YOUR MONTHLY FIELD GUIDE
September
The Turning Season
Southern Blue Ridge • Western North Carolina
September rests between seasons. Summer still lingers in warm afternoons and green forests, but change begins quietly at the edges. Goldenrods brighten roadsides, migrating birds move through the mountains, and the first leaves loosen from the canopy.
YOUR MONTHLY FIELD GUIDE
September
The Turning Season
Southern Blue Ridge • Western North Carolina
September rests between seasons. Summer still lingers in warm afternoons and green forests, but change begins quietly at the edges. Goldenrods brighten roadsides, migrating birds move through the mountains, and the first leaves loosen from the canopy.
Meet This Month's Species
Late Purple Aster
Symphyotrichum patens
A late-blooming native aster whose purple flowers brighten dry woodland edges as summer gives way to early autumn.
Red Eft
Notophthalmus viridescens
The bright terrestrial juvenile stage of the Eastern Newt, often seen crossing damp forest floors after rain.
White Snakeroot
Ageratina altissima
A shade-tolerant native wildflower whose clusters of small white flowers appear along woodland edges in early fall.
Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterus
A forest hawk that becomes especially noticeable during fall migration, when groups may circle together in rising columns of air.
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
A long-distance migrant that moves south through open meadows and mountain corridors as late-summer flowers continue to bloom.
Wreath Goldenrod
Solidago caesia
A woodland wildflower with arching stems lined with tiny golden blooms, wreath goldenrod brightens shaded forests in late summer and provides nectar and pollen for native pollinators.
September Small Wonders
Spined Micrathena
Micrathena gracilis
By late summer, tiny Spined Micrathenas spiders suspend intricate orb webs across woodland openings and trails. Their spiny, sculpted bodies are surprisingly easy to overlook until morning dew reveals the web around them.
Eastern Chipmunk
Tamias striatus
Eastern Chipmunk’s gather acorns, seeds, and nuts in their expandable cheek pouches, carrying them underground to food caches they'll return to throughout the colder months.