Remember 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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Thanks to our beloved phenology students and teachers, we have six reports for you this week!
Students at the Waubun School Forest saw a flying squirrel up close, our friends at Long Lake Conservation Center spotted turkey toms strutting (a great sign of spring), and our Baudette students’ schoolyard magpies started to nest.
Eagle View Elementary
“Welcome to our April 3 phenology report from Eagle View Elementary School. On our Thursday phenology walk we found a lot of ice crystals that had formed on pieces of grass and ice along the gravel road. We could see the branches growing out on each crystal. There were a LOT of deer tracks frozen in the mud on the road.
“We saw a few nuthatches at the birdfeeders. There have been two geese and two swans on the open water on Rice Lake but they were not there Thursday morning. The water had frozen overnight. There were a lot of tracks on the ice leading right up to the open water. We couldn’t tell with our binoculars if they were bird tracks or, we were guessing, a fox, coyote or otter.
“Our fourth graders have tapped five maple trees so far but the sap has not started running yet. The forecast calls for a lot of snow Tuesday and Wednesday, so maybe by the end of the week we can start collecting sap. This is Alexa and Vivian reporting from Pequot Lakes. Still waiting for spring!”
“Aren’t we all?” John responds. The geese and swans waiting for open water on the ice are a small encouraging sign of spring’s arrival, though the lack of running sap is not as hopeful. John suspects it will be a short maple syruping season.
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
“Our spring trip to Long Lake Conservation Center March 29th through the 31st turned into a winter trip. Our group saw a cluster of garter snakes basking in the sun. It looked like they might have regretted the decision to leave the hibernacula.
“A large group of turkeys were spotted and a Long Lake naturalist said he saw one tom strutting. It was the first sighting of toms in strut this year. We also smelled a skunk at night. These are all sure signs that spring weather will eventually get here.
“The sap of a few maple trees started to run a little last weekend, but stopped with the return of winter temperatures. This means that we are officially a week behind last year. Two chipmunks were observed chasing each other, and coyote tracks were seen in the snow. On Thursday morning, some people heard coyotes howling loudly for about half an hour.
“The crust on the snow was described by (St. Joseph’s School) Principal Teresa Matetich as ‘distrustful to walk on.” The snow in the open near the bird feeders was measured at 17 inches deep. This is 7 inches less than last week. There was a low spot in the woods where a chaperone broke through the crust and sunk up to his waist. In other words, there is still A LOOOOOOOTTTT of snow left to melt. We saw a variety of interesting tracks in the snow, including turkeys, coyotes, rabbits, deer and mice.
“The usual assortment of birds was observed at the feeder and in the forest. This included chickadees, nuthatches, Pileated Woodpeckers and Blue Jays. Our group also trekked into the bog, where we ate leaves from the Labrador tea plant. Mars, Venus and the international space station were visible during astronomy class.
“Dill Prickles the porcupine was very active during our trip. He was spotted in his favorite red oaks, napping in a Norway pine, and on the ground crossing the path. Everyone got a good, close look at him. We had a great time in nature and we want to remind everyone to … unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
John’s shocked that garter snakes are out basking. “I can’t even imagine what those snakes were thinking,” he says. (I’d hazard a guess they’re just as eager to get out of their winter hibernacula as we are!)
The fact the sap run is already a week later than last year is quite discouraging. As John pointed out last week, last year was the third latest spring in John’s records. If we’re trailing behind even that delayed spring, we’re in for a long haul. Momma Earth is sleeping in this year, that’s for sure!
John enjoys the taste of Labrador tea leaves as much as the next fella, but he notes they are toxic in large quantities.
"You can pick a leaf and chew on it and taste it a little bit and enjoy the bitterness, but ... you wouldn't want to have like a soup made out of Labrador tea leaves," he explains. "It would probably upset your stomach pretty violently."
North Shore Community School in Duluth
“Hello from North Shore Community School on the north shore of Lake Superior. This is the phenology report for the week of March 25, 2023. My name is Elliot, and I’m your phenologist for this week!
“WEATHER/TEMP/SKY: On Sunday, March 25, we had 12 hours and 25 minutes of daylight. This is an increase of 22 minutes from last week. Tuesday, March 28, was the first-quarter moon. This is when exactly half of the moon is illuminated. Did you know that a planetary alignment of five planets — Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Uranus — were lined up near the moon and were visible for a short time this night on the western horizon? What a sight to see!
“Mrs. Markon’s kindergarten class has one final measurement on their snow drift that they have been monitoring this winter. It is now 5 feet, which is 11 inches shorter than their previous measurement. As of March 29, Duluth is at No. 6 on the record snow season list with a total of 125.8 inches of snow.
“MAMMALS: On Sunday when driving home, Rio saw a black bear. Black bears are becoming more frequently sighted as we’ve experienced warmer temps and melting snow. On March 28, Indie saw a wolf dragging a dead deer across the highway. On Thursday, March 30, Ms. Jackson had a raccoon lurking around her house during the daytime in the search of food.
“BIRDS: Ms. Urban was watching bird migration at Enger Park on Saturday, March 25, and saw a Golden Eagle! These birds nest in northwestern Canada and Alaska, so this particular bird is migrating hundreds, if not thousands of miles, to get to its summer grounds. On Monday, March 27, Ms. Urban heard a Northern Cardinal singing outside her house as she was leaving for school.
“TREES/PLANTS: On Saturday March 25, Ms. Urban noticed that some of the aspen buds at Enger Park had burst. On Sunday, March 26, Ms. Jackson noticed the tulips in her flower garden had started sprouting! This week classes have tapped maple trees in our school forest. We are eagerly awaiting the time we will have enough sap to boil into maple syrup!
