By mid summer, many birders lose their enthusiasm for birdwatching jaunts (at least at their local hotspots). The migrants are gone and the well-known summer residents have settled into the business of raising their young. Heat often dampens one's interest in hiking and many of the country roads have turned to dust.
Of course, most birders are naturalists at heart and take an interest in other life forms as well. Summer is a great time to explore the insect population, an activity easily combined with "wildflower watching." Indeed, these colorful and interesting plants attract a wide variety of pollinators and this interaction is vital to the health of natural ecosystems. On this sunny afternoon, our stand of purple coneflowers (photo) was alive with dozens of bees, butterflies and other insects.
Shorebirds will begin to drift southward in a week or two and late summer vagrants will add a bit of spice to birding trips. In the meantime, I recommend learning more about some of our planet's smaller and more colorful species.
