[NOTE]: Corrected Wild of the Week to black swallowtail thanks to many readers and confirmation from Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum’s Doug Taron, who noted, “The unambiguous giveaway here is the orange spot with the black center. Nothing else in Illinois has this.”
Notes come from all around Chicago outdoors.
FIELD NOTES
WILD OF THE WEEK
Ed Marshall photographed the black tiger swallowtail, at the top, feeding on orange butterfly weed. “The retirement pollinator garden I planted last July is paying beautiful dividends,” he emailed.
WOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, runs most weeks in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Saturday. Submit nominations by message on Facebook (Dale Bowman), on Twitter (@BowmanOutside) and Instagram (@BowmanOutside) or email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com).
WILD TIMES
HUNTER SAFETY
Aug. 13 and 15: Newark, (815) 210-4995
Aug. 27 and 29: Mundelein, (847) 918-6145
Sept. 19-20: Kankakee, (815) 935-2700
ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS
Through Aug. 31: Free upland game permits, application period, go to https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/hunting/uplandgame/Pages/OnlinePermitApplication.aspx
Through Aug. 25: First-come, first-served free dove permit applications, go to https://dnr2.illinois.gov/OnLineHuntingApplication/Dove/DoveAppFCFS.aspx
DALE’S MAILBAG
“[Monarch caterpillar’s] been munching away on the swamp milkweed I planted to attract monarchs to the backyard. . . . Swamp milkweed is a favorite of mine, and its flower heads are even more fragrant than common milkweed.” John Vukmirovich
A: Swamp milkweed is a good choice if building a pollinator garden.
BIG NUMBER
33: High count of flags (wilting or dying branches because of cicada egg laying) on a tree (in Brookfield) surveyed by retired naturalist Carl Strang; one of many interesting notes in his recap of the 2020 periodical cicadas around Chicago.
LAST WORD
“I haven’t watched it since. I’ve got myself so far away from baseball since I’ve been home, busy with family and traveling, farming, getting ready for deer- and duck-hunting [seasons].”
Mark Buehrle, on the importance of hunting on the 10th anniversary of his perfect game (Sun-Times July 22, 2019, Daryl Van Schouwen).
