Bird & Nature Blog
A clutch of the latest stories from Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance
Milkweeds are the host plant for monarch caterpillars, making them essential for healthy monarch populations. This fall, Madison Audubon and in particular our staff at Goose Pond Sanctuary have established a goal for volunteers to collect 100 pounds of pure, live milkweed seed for the butterflies, and we need your help!
The primary focus is on common, butterfly, whorled, and swamp (red) milkweed seeds.
Madison Audubon photo
Sometimes a friendship takes time to develop. I planted sawtooth sunflowers in my front yard years ago. They proved to be an aggressive neighbor and have occupied swaths of the front and back yards. I really was upset with myself until I noticed three years ago, the goldfinches and some other birds swarmed the seeds. Last year, dozens of bumblebees spent much of August and mid-September on the blooms. This year, I've decided the sawtooth sunflowers are the best thing since ice cream and lots of pollinators agree.
Cover photo by Peter Gorman
