Phenology Talkbacks: Has Old Man Winter given up yet?

“Hi, this is Miles, Miles and Owen reporting from Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota.

“We are having temperatures ranging from the high 20s to highs near 50.

“Today we tasted some sap right from our maple tree. It tasted like water with a hint of sweet, like coconut water.

“Our animal camera spotted a possum, we saw deer tracks in the mud, and we heard a Red-bellied Woodpecker for the first time all year.

“The buckthorn is starting to bud, and our oak has finally lost all of its leaves, and the maple tree is budding bright orange buds.

“That’s all for today, stay tuned for the next OGE Phenology Club nature episode. Adios and toodles!”

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Chad Kaddatz

“This is Nash and Trey reporting from Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of April 13.

“Common Loons and Otters have become a familiar sight on bodies of water.

“There was a sighting of a garter snake, and a classmate had the first wood tick of the year this past weekend.

“We have seen our first Eastern Phoebes and Tree Swallows of the year this week, and on Sunday the returning Golden-crowned Kinglets arrived.

“If you are near any shallow pond water, you will hear a continuous chorus of frogs.

“We did see a paper wasp near a home. It would be a queen, probably looking for a location to build her nest.

“There was a sudden change in the sightings of Northern Shrikes, which tend to be somewhat rare. We are guessing that there is a group that migrates north and was suddenly in the Little Falls area.

“There are mayfly larvae swimming around in the streams and rivers, and gnats and midges are starting to appear in swarms.

“The first blooming hepatica was found on Sunday.

“There was a small orange butterfly spotted on Sunday, and we think it was a gray comma.

“We spotted 13 robins feeding on the apple trees outside our classroom window.

“There was a report a Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawk on the same day, both being pestered by smaller birds.

“A classmate had an American Woodcock sitting right outside his window one morning before school.

“We are seeing more and more Northern Flickers each day, typically feeding on the ground.

“We are starting to see hints of green that are showing up in our grass lawns.

“That is our report for this week, until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”

“Hi, this is Henry from St. Joseph Catholic School in Grand Rapids, Maria from St. Henry’s School in Perham, and Thomas & Josie from St. Stephen in Anoka reporting from Long Lake Conservation Center for April 9-11.

“The high temperature was 52 degrees, the low was 32 and we had some light rain during our trip.

“We are happy to report that Long Lake is 100% ice free, while the water was still too cold for canoeing class we did see Trumpeter Swans, Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks and Canada Geese enjoying the water. A Belted Kingfisher was perched near the lake looking for a meal. Did you know Belted Kingfishers nest in burrows? The burrows can be 3-6 feet long!

“In the forest, Barred Owls were heard calling and grouse were heard drumming. Several chipmunks were seen, and one raccoon was hoping for a nap in the bog boot shed but made its way into the forest once it realized the shed had lots of human visitors.

“The smell of skunk was in the air and the pussy willows are in bloom. Red-winged Blackbirds were seen at Long Lake for the first time this year. When the sun is shining, the area near the hibernacula is very busy, once we counted 9 garter snakes!

“We had a muddy great time exploring nature and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”

“Hello from North Shore Community School on the north shore of Lake Superior. This is the phenology report for the week of April 5, 2025. My name is Owen, and I am your phenologist for this week!

“April is known as the Sugar Moon according to the Ojibwe. On Saturday, April 5, there was 13 hours and 1 minute of daylight. On Monday, April 7, around 6:45 a.m. Mrs. Rolfe heard, for the first time this year, the water running on Schmidt creek by the Old North Shore Road.

“On Tuesday, April 8, Ms. Jackson’s class visited their sit spots in the school forest. There were sparse amounts of snow and ice on the ground. Schmidt Creek had flowing water but also was still frozen in spots. On the afternoon of Wednesday, April 9, it started snowing. The snow flurries did not stick to the ground. It continued snowing and raining off and on through Thursday, April 10.

“Monday, April 7, Ellie spotted a ‘V’ formation of geese flying over her house. On Sunday, April 6, Ms. Urban heard a Sandhill Crane that was flying over her house. Almost every day this week Ms. Urban has heard grouse drumming in the school forest.

“Many students have reported seeing pussy willows in full bloom this week. Ms. Urban noticed the willows by the back staff parking lot had burst but haven’t fully flowered yet. On Thursday, April 10, Ms. Urban flicked the catkin of a speckled alder and pollen came off!

“On Thursday, April 10, Ms. Jackson’s class collected sap from their two trees on the nature trail. About 2.5 liters of sap was collected. It had been a few days since the last collection.

“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week, and be observant.”

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Alexus Checco

“Hi, this is Ashdon, Symphony, Honey, and Annelise reporting from Cherry School in Iron Junction, Minnesota on April 10, 2025.

“We have been noticing that it’s been snowing on and off for a couple days and frozen ponds are getting warm enough to de-freeze.

“On April 5, Bianka saw evidence that a black bear was in her family’s garbage can because there was garbage everywhere and paw prints.

