Subtle hints warn our wild neighbors that winter’s approaching

While we bask in the heady days of summer, nature is starting to send signals that we don’t see or hear.

Most of us are not even aware of these subtle messages, but the wild world around us is tuned in and paying attention.

Available food supplies, water, temperatures, sun angles, solar radiation, and likely things we don’t even understand are telling our wild plant and animal neighbors that seasonal changes are coming.

For many of nature’s creatures the seasonal signals may trigger subtle changes such as the addition of winter insulation, molting, food gathering, berry production or the shedding of leaves.

For some creatures, it’s time to prepare for long journeys to distant winter homes to find suitable food, shelter and climate.

I tuned in to the seasonal changes last week when I noticed that those beautiful birds of summer, the hooded orioles, were diminishing in number. As I finish writing this, they have gone for the season, about three weeks sooner than usual.

These brilliantly colored, yellow and black visitors bring joy and energy to our summer gardens as they feed, nest, produce a crop of noisy youngsters and then depart for winter homes.

Their normal schedule brings them here in early March and they return south to Mexico by early September.

But nature is sending signals, and the orioles began their southern migration much sooner this year. Normally I fill my oriole nectar feeders every two days in the summer. Last week I only refilled them once, and now, only the magical little hummingbirds are enjoying the nectar.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a primary driver of bird migration is food.

Perhaps our drought has reduced available food for the orioles, triggering an earlier departure?

And don’t worry about your nectar feeders going unused. Keep them clean and filled and the hummers will surely rejoice they don’t have to compete with the larger orioles.

I will miss the beauty and energy the orioles provide each summer. But there won’t be a void.

As the orioles leave, they will soon be replaced by white-crowned sparrows and yellow-rumped warblers arriving from as far north as the arctic slopes where they breed during the summer.

While many birds and animals migrate, one of the most notable animal migrations is that of the gray, blue and humpback whales along California’s coast. Subtle signals have told them it’s time to travel south.

This is a journey that can cover nearly 12,000 miles from the far north to the warm water lagoons in Baja California. Vast amounts of available food bring whales north in the summer, while the warm waters of Mexico are ideal for birthing their calves in winter.

Acorn woodpeckers hear the soundless call of approaching winter and become more focused and industrious at gathering and storing acorns in the trunks of large trees.

A hike in the tall woods of Palomar or Cuyamaca will be filled with the scolding chatter of the acorn woodpeckers as they skitter about gathering winter food.

Soon the evening meadows and grasslands of San Diego County will be filled with hairy tarantulas wandering about just before sunset. These are the larger males of the species searching for willing breeding partners. How the message is sent to the male spiders is a mystery, but nature has let them know it’s time to breed.

Incidentally, this is not an idle flirtation. The male is often killed by the female after completing the mating ritual.

While the large spiders are not popular with many people, they are harmless and not aggressive and quite an amazing sight to see when a dozen or more are out and about just before dark in September and early October.

Have you ever felt the delight of a tiny red and black-spotted ladybug on the tip of your finger?

Imagine a ball of several hundred ladybugs.

You might encounter that soon as days get shorter and autumn air chills the countryside.

Ladybugs hear the signals of coming winter and gorge on aphids to fatten up for winter. As winter arrives, they will often gather in clusters to share body heat and hibernate in protected places such as under tree bark, in knot holes or sheltered places around your home.

Soon our season of searing heat will fade and even here in mild Southern California we will become aware that another season is approaching.

Those who love the outdoors will revel in the beauty of the black oaks at higher elevations that will begin to change color and flutter to the ground when touched by a gentle autumn breeze.

Groves of cottonwoods along our rural highways will turn a brilliant yellow in the shorter, crisper days of October, and the white blossoms of the wild California buckwheat will soon fade to a rusty red.

The messages of nature are being sent.

It’s a good time to be outdoors, to move slowly, perhaps sit awhile, listen for and feel subtle signals of the wild that are all around us.

Cowan is a freelance columnist. Email ernie@packtrain.com or visit erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com.

ERNIE COWAN PHOTOS FOR THE U-T As winter arrives, ladybugs often gather in clusters to share body heat and hibernate in protected places, such as under tree bark, in knot holes or sheltered places around your home.

Acorn woodpeckers prepare for winter by gathering and storing acorns in the trunks of large trees.