We're 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.
Seasonal reassurances
As he tends to do when breaking news of fall, John Latimer starts this week with a bit of reassurance.
“This is the time of year when subtle changes begin to occur and signs of fall begin to amass,” he said. “But you need to remember that it will be a long time before you’re going to have to dig out your long underwear and find your snow shovels and all of that stuff. That’s not coming up anytime soon.”
Some of the signs of fall include reddening sumac and maple leaves, yellow ash and dogbanes, and brown-tipped cattails. The cattails begin to turn at their tips: it’s a slow process, but watch for browning and crisping at the tops of cattail marshes.
Plant progression
- Turning color: Sumac, red maple, black ash, basswood, dogwood, nannyberry, spreading dogbane, sarsaparilla, cattail and crabgrass.
- Done fruiting: Pin cherry and hazel.
- Fruiting: Chokecherry.
- Unripe fruits: Nannyberry.
Flowering: Gray goldenrods, flat-topped goldenrod (also known as grass-leaved goldenrod), tansy, sunflowers, mullein, evening primrose, black-eyed Susan, flat-top aster, many-flowered aster, large-leafed aster, purple-stemmed aster, heart-leaved aster and wild cucumber.
Roadside grasses and migrating birds
Look on the gravelly shoulder of roads for clusters of deep reddish-blue plants, the color of burgundy wine. These are due to the seed pods of crabgrass, a species that thrives in poor and disturbed soil.
While driving Tuesday morning, John scared up an American Woodcock. John found this a bit unusual, and suspects it was resting overnight on its way south for the winter. He also heard a flock of Canada Geese flying over as they flew south.
Rose-breasted grosbeaks are less-regular visitors to his bird feeder as they move out of the area. Male hummingbirds are still present and active, but John is expecting them to become rarer over the next few weeks. Females and juveniles will remain longer.
At this time of year, it becomes more important to notice and record when you see summer residents. “Lasts” are harder to record than “firsts,” since you can never know if a particular sighting is the last of the season until a few weeks have gone by! The only way to record firm sighting dates is to record them as you go.
If you have a hummingbird feeder, you can help them out as they migrate by increasing the concentration of sugar. A midsummer nectar should be around 1 cup of sugar mixed with 4 cups of water: a migration blend is best at 1 cup of sugar for every 3 cups of water. This gives them a bit of extra energy as they make their long trip south!
(Did you know they lose two-thirds of their body weight during the 36-hour, 600-mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico?)
Wildflower watching
Look for the 1- to 2-foot tall plumes of gray goldenrod: the golden flower clusters are held at a slight angle, about 20-30 degrees off center.
Flat-topped goldenrod, also known as grass-leaved goldenrod, lives up to its names: it has a much flatter flower cluster than other goldenrods, and long, narrow leaves that are more “grasslike” than other goldenrod species.
Asters can be difficult to tell apart. Minnesota Wildflowers has a great identification tool: I strongly recommend it! Seek and iNaturalist are also very helpful for identifying wildflowers.
Loon love
Finally, John is happy to report that the baby loon on nearby Crooked Lake is thriving. John's thrilled and feels like a happy grandpa!
That does it for this week! For more phenology, subscribe 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).