On April 6, Kaitlynn saw a caterpillar on the sidewalk.

On April 7, Annelise noticed a lot of Canadian Geese. She saw a flock of 5 or 6.

On April 8, Ms. Alexus saw a Barred Owl perched in a tree on Iron Junction Road, near Cherry.

On April 7, Ms. Aufderheide saw a Northern Shrike sitting in a tree near Cherry.

“Today during our walk in the school forest, we noticed on the speckled alder that a bunch of catkins have been letting pollen come out when we flicked them. Last time we went out, no pollen came out.

“We still have not seen buds and leaves come out of the trees and bushes.

“This concludes our phenology report. This has been Ashdon, Symphony, Honey, and Annelise reporting from Cherry School. Nature rules!”

“This is Lucy, Howard, Adam, Stella, Eloise, and Camden with a report from North Star Elementary on April 10, 2025.

“This is Lucy. Ms. Kay had a skunk ripping into her garbage near Island Lake for the past two nights. Spring is when skunks become more active after their state of winter torpor. They’re out searching for food, a mate, or shelter.

“This is Howard. Yesterday started out kind of windy and rainy, but it turned to big fluffy snowflakes. 1.35 inches stayed on the cool ground and old snow piles, but it melted when it hit the sidewalks and streets.

“This is Adam. I saw two Canada Geese flying overhead this morning while I was out doing safety patrol.

“This is Stella. I saw a Wood Duck on the ground in rural Eveleth near St. Mary’s Lake. The lake is starting to thaw and the ice has melted away from the shoreline. Some of the ground is thawing too. I saw my first worm of the year on a sidewalk near our school today.

“This is Eloise. I have been hearing the Black-capped Chickadees, robins, Pine Siskins, and Dark-eyed Juncos on my way to school in the morning.

“This is Camden. Last weekend when I was walking by Silver Lake in Virginia, I saw a pair of swans by the open water near the power plant. I also saw a lot of gulls sitting and Canada Geese walking on the ice.

“This has been a report from North Star Elementary in Virginia. Keep exploring the great outdoors!”

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Emma Adams

Christian: “Hi this is Freddie, Christian, and Eldan reporting from Great Expectations School in Grand Marais MN, on April 11, 2025. The weather has been back and forth from warm to cold. Last Wednesday, April 2, we had a snow day. There were white-out conditions most of the day. Thursday it was still not clear enough, so we got a 2-hour delay. The Beavers Class measured 12 inches of snow that melted down to 2 inches of water. The snow was really wet.”

Eldan: “By today much of the snow has melted, only large snowplow piles, piles in the woods, and places farther from the lake can find snow. Around Betty’s creek behind our school has huge ice chunks next to the creek that kind of look like little glaciers. They are about a foot thick and don’t break when we jump on them. This week we have had a few small dustings of snow in the morning which have melted away before our first recess at 10:00 a.m.”

Freddie: “There has been a lot of sightings of Bald eagles and deer almost daily for students across the school. Before the snow, one student reported seeing snowdrop flowers in her garden. There have been increased sightings of grouse, seagulls, and a few geese as well. One student reported seeing two Snow Buntings. The pussy willow on our school property is budding and the green alder catkins are now soft and bendable, but we have not seen pollen come out of them yet. On our hike yesterday we found some coyote scat that had some hair and rocks in it.”

Christian: “This has been Freddie, Christian, and Eldan reporting from Great Expectations School. Where you can expect a great phenology report.”

This report was recorded on March 7:

“Hi, this is Jimmy, Jade, Illia and Eva reporting from Great Expectations School in Grand Marais MN, on March 7, 2025. We are back with the Great Phenology Report after a couple month hiatus.

“The weather over the last two weeks has been relatively warm. Much of our snow has disappeared. With the disappearing snow, the creek has completely melted and all the snowmelt from the playground, woods and road have filled it. The water is flooding over the bridge we built over the creek. This water sometimes freezes overnight and is a mix between ice, slush and water. The whole area has been closed for recess because there was a few too many wet socks.

“On the weekend of March 2, two students reported seeing pussywillow buds starting to break out. The students have started to notice many more buds on plants that have not opened yet like on maples, balsam poplars, and the alders.

“A number of Bald Eagle sightings have been made. One student has observed that there is a pair sitting in their nest near her house. We are thinking there is a good chance they have laid their eggs already, as there is someone in the nest every time she checks. The increased sightings also let us know that they are busy finding food so they can help with the nesting. We will keep an eye out for when they hatch. Pileated Woodpeckers and Blue Jays have been seen frequently as well.

“The sky has been very clear lately and we were able to see Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury in almost perfect line with each other, and last night was a quarter moon.

“This has been Jimmy, Jade, Ari and Eva reporting from Great Expectations School in Grand Marais, MN: Where you can expect a great phenology report.”

What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.

That does it for this week! For more phenology, <b>subscribe</b> to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.

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).