the Piedmont to refuel, and they’re often easiest to find by locating their “friends.” This time of year, experienced birders often search for American Redstarts and Black-and-white Warblers by first finding a lively flock of Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice and then watching for warblers moving with the group.
Did you know?
Warblers were the focus of a classic ecological study by Robert MacArthur (1930–1972). Before his work, five species—Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, and Bay-breasted—were thought to occupy the same “niche” on their breeding grounds. By carefully observing foraging behavior and dividing trees into vertical and horizontal zones, MacArthur showed that each species used a different part of the tree. For example, Bay-breasted Warblers tended to forage in the middle interior, while Cape May Warblers stayed nearer the top outer branches. This division of a limited resource is now a well-known example of niche partitioning.
Butterflies
Expect a pulse of migrant Cloudless Sulphurs and Little Yellows, along with late-summer broods of Tawny and Hackberry Emperors.
Swallowtail sightings often rise again in August after the midsummer lull. Very lucky lepidopterists might even encounter a tiger swallowtail gynandromorph—an individual with both male and female characteristics. Bilateral gynandromorphs are split half-and-half, while mosaic gynandromorphs show a more mixed pattern. These rare individuals result from sex chromosomes failing to separate normally during the first division of the fertilized egg.
Reptiles and amphibians
Keep an eye out for snakes and turtles, especially baby box turtles, which begin hatching this month. Fence lizards and skinks are often abundant, and green anoles can be spotted as well. Listen for large choruses of Green Treefrogs and Bullfrogs, along with occasional calls from Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toads and Eastern Spadefoots.
Other insects
August often brings a surge in grasshopper and cicada activity. You may also find dead or dying luna moths this time of year; August marks their third and final brood of the summer.
Did you know?
The luna moth is one of the largest moths in the United States, with lime-green wings spanning nearly 4.5 inches.
Adult luna moths live for only about a week.
Green lacewings are another evening highlight. These delicate insects are important predators in many agricultural systems, consuming aphids and other soft-bodied insects. Lacewings are preyed on by bats and spiders, and they have some fascinating defenses: they are sensitive to the frequencies bats emit while hunting and may attempt evasive maneuvers. If caught in a spider web, lacewings often avoid struggling and instead try to chew through strands to free themselves.
In bloom this month
Be on the lookout for striking August flowers.
Small-fruit agrimony – Agrimonia microcarpa
American beautyberry – Callicarpa americana
Trumpet creeper – Campsis radicans
Tick-trefoil – Desmodium nudiflorum
Devil’s-grandmother – Elephantopus tomentosus
Joe-pye-weed – Eutrochium (syn. Eupatorium) dubium
Sneezeweed – Helenium autumnale
Scarlet rose-mallow – Hibiscus coccineus
St. Andrew’s cross – Hypericum hypericoides
Cardinal-flower – Lobelia cardinalis
Great blue lobelia – Lobelia siphilitica
Coral honeysuckle – Lonicera sempervirens
Black-eyed Susan – Rudbeckia fulgida
Green-head coneflower – Rudbeckia laciniata
Rosinweed – Silphium sp.
Axillary goldenrod – Solidago caesia
Anise-scented goldenrod – Solidago odorata
Ironweed – Vernonia sp.
Piedmont habitats: oak savanna
Did you know that oak savanna once stretched across North Carolina’s Piedmont?
This community consisted of grasses and forbs beneath a thin canopy of oaks, sometimes grading into true prairie. Early explorers and settlers documented this landscape, including John Lawson and Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg. Traveling near the Yadkin River in the mid-1700s, Lawson described “pleasant Savanna Ground… high, and dry, having very few trees upon it, and those standing at a great distance.”
Piedmont savanna was formed and maintained by a mix of factors: climate, characteristic soils (including saturated, base-rich, or droughty soils), both natural fires and American Indian-set fires, and possibly grazing by now-diminished herbivores such as bison. Nearly gone in North Carolina today, these savannas were remarkably diverse, supporting nearly 300 plant species. Johnny Randall (assistant director for conservation and natural areas at the UNC Botanical Garden) has expressed optimism about restoration efforts. Local restoration sites include Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve and parts of Mason Farm Biological Reserve.
References
Cook D. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Raleigh (NC): Barefoot Press.
Daniels JC. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge (MN): Adventure Publications, Inc.
Ehrlich P, Dobkin D, Wheye D. 1988. The Birder’s Handbook. New York (NY): Simon & Schuster.
Juras P. 1997. The Presettlement Piedmont Savanna—A Model for Landscape Design and Management. Master’s thesis. University of Georgia.
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