Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
"Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in phenology this year. We had our 5th grade celebration on Saturday and a graduating senior came back to talk to the fifth graders. She said that the 'first and most meaningful data set I ever collected was here during our phenology project.' She's off to Carleton next year."
Justice Page Middle School in Minneapolis
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Rowan and Madelyn reporting from Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of June 1.
“This was a big week for bird sightings, as more and more migrants are arriving and the birds that are here are busy at our feeders and singing in the mornings.
“Some of our new sightings were Savannah Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, Black and White Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, American Redstarts, Red-eyed Vireos, and a Warbling Vireo.
“The Baltimore Orioles have provided a great splash of color as they arrive at our jelly feeders and hummingbird feeders.
“We have also been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of some Indigo Buntings and Scarlet Tanagers.
“We also received a report of an Orchard Oriole and a Red-headed Woodpecker, and a classmate saw the first firefly of the year.
“One of our classmates was able to get a good look at a leucistic Canada Goose, which was primarily white, but there was enough coloration to make identification possible.
“We are seeing a lot of wild columbine growing in dry areas and ditches, and several people have found wild geraniums blooming in the woods
“With people spending some weekend time on the lake, we have made a lot more loon sightings this week, including several that are sitting on their nests.
“Speaking of nests, our rooftop Killdeer have hatched, and there are 4 young birds that are running around outside our windows, with both of the parents present.
“We have also seen red fox kits near their den, and also a group of 7 coyote pups running around in a field.
“After each rainfall this week, most of our sidewalks and vehicles are coated in a thin layer of yellow pollen, and the red oak catkins have fallen from the trees this week.
“American toads have also been a common sighting, and one classmate even watched as a garter snake grabbed ahold of a much larger toad, but the toad eventually won the battle and escaped.
“Two different students observed Green Herons this week, one in a tree, and another standing on a shoreline.
“We have also seen groups of cormorants and pelicans flying above our lakes, and Turkey Vultures continue to be a common sight.
“One of the best sightings this week have been groups of yellow lady slippers, or ‘moccasin flowers.’
“This is our final report for this school year, thank you for letting us participate in this program. Until next year, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Pete, Lewis and the students from Highland Catholic School in St. Paul.
“During our trip to Long Lake Conservation Center on May 28-30, sunny skies ruled the day, but on Friday you could hardly tell because haze from the wildfires filled the sky. The high temperature was 76 degrees and the low was 44.
“One of the highlights of the trip was finding a GINORMOUS water bug during Lake Bottom Organisms class. The beast was just shy of seven inches long, and nearly spanned the entire bottom of a five-gallon bucket. We named it Gurt of the Lake.
“During our orienteering race, someone in our group saw a fawn. A good number of pink lady’s slippers are blooming in the bog. Near one of the lady’s slippers we found a dead muskrat. The bog is not a natural habitat for muskrats, so our guess is that a bird of prey - probably an owl - killed it on the lake and carried it into the bog to eat.
“There’s plenty of poison ivy in the woods, but the mosquitoes and ticks were surprisingly not too bad. On the feeders, we observed a Red-headed Woodpecker, House Finch, chickadees, goldfinch, sparrows and, of course, red and gray squirrels.
“Our group also saw a hummingbird flying overhead and a red velvet mite on a path. A Long Lake Naturalist reported seeing a painted turtle laying her eggs. It was a great week in nature, and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
Additional note from Long Lake: The measurement of the water bug was a guess, and it was probably actually "only" about four inches. Still a beast.
North Shore Community School near Duluth
“Hello from North Shore Community School on the north shore of Lake Superior. This is the phenology report for the week of May 24, 2025. My name is Marcus, and I am your phenologist for this week!
"Mrs. Rolfe’s neighbor noticed on Sunday, May 25, that she has a female Scarlet Tanager feeding at her birdfeeder now along with the male Scarlet Tanager she saw a week ago. Teddy spotted a Northern Cardinal at his house on Friday, May 23. On May 28, Ari saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Chickadee Landing. On Tuesday, May 27, Tanner saw a Blackburnian Warbler in the school forest. Also on Tuesday, Ms. Rademacher’s class saw two Eastern Bluebirds in front of the school. On Wednesday, Ms. Rollo’s class saw the bluebirds by one of the nest boxes, and one of them was carrying nesting materials! Tobias heard the first Veery in their backyard on Wednesday, May 28. On Thursday, May 29, Ms. Urban heard a Catbird singing by the back parking lot as she arrived at school.
“On May 28, while Mrs. Rolfe’s class was out on the nature trail, they all noticed that the gnats were out in full force! Thursday, May 29, Isabel saw a spider egg sack by shelter 2 on one of the wooden benches.
"On Tuesday, May 27, the preschoolers found lots of flowering plants in the forest, including yellow violet, wood anemone, tall bluebell, Carolina spring beauty, wild ginger, and blue violet. Also on Tuesday, Mrs. Rolfe saw that the common milkweed had sprouted and the apple trees had bloomed. On May 28, Mrs. Rolfe’s class saw several wild strawberries were starting to blossom and the hawthorn tree, near the school bridge, was also blossoming and the preschoolers found a blooming trillium.
“This concludes the phenology reports for this school year. Have a great summer, and be observant!”
St. Joe’s Elementary in Grand Rapids
Charlie Mitchell near Marine on St. Croix
“Good morning, John and Heidi. This is Charlie reporting from Marine on Saint Croix. Although we had some smoke over the weekend, it wasn't quite as bad as it was up north, so I was still able to get out canoeing despite my fears.
“Taking the risk really paid off! We got to see some Red-headed Woodpeckers (not Red-bellied, but Red-headed Woodpeckers) on one of the islands in the middle of the river. There was an adult and what I assume was its mate flying around out there. I know they prefer golf courses or other open areas with a few trees, and it seemed like they were happy on that island (which has some trees and a lot of open rush meadows). I hope they're doing well, and I hope they have some offspring that are successful. It was fun to see those. I've never seen them in Minnesota before, although I know they're here.
“Other things of note: I got to see a hatchling painted turtle. It was up on the bank of the river, basking its little quarter-sized self.
“On the other side of the turtle size spectrum, we saw a gigantic female softshell turtle in a backwater. There's a lot of seaweed floating at the surface of this back water, and the turtle had swum up and rested on top of all of it, kind of sunning itself in the little pocket of warm water. As we canoed by, it made a big ‘swish’ and we saw it forcing its way through the aquatic vegetation as it escaped. So, that was fun to see.
“In plant news, we have some Salomon seals flowering and there are some dogwoods flowering. I would tell you what species, but I'm not entirely sure. The Virginia waterleaf is still flowering quite a bit. We've seen some hummingbirds coming and going from them.
“It is green, lush, and a delight to be outside. I hope you guys are having a good morning and I will talk to you soon. This is Charlie Mitchell: Going hither and thither on the Saint Croix River.”
Ron near Wabana
Jodi near Duluth
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).
