GRAND RAPIDS — “Happy Halloween! I hope that your day goes very well and that you have more treats than tricks,” staff phenologist John Latimer began.
“Unless you’re the one pulling off the tricks. Then I hope they’re the funny kind of tricks, not the ‘tip over the outhouse’ kind of tricks. That’s not a funny trick, especially if you’ve got to stand the outhouse back up.”
How’s that for the start of a phenology report?
The skinny on snow
Snow was falling as John was on the air: the first real snow of the season! John records the first accumulation of more than a quarter-inch of snow as the first snow of the season.
On average, this event takes place around Oct. 5: the earliest in John’s records was Sept. 25, and the latest was Nov. 8. So, we’re certainly on the later end of the spectrum this year.
John reminded us to brush up on our winter driving skills and be sure to know how the brakes and tires perform in the dreaded “wintry mix” conditions of early winter.
In addition to changing the road conditions, the blanket of new snow may also change which birds you see under your feeder. Ground-foraging birds, such as Fox Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos, have to work much harder to find food under a blanket of snow. Once the snow gets deep, they’ll head south to find easier meals.
Snow Buntings
While you’re out driving slowly and carefully, keep an eye out for flocks of Snow Buntings along the roadsides. These winter residents typically arrive around Oct. 18, with the earliest arrival on record on Sept. 29 and the latest on Nov. 2. This year, John saw his first flock on Oct. 24.
These roaming flocks tend to settle near fields and roadsides, where they feast on weed seeds. They are itinerant birds, moving locations every few days as conditions change and food sources become depleted. When on roadsides, they’ll fly up as cars approach: look for prominent flashes of black and white to identify these welcome winter visitors.
I learned this week that Snow Buntings tend to be a bit slow to take off and are relatively more likely than other roadside birds to get hit by cars. Give ‘em a brake if it’s safe to do so! (Luckily, I didn’t learn this from personal experience: a member of the Ely Field Naturalists group sent out a public service announcement.)
John has blessed us with his knowledge and humor for four decades, and we’ll be honoring him throughout our autumn Membership Drive Nov. 13-19, culminating with a celebration Saturday, Nov. 19, at Klockow Brewing in Grand Rapids.
Birds on some turds
One memorable winter, John had the experience of watching a flock of Snow Buntings return to his neighbor’s field every night to sleep. Their cozy destination? A large pile of manure! Manure gives off heat as it decomposes, and the Snow Buntings took advantage of this to save energy on cold winter nights.
(Birder joke: Why would you expect this sort of poop-perching behavior from an American Robin? Because they’re Turdus migratorius.)
More commonly, you’ll find Snow Buntings sleeping deep in snowdrifts. Like Ruffed Grouse, they know that the temperature is quite stable under the snow, and spend the cold nighttime hours cuddled into a soft den of snow.
A surprise sparrow and flower
How’s this for exciting: John saw his first-ever Field Sparrow under his feeder. This is a beautiful red-capped bird with white wing bars and a clear breast with reddish “armpits.” The similar-looking American Tree Sparrow and Fox Sparrows have a black marking on their chest, which the Field Sparrow does not.
John and the students at Cohasset Elementary had another surprise find: A cranesbill in full flower. Cranesbills are a type of wild geranium. This particular plant had found a warm spot on the west side of Cohasset Elementary School, pressed up against the sun-warmed brick.
Plant progression
- Bare-branched: Bigtooth aspen, quaking aspen, birches, red oaks, maples.
- Colorful leaves: Tamaracks (changed from gold to orange and losing needles), cottonwoods, Lombardy poplar, weeping willow (yellow-green), native willows (yellow), elderberries (50% leaf loss, pale yellow), downy arrowwood (purple) staghorn sumac (hit peak color on Oct. 26).
- Flowering: Dandelion, hoary alyssum, red clover.
Species spotlight
John calls our attention to the tamaracks, which went from summertime green to neon yellow to gold. They have now turned from gold to orange and are shedding their needles. This color transition is delayed at the tips of the branches, where the newest growth is located. When most of the tree is gold, these young needles will still be green: when the rest of the tree is bare, these ragtag little needles will still hold on for a while. They’re certainly worth a closer look!
A distinctive tree that may have escaped your notice is the Lombardy poplar. These imported trees have a unique shape, with branches that grow straight up and tight to the trunk. They look almost cigar-shaped! Since they are imports, they take longer to change color and drop their leaves compared to our native poplar species.
A chromatic decrescendo
After a lingering fall season of spectacular, eye-popping color, the world is becoming more muted. Colors are still there, but it’s time to look for them more carefully and move your gaze downward to the roadside grasses and shrubs. There, you’ll find patches of yellow and russet grasses and the red stems of the red osier dogwoods contrasting beautifully with the white snow — a more muted display than the riotous colors of fall, but just as worthy of appreciation.
John concludes, “Green will return again in the spring. We’ll let you know when that happens, because this is the phenology show and that’s what we do!”
Important news
We’re celebrating a landmark- 40 years of phenology! John has blessed us with his knowledge and humor for four decades, and we’ll be honoring him throughout our autumn Membership Drive Nov. 13-19, culminating with a celebration on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Klockow Brewing.
The shindig starts at 6 p.m. and runs through 8 p.m. – please come join us and make the humble old dude desperately uncomfortable with all the attention.
(If you have any remarks, appreciative messages, or heckling comments that you’d like to share with John on this occasion, please send them my way: my email is cmitchell@kaxe.org.)
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)
