Understanding phenology can help us better understand the natural world around us. However, observing phenological changes is not limited to wild areas. Agriculture and food security is also linked to climate and phenology. Autumn is a great time to visit your nearby farmer's market to support local growers and see what seasonal foods are available in your area. If you plant your own seasonal gardens, there are several crop species that can be observed through Nature's Notebook. Simply visit our species list and under "advanced settings," filter plant species by "crop" to see what crop species are available to observe. 

Autumn is an opportunity to learn from indigenous people about how to grow and harvest food. There has been a recent movement to understand Native American agricultural practices as a way to live more sustainably, and also respect the people and cultures who have long stewarded the lands we currently occupy.  

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Pollinators are vital to human livelihoods and food security locally and globally. Addressing global issues can seem overwhelming when you want to take action as an individual, but there are measurable impacts that you can make to support pollinators. Recently, a study conducted by Bristol University found that small urban gardens can be a valuable resource for local pollinators. They found that if urban gardeners plant strategically they can ensure that there is a continuous supply of open flowers and available nectar. You can use Nature's Notebook to observe when your garden has open flowers available through the year, and when pollinators are utilizing your garden. 

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Ava Lasater is a returning undergraduate student at the University of Arizona majoring in Bioinformatics and is in the Honors College. Ava is from Golden, Colorado, and is interested in climate change and how changes in the environment and ecology affect human health.

Viviana Beltran, originally from San Luis, AZ, has always had a passion for STEM educational outreach in underrepresented communities such as her hometown. She received her Bachelor's in environmental science in 2021 and is currently a graduate student at the University of Arizona studying educational psychology to bridge the gap between environmental science knowledge and educational community outreach.

Carla Arreguín is an undergraduate student from Mexico City in an internship program with the USA-NPN. She is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Geography at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and is currently doing her thesis project in the impacts of climate and land use change in species of fireflies. She has always been interested in the environment and biodiversity, and how they are affected by human activities

Nature's Notebook data have been used to identify critical windows of opportunity for treating invasive plans and insect pests. For example, data collected through Natures' Notebook has been used to identify when invasive buffelgrass is green enough to spray with herbicide, but has not yet spread its seeds. In the coming months, the USA-NPN will create Pheno Forecasts for management of cheatgrass and red brome.

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Researchers have found that while global warming can delay the date that plants begin the aging process and re-absorb nutrients (date of foliar senescence), warming-associated drought can actually stimulate earlier aging, which can impact carbon uptake in terrestrial ecosystems. This important research exemplifies the importance of studying not only how temperature change can affect phenology, but changes in water availability as well. 

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Komodo dragons live in habitats with year-round high temperatures, but concentrated summer rainfalls. Researchers recently examined how these seasonal changes affect the phenology of Komodo dragon reproduction, growth, movement, and survival. They found that reproduction, hatchling emergence, and movement were influenced by seasonal changes, but growth and body condition were not. More research may be needed to understand how seasonal changes affect the survival rate of these impressive reptiles. 

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As summer days shorten and temperatures drop, some plants respond with a beautiful change to their leaf color. Leaf coloration happens when it has been cold enough for a long enough period of time to cue the trees to shut off the exchange of water and protein between the leaf and the tree. This shut-off ends the production of chlorophyll (which gives green color to the leaves), and protects the tree by preventing damage caused when water inside the leaf freezes.  This Nature's Notebook nugget examines when to record changing leaf color, and how to estimate the intensity of your fall leaf color.

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BirdCast, powered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Colorado State University, and UMassAmerst provides tools where you can view migration forecasts, see real-time analysis maps of nocturnal bird migrations, and use their local migration alert tool to determine whether birds are passing over your city tonight!

Check out the BirdCast visualizations »

The Foliage Report is a weekly autumn report which tracks fall foliage change throughout the United States. The report is compiled by aggregating data from multiple sources into easily viewable interactive maps.

See the fall color report in your region »