“OTHER: On Saturday, March 25, Mrs. Rolfe saw her first fly buzzing about in her home. On Monday, March 27, Ms. Jackson spotted an Asian beetle on her bathroom floor.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week, and be observant.”
John is thrilled Elliot noted the extra 22 minutes of light we’re gaining each week. This high rate of increasing sunlight will continue for a bit before slackening off as we approach the solstice. John also recommends taking a look at the planets, if you have access to a telescope (or have steady hands and a good pair of binoculars). Jupiter, Venus and Mars can be seen with the naked eye, and Mercury is best seen right around sunset or sunrise. John has never seen Uranus without the aid of a telescope.
Tulips emerging in gardens is normal for this time of year. He’ll cover that more in this week’s phenology report!
Waubun School Forest
“Boozhoo Gidinawemaaganinaanag: Hello all my relatives. We are Owen, Kyra and Reed with the Waubun School Forest phenology report. This week marks the end of March and the beginning of April, so that means it is getting warmer and wetter.
“The ice and snow are starting to melt. Skiing weather is coming to an end. Snow piles are getting smaller. The grass is starting to show under all the snow in a couple spots. There are more puddles of water around. It is getting more muddy. The ice on lakes is starting to get thinner. The sun is starting to come out behind the clouds more often. The clouds are starting to change. We used to notice more cumulus clouds, but this week we observed cirrus clouds.
“We have sunlight for over 12 hours now. The sun is starting to rise earlier each day. We think next week the sun will start rising before 7 a.m. Cattails are starting to spread their seeds in the wind. We are starting to see more animal signs at the school forest. The deer are finally growing nubs. We are starting to see more geese and have also been spotting Dark-eyed Juncos.
“We saw a flying squirrel yesterday. From our research, we think it was a southern flying squirrel because it had a white belly, it was about the size of a chipmunk, and it had a nest in a tree. We were surprised we saw it because flying squirrels are nocturnal. We wondered why it was out? Was it sick or just hungry? Thank you for listening to our phenology report. Living the Nature Life!”
John is excited to hear about the flying squirrel! He saw one last week, and remarks their big black eyes, soft fur and flattened tail make them absolutely adorable. Unlike other squirrels, flying squirrels’ tails grow fur mostly on the sides: this helps make the tail wider, providing more surface area for catching the air during gliding.
“Just to expose the dark side of the little flying squirrel, he’s the one living in your attic,” John explains. (Maybe YOUR attic, John, I’m not that lucky!) “They love houses as a home and their problem is that they have pretty much the opposite sleeping habits of you or I. They’re active at night and they sleep during the day, and so they’re all quiet when you’re not in your bedroom.
“But you crawl into your bedroom and get ready to pull the covers up over your head, and you hear the scritch-scratching in the ceiling and you’re like, ‘Oh no! Flying squirrels.’” (Unlike John, I’d happily sign up for that lullaby, courtesy of a real-life mammalian blanket.)
Sidenote: I was lucky enough to join the Waubun students last week, but fate was cruel to me — I missed the flying squirrel by ONE DAY. Just 24 hours separated me from the utter joy of seeing that cute little face up close! While lamenting this monumental injustice on my drive home, I wrote the following haiku:
A flying squirrel
Covered in peanut butter
Spreads joy, not jelly.
Despite this travesty and my broken heart, I must soldier on. Someday, the animal version of a Snuggie and I will meet, and the world will be set right!
Cohasset Elementary School
“Hello, my name is Adeline reading for Mr. Lindner’s fifth grade science classroom at Cohasset Elementary School. We have made a lot of observations over the past week.
“We are still gaining about 1 minute and 30 seconds per day of sunlight. As of April 3, we have about 13 hours of daylight. With this much daylight, we should start seeing more signs of spring after our impending snowstorm coming this Tuesday and Wednesday. We are also recording the average temperatures for the day to see if we can predict the ice out on local lakes.
“We have seen the pussy willows and the aspen trees break bud with fuzzy buds showing. We are also seeing lots of dragon teeth on the snowbanks, which means the sun's rays are getting stronger. Lots of snow is melting around trees, walls and dark spots due to the dark colors absorbing heat due to their high albedo and melting the surrounding snow.
“We have seen lots of swans, ducks, eagles and geese on the open waters. We are looking forward to the robins returning.
“Have a great week and like Mr. Latimer always says ... Onwards and Awkward!”
John is hopeful as the sunlight increases, every day will be a little bit better. Someone spotted a Great Blue Heron in the area, so John’s keeping his eyes out to spot one himself! He’s hoping to see one with the kids during their phenology walk next week.
John concurs the aspen trees are full of fuzzy buds, much like the pussy willows. The buds on the trees are harder to see, since they’re further away. A pair of binoculars comes in handy!
Lake of the Woods School in Baudette
“This is Hadley with the phenology report for March 25 through 31. All week, Verena and her sister have observed deer bedding in the woods next to their house. On Sunday a skunk scampered across Mr. Pierson’s lawn at 2:30 p.m..
“On Wednesday, our resident pair of magpies began work on their nest. It appeared that Dad was collecting sticks and building the nest while Mom looked on with approval. Finally, the maple sap flow came to a freezing stop this week with 24 hour freezing temperatures. Hopefully next week warms up!”
John points out even when the sap does start running, it’s going to be a workout getting it out of the woods and to your boiler! This deep snow makes for a heavy haul.
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).
