New life is seemingly everywhere this week, with baby fawns, birds, and newly metamorphosed dragonflies. Our friends at the Roots and Wings Forest School and Long Lake Conservation Center are here to fill us in: enjoy!
Please note as schools let out for the summer, we become more and more hungry for reports for our Phenology Talkbacks segment. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your observations, nature tales and insights! Get in touch with me (smitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text "phenology" to 218-326-1234.
Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills
Neta, Reagan, Russel, Deegan, Wyatt and Finlee reported from Leona Cichy’s class at Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills covering June 3-9.
“Monarchs have laid eggs and baby caterpillars are abundant. We saw worms and got a worm compost bin with red wigglers.
“We saw a lot of bugs: mosquitoes, wood ticks, ants, grasshoppers, crickets and a giant water bug. We saw a Great Blue Heron and a Pileated Woodpecker.
“While not at school, Neta saw a bear, Sally saw a Purple Martin, and I saw an elk and a pheasant.
“Thanks for listening. Go wild!”
John agrees: Get outside and go wild! He adds monarchs are less abundant right now than they were a few weeks ago. The monarchs that migrated north have laid eggs and died. (I mean ... they fluttered off to the Great Milkweed Field in the Sky?) So, there aren’t many adult monarchs to be seen, but their eggs and caterpillars can still be found by sharp-eyed butterfly investigators.
John also notes that the giant water bug is also known as the “toe-biter.” These 3-inch-long bugs prefer not to be disturbed and will live up to their name if they feel their space is threatened. You can learn more about them from this excellently titled article, “Don’t go chasing water bugs.” (I’d still encourage you to chase aquatic insects, just do so carefully!)
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
Thomas reported from Blaine’s Madison Elementary School, which took a trip to Long Lake Conservation Center:
“During our trip to Long Lake Conservation Center on June 5 and 6, the woods and waters were abundant with new life.
“One of the highlights was seeing a handful of pink lady-slippers in the bog. They are part of the orchid family and are as beautiful and delicate as they are rare. We don’t think they will be in bloom for much longer.
“Also in the bog, the flowers of the pitcher plant are about 8 inches high now and some of them have started to open. Labrador tea, bog rosemary and leatherleaf are also flowering. Our group also saw a monarch caterpillar. We also saw a single loon on the lake. That means the other is probably on the nest.
“We are happy to say that there has been a large hatch of dragonflies emerging from the lake. The most common dragonfly spotted was a widow skimmer. They are black and white and are pretty large. They won’t go hungry, that’s for sure. There are plenty of mosquitoes to eat.
“Our group saw many painted turtles, leopard frogs and toads. We expected to see snapping turtles on the move laying eggs, but I guess Mom is not ready yet. An unconfirmed sighting of Dill Prickles the porcupine was reported near the marsh on campus. If true, it will be the first sighting of our spiky friend in the last two weeks.
“On a sad note, one of our teachers found a dead fawn curled up in the grass.
“We had a great time in nature and we want to remind you to … Unplug, get outside, and LIVE CONNECTED!”
John has also found pink lady-slippers on his property, describing them as a “lovely member of the Cycpripediums, the slippered orchids,” and noting “they are quite rare and it's always a surprise and a joy to run into them.”
To find pink lady-slippers, check out local bogs and upland areas with sandy soils.
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
MaKayleigh, Dacey, Fransisca and Cielito of Pine Point School in Ponsford reported from their trip to Long Lake Conservation Center:
“During our trip to Long Lake Conservation Center June 5 through the 7, our favorite activity was canoeing! It was a good way to get a break from the mosquitoes and see some nature.
“We saw loons and otters on the lake and leeches swimming in the lake. The raspberries and the columbine are blooming. We found painted turtles; tiny ones and larger ones. The fluffy white cotton grass in the bog is up.
“The tent caterpillars were everywhere we looked. We saw monarch butterflies and tiger swallowtail butterflies. Out and about on the trails we met some garter snakes and a fawn.
“We had a great time in nature and we want to remind you to … Unplug, get outside, go canoeing, and LIVE CONNECTED!”
John hopes you’ll take their advice and get out there! If you do, you might be able to see the raspberries and columbine blooming, tent caterpillars making their tree-top tents, and even some Black-billed Cuckoos coming along to snack on the caterpillars.
Newstok family near Grand Rapids
Ruth, Pearl and Axel Newstok reported from their cabin near Grand Rapids:
“Hi John Latimer and Heidi Holtan, this is Ruth...”
“...Axel...”
“...and Pearl Newstok.”
“This week, a big momma snapping turtle walked all over our yard looking for a place to lay her eggs.”
“We spotted an eaglet in our eagle’s nest and we silently paddled past the loon’s nest and saw an adult loon on the eggs. She was hunched down, trying to hide from us.”
“We counted at least 11 yellow lady slippers growing along our road.”
“I hope we get a chance to go swimming with you at Tioga this year!”
“How long will it take for the snapping turtle eggs to hatch?”
“Heidi Holtan, would you like to come to our lake this summer? We’ll show you our favorite swimming spot.”
“Bye!”
“Bye!”
“Bye!”
John and Heidi are flattered and excited about the invites to go swimming with the Newstok family! John’s happy they’ve found the loon nest (and are sneaking by quietly, so as not to disturb the momma). John has found a trumpeter swan nest near his path to the lake, and the swan mom does the same “hunkering down” motion when he walks past.
John adds it takes about 80 days for snapping turtle eggs to develop and hatch; if you make a note of when the nest is laid, you can calculate out its estimated hatching date!
Chuck
Chuck texted the hosts Tuesday, June 13, saying:
“We had a Sandhill Crane attacking his reflection in our window this spring. It’s a little frightening.”
John and Heidi are both amused and alarmed at that image. As John points out, “a Sandhill Crane could probably strike a window hard enough to knock the glass out.”
That must have been an experience to remember!
As always, we hope to hear from you, dear reader. Let us know what you find out there.
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).
