Colors of Fall
Every year as the summer winds down, we can’t help but take in the beauty around us. As cooler temperatures blanket the region, the colors of fall brighten the landscape. This fall, we’re sharing some of the most colorful spectacles that blaze through the region every year.
For Ranger Poole at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts, one of those images in the marsh that he looks forward to every year is the glasswort that turns the horizon into a vibrant, fiery red.
In addition to their beautiful fall colors, saltwater marshes provides coastal habitat for over 300 species of resident and migratory birds, as well as a variety of mammals, insects, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Healthy marshes also protect coastal communities from storm surges and flooding.
The migration of the monarch butterfly is in full force during the fall season. At the start, you’ll often catch a monarch fluttering by with a quick flash of orange. At peak migration, you may see dozens flying together monarchs, trailing each other like a colorful ribbon as they make their way south. Many monarchs travel up to 3,000 miles on their journey to their overwintering grounds in Mexico.
Along their journey, monarchs utilize late blooming wildflowers whose bright colors draw them to the ground to feed. We can support monarchs on their migration routes by planting incorporating flowers into our gardens that bloom throughout the fall, like goldenrod, asters, and cone flowers.
Along the east coast, migrating birds light up with the sky at mid-Atlantic refuges like Cape May National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland, and Bombay Hook and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuges in Delaware. In early fall, hawks, shorebirds and songbirds pile up at Cape May Refuge and nearby areas, waiting for the right conditions to cross Delaware Bay.
Later in fall, up to 16,000 geese and waterfowl start arriving at Blackwater Refuge. Tundra swans, bald eagles and snow geese join the mix in November and December. Bombay Hook Refuge’s tidal salt marsh makes it a popular stop for migrating shorebirds and waterfowl.
At Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Maine, the autumn leaves are on full display, showing off their brilliant colors and with new sights to behold every day.
The northern hardwood forests at Moosehorn are made up mostly of aspen, maple, ash, birch, spruce, and fir trees, giving the woods a wide collage of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, and browns. Though the leaves may be falling, the northern forest provides habitat to a diverse array of wildlife species all year long.
The colors of fall are shining bright! Be sure to visit a national wildlife refuge near you to experience all the colors nature has to offer.
