Field Guide

Beautifully patterned paracantha peacock flies, or tephretid fruit flies, perform courtship displays on thistles.

Blue-winged teal begin returning from the north as they migrate through to their southern overwintering territory.

Common true katidids sing loudly from dusk well into the night. Enjoy their concert while you watch for Perseid meteors. Peak viewing is in the early mornings of August 11–13, with moonless, dark skies.

Dodders are parasitic plants. They look like a weird mass of leafless, yellow-orange, wiry threads wrapping around the stalks of other plants.