It’s the best time of the week- Phenology Talkbacks!
Evan reports from Darcie Rolfe and Leigh Jackson’s class at North Shore Community School in Duluth. The warming weather has melted snow and ice, leaving bare patches on the ground, icy paths, and shrinking ice coverage on Lake Superior down to 5%. The average coverage for this time of year is 30-40%! The snowbank they’ve been tracking shrank a whole foot and 10 inches in one short week. The students have been having fun in their quinzees and tried their hands at making fire with flint and steel- it’s harder when it’s raining! Their other notable findings included a shrew, a Northern Saw-whet Owl (!), a wolf, and pair of Pileated Woodpeckers. They point out that the way to distinguish a male Pileated from a female is to look for a red ‘mustache’!
John thanks them for their report and agrees that the warming weather has made glare ice quite prevalent. He wonders if the shrew may have been a vole- both are common, but voles are more typically seen. John hasn’t heard a Saw-whet Owl yet, but is looking forward to it! Some of them stick around all winter, but others migrate.
This week's report is brought to you by Kenzie from St. Mary Help of Christians in St. Augusta, Zoey from St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton in St. Cloud and Julia and Avery from St. Andrew in Elk River. During our trip to Long Lake Conservation Center February 13th through the 15th, we experienced one of the first rains of the year, and the next morning – ice. In between the raindrops, we spotted a flock of eight Ruffed Grouse and a pair of Bald Eagles flying overhead. During one of our hikes, we found a well-used deer path across the Long Lake. In the middle of the path, we found a big patch of fur on the ground. On the feeders, we saw two Goldfinches, lots of Blue Jays, Nuthatches, and Pileated Woodpeckers. A male Downy Woodpecker was heard drumming, marking its territory for mating season. Our group found a Robin’s nest from last year. It’s a good time to go nest hunting. We also found a bunny den, and, of course, saw Dill Prickles the campus Porcupine. We spotted Dill in a Red Pine. One of the highlights was having Chickadees eating seeds from our hands. There are signs of spring all around, and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED.
John thanks them for the report and has finally heard the correct name for the porcupine- Dill PRICKLES, not Dill Pickles! A top-tier name for a porcupine, that’s for sure.
Angie Nistler, our Science Nature Adventure Program (SNAP) leader from Bemidji Middle School, sent this note:
“The students have been placing the trail camera in our school forest. We have two prominent deer paths near the wetland. This past weekend it captured a buck still holding its antlers which I think is kind of late? The image isn't great, but I wanted to share.”
John says that the latest on record is April 8th: older, more experienced bucks drop their antlers earlier than younger males.
Remember that you can add your voice to this list! Get in touch with me (smitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text "phenology" to 218-326-1234.
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Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
