If you like to be outside and don’t care for the oppressive mid-day heat that is usually around in mid-summer, then this is the time for you. 

The first several days of September gave pleasant days with temperatures in the mid-70s and cool nights in the high 40s to low 50s.

By the time you read this, fall will be just a few days away. Many of our summer birds have started their migration to points south, and some are going this month. If you are near a hawk watching site, the second to third week of September is a good time to find migrating broad-winged hawks; they tend to start migration close to the same time, so you may see hundreds of broad-wing hawks in a few hours on a good day. 

Some common nighthawks might still be seen just after sunset, trying to catch flying insects as they head south. Other smaller birds have been heading south; some of them fly at night and are not seen by eye, but with radar. Check the Birdcast site for real time bird migration info at birdcast.info.

Other animals are migrating too; monarch butterflies might be seen this month as they head south, especially during milder days. They might stop at flowering plants to fuel up on nectar, along with the last of the hummingbirds. 

Speaking of insects, species that grow during the course of the summer will be fully grown by now. That means they will be easier to spot. The katydids that started calling near the beginning of August are still calling at night, but you will hear them calling at a slower cadence during cool evenings, compared to the warm evenings when they began calling during summer.

Reptiles and amphibians will still be easy to find for the first couple weeks of fall; they might be out a little later in the morning, due to the cooler temperatures at night. Most of the region’s many herps will be around, though species such as timber rattlesnakes head for their winter dens during the first part of October. You could spot some young snakes or turtles from this year. (If you see a young rattlesnake, look but don’t touch; their venom is just as potent as an adult rattlesnake.)

Now is the time to think outside. The leaves are still green and the temperature is not as hot. The biting insect population is down somewhat. If you want a last taste of summer while the leaves are still green, you don’t even have to think outside the box; go out and enjoy.