Late summer pilgrimage

TRR photo by Ed Wesely “Special # 2,” a monarch butterfly outfitted with a tiny ID tag, samples an artichoke flower before setting sail for central Mexico.

In a freshly paved alley behind Honesdale’s Main Street I discovered, on August 27, a one-inch caterpillar clinging to a milkweed plant that had invaded the new asphalt. I still don’t understand the forces that propelled the plant to breach the pavement, nor how, in that bare setting, its leaves beckoned to a monarch butterfly.

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Hawk migration underway

By SCOTT RANDO

UPPER DELAWARE—Broadwing hawk migration is well underway in this area. Last week on one day over 250 were spotted at Sunrise Mountain in New Jersey in just a few hours. Observed at the same time were some sharpshinned hawks, some osprey, a couple of Cooper’s hawks, an eagle, a kestrel, a merlin and a slew of migrating monarch butterflies.

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It’s open season for archery

PENNSYLVANIA—The archery season for whitetail deer in Pennsylvania opens October 1 and runs through November 12, then opens again on December 26 and runs through January 14. Other upcoming dates for white tail are:

• Muzzleloader: October 15 through 22 and (flintlock only season) December 26 to January 14.

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Also in this issue:

• Cold on the trail