Events and Announcements:

• From now until July 9 at Afton State Park, come view the 2026 Minnesota winners of the fish art contest, hosted by Minnesota Conservation Volunteer and Wildlife Forever. See the first, second, and third place illustration winners and the first-place creative writing winners for each age bracket on display inside the visitor center during operating hours.
• Majestic Mussels, July 3 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., meet near the beach: Discover the hidden world beneath the St. Croix River! Come drop by and explore a nature table about the fascinating freshwater mussels of Minnesota. With over 50 native species, these incredible animals help keep our rivers clean. Visitors can examine real shells, play a mussel matching game, and uncover the amazing life cycle of mussels, including their remarkable partnership with fish. Suitable for all ages.
• Nature Story Time, July 4th from 9:30-10 a.m. meet near the Visitor Center: Join a naturalist where we will read a story and learn about the natural world. The book for this program will be “The Prairie That Nature Built” by Marybeth Lorbiecki. We will explore the prairie ecosystem and investigate the animals and plants that call it home. This program is most suitable for children 10 and under.
• Osprey Watch, July 4th from 10:30-12:30 drop by near the Visitor Center: Learn some interesting facts about Osprey and look through a spotting scope at the local nest. Located near the Visitor Center area.
• Motifs and Mascots: Minnesota’s State Symbols from 2:30-3:30 inside the Visitor Center: What do the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, Morel mushroom, Monarch butterfly, and the Ursa Minor Constellation have in common? They are all state symbols of Minnesota! Come learn about the state symbols of Minnesota, why we have them, what ones you can see here in Afton State Park, and come up with your own Minnesota state symbol!

Astronomy

In the morning on Saturday, July 4th, look in the east before sunrise for the planet Mars, which has an orangish-red color. If you have binoculars, look for the planet Uranus near Mars. Uranus is green in color.

Birds

Birds seem to be everywhere you look at this time of year. On the prairie look for Eastern Kingbirds, Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and Ring-necked Pheasants.

In the woods, along the edges of the woods, and in marshy areas you might see American Goldfinches, Cardinals, Song Sparrows, Cedar Waxwings, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

And near the St. Croix River and Trout Brook look for the various members of the Heron family. You are most likely to see them wading in the water, hunting for fish, frogs, crawfish, and insects with their long spear-like bills. You may also see them roosting in trees. Some species you might spot are the Great Blue Heron, the Black-crowned Night Heron, the Green Heron, and the Great Egret.

Insects

The Monarch butterflies on the wing now are the first generation born in Minnesota this year. Their parents arrived from points south around mid-May. They mated and the females laid eggs on milkweed plants. The eggs hatched after about four days. The little caterpillars first eat their eggshells, and then they start eating milkweed leaves. They eat and eat and eat for about two weeks, pausing several times to shed their skins. Shedding their skins as they grow allows them to get bigger and bigger. Next the caterpillars pupate; they attach themselves to a plant or tree and form a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis the caterpillars take from eight to 15 days to metamorphose into butterflies.

If you think moths are all gray and boring, you haven’t seen a Great Tiger Moth or a White-fringed Emerald! The Tiger Moths have a bold spotted pattern, and their underwings are orange with black spots. And they sometimes have black stripes on their abdomens! The variations in coloring lead to some being called GardenTiger Moths, but they are the same species, and live in the circumpolar regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Alders, Cherries, and Willows are among the host trees for Tigers, and Birch, Maple, and Willow trees are host trees for Emeralds.

Many dragonfiles and damselflies are on the wing. Dragonflies rest with their wings held open. Damselflies rest with their wings together. As is the case with birds, the males often have more flashy coloring. The 12-spotted Skimmer has 12 black spots on its wings, and the male also has 12 white spots. The male Common Whitetail has a dusky-white abdomen, while the female has a brown abdomen with white spots down its sides.

Amphibians and reptiles

Tadpoles have metamorphosed into young toads and frogs. Look for them moving about on the land near water. Tree frogs are still calling, though not as many and not as loudly as in past weeks. There are two species of tree frogs in the area, the Gray Tree Frog and the Cope’s Gray Tree Frog. Both species can change color from gray to green!

Mammals

Deer have changed from their winter gray coats to summer red. Young fawns are becoming more independent, though they still have their spotted coats. Bucks have started to grow antlers. Growing antlers are said to be “in velvet” due to the fuzzy coating on the antlers as they grow. Look for deer at dawn and dusk. Animals that are active at dawn and dusk, like deer, are called “crepuscular”.

Plants

Look for Butterflyweed, Leadplant, Black-eyed Susans, St. John’s Wort, Harebells and Hoary Vervain blooming on the prairie.

It’s berry time! Look for both wild strawberries and wild black raspberries. Tasty treats for hikers!! And in wet areas look for cattails shedding pollen.

Trees

At this time of year you may see Ironwood seeds forming and think they are flowers. The Ironwood flowers were little catkins that bloomed earlier in the year; in early July the papery seed capsules look rather like flowers. Ironwood is a common understory tree, with elliptical leaves that are double-toothed.

Weather observations

Here are some weather observations from past years.

Friday, July 3	2021: Sky hazy from western wildfires. Hot and humid, in 80s
Saturday, July 4	2024: rain most of day, in the 60s, with sun about 7 pm; 2012: record high of 101°
Sunday, July 5	2024: rainshowers off and on through the day; 2020: hot through mid afternoon, in the 90s, with a thunderstorm knocking the temperature down to the high 70s for a short time
Monday, July 6	2024: sunny and in the 80s; storm clouds with no storm; 2021: rain through the day, ¾” in all; 2016: record rainfall of 2.83”
Tuesday, July 7	2021: high in low 60s
Wednesday, July 8	2025: cloudy afternoon, 80s; 2024: sunny with a pop- up thunderstorm late afternoon; 2022: light rain early, low in the 70s; 2020: heat advisory, with high in the low 90s
Thursday, July 9	2024: sunny and hot, 80s; 2020: thunderstorm in early morning, then clouds with a high in the 70s. Humid.; 2000: record rainfall of 2.55 inches

Photo/image credits

All photos and images used by permission.

Copyright Nina Manzi, except:

• Keith Henjum: Cedar Waxwing
• Sherri Holliday-Sklar: Great Blue Heron
• Dean Lokken: Buck deer in velvet, Eastern Kingbird, Great Egret, Silver-spotted Skipper, sleeping Fawn, Tree Swallow
• Gary Sater: American Goldfinch, Cardinal, Eastern Bluebird, Green Heron, Ring-necked Pheasant, Song Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Jane Williams-Peterson: Wild black raspberries