June is the month of one of the summer/winter solstices. In the ancient Cornish language of southwestern England, it was known simply as "the summer month". In June in Britain one can see that:
- Squirrels are born - look for their nests high in trees
- The feathers of Mallard Drakes change to resemble those of the females - look for them in the ponds and lakes
- Swifts lay their eggs
- Carps spawn
- Dozens of different moths appear: Gothic moth, Goat moth, Lappet moth, Brown moth, Heart and Dart moth, Riband Wave moth, Scarlet Tiger moth
- Just about everything flowers: Lady's Fingers, Lady's Mantle, Elder, Cow Parsnip, Dogwood, Lavender, Stinking Mayweed!
In the Atlantic Rainforest of southern Brazil, it is winter, and the temperature can drop to zero degrees celsius. The weather is wet and foggy, the rainforest dripping and sunless on many days. Now is the time the hummingbirds will come to the feeders, for there are fewer nectar-bearing flowers blooming. Yet there is much to observe in nature:
- The beautiful Orsis Bluewing butterfly (above) is seen
- Paraná pines are dropping their huge seedballs, and monkeys are eating the seeds
- The Azure Jay also eats the seeds, and buries some for later in the season. The ones he forgets to dig up grow into trees (below)
- Lacewing katydids are about
June is a month of wonderful observations for the Nature Observation Chart, whatever the hemisphere.
The drawings of the butterfly and the jay come from the pages for the month of June in
The Big Field : a Child's Year Under the Southern Cross
©2010 Anne Morddel
Seasons South and North
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