Get Outside

Sound of Summer

Annual cicadas begin to sing this month. Their sounds are familiar and serve as the unofficial theme song of summer. In addition to their distinctive sounds, they make excellent fishing bait.

Bring the Prairie Home

Celebrate National Prairie Day — June 6 — by bringing the prairie to your own backyard. Plant some butterfly milkweed, New England asters, or purple coneflowers. For more information, visit Native Plants for Your Landscape at short.mdc.mo.gov/Zc8.

Berry Bonanza

If you’re a fan of berries, you’re in luck! Gooseberries, raspberries, and mulberries begin ripening in June. Get out and get picking before the birds, bugs, and other animals beat you to them. Once you haul your harvest home, look for recipes at short.mdc.mo.gov/Z3U.

Hopping Along

American toad tadpoles turn into toadlets and leave the water, sometimes in great numbers. Though toads are large, these emerging toadlets are among the smallest newly transformed amphibians. Keep a lookout for these diminutive hoppers.

Birds Abuzz

Birds are active this month, carrying food back to the nest for their babies. Some are getting their young ready to leave the nest. Watch for these fledglings, but do not disturb these immature animals. Enjoy the show our feathered friends provide from a distance. Curious onlookers can disturb nesting birds.

Register Now for Free and Discounted Landowner Permits

More than 90 percent of land in Missouri is privately owned, and landowners play a key role in maintaining healthy deer and turkey numbers by providing essential habitat.

Missouri resident landowners with 20 or more contiguous acres and nonresident landowners with 75 or more contiguous acres may receive free or discounted deer and turkey hunting permits by registering their properties in MDC’s new Landowner Permit Application.

Each qualifying landowner and each member of their qualifying household must apply to receive free or discounted permits. Submissions remain valid for three years from the original entry or from the last update.

Learn more and apply securely online at mdc.mo.gov/landownerpermits

To request a paper application:

• Email permits@mdc.mo.gov
• Call MDC Permit Services at 573-522-0107, select option 1
• Mail a request to Missouri Department of Conservation, Permit Services – Landowner, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180.

Natural Events to See This Month

Here’s what’s going on in the natural world.

• Bobcat kittens are born through the month
• Prickly pear cactus blooms
• Catfish young leave nests
• Northern watersnakes bask near water
• Wild turkey hatch at its peak.