This week brings 13 reports ranging from the (comparatively) balmy climes of Amherst, Massachusetts, to the blizzard-beset region near Baudette. Enjoy!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your observations, nature tales and insights! Get in touch with me (cmitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text "phenology" to 218-326-1234.
Fort River Elementary School in Amherst, Massachusetts
“Here in Massachusetts, the sap on the maple trees is running, sugar shacks are making syrup, and we are enjoying it with pancakes and waffles!
“On Feb. 26, our day length was 11 hours, 4 minutes and 46 seconds. Our high temperature was 54 degrees and it lowered to 29 degrees at night. We’ve been switching back and forth between a few cold days and a few warmer days.
“It’s starting to feel like spring.
“We have started to observe some changes to our trees and shrubs. Buds are starting to grow on the trees and bushes, and we saw lots of skunk cabbage in the swampy section of the woods. It is just starting to poke out and it is a little green but mostly maroon.
“We flipped over many logs and found woodlice, mold and mushrooms.
“Some students saw tadpoles by the bridge that crosses over the shallow water near our garden.
Yellow spotted salamanders and frogs have started to cross a busy Amherst road to get to vernal pools to breed. The town has built tunnels to help the salamanders cross under the road. However, every year volunteers gather to help the frogs and salamanders that do not use the tunnel to cross over. This year, the migration to the vernal pools seems to have started about a month earlier than last year.
“That’s a wrap from the Western Mass Phenology Class!”
Prairie Creek Community School near Northfield, Minnesota
Ruby: "Hi, this is Ruby."
Viggo: "And this is Viggo. And we’re from Prairie Creek Community School, way down south in Northfield, Minnesota."
Ruby: "We’ll start with the obvious, folks — it was hot this weekend."
Viggo: "The temperature hit 74 degrees down here in Northfield."
Ruby: "It’s a lot cooler now, but it’s still above normal."
Viggo: "We’re wondering how all of this warm weather is going to affect things."
Ruby: "Some things seem the same. Viggo, Sophie, and Jaxon saw a lot of turkeys."
Viggo: "We always seem to see turkeys around here."
Ruby: "The woodpeckers are still hammering on my house."
Viggo: "Arlo saw geese flying west in a ‘V.’"
Ruby:: "And we are still seeing dead possums on the road."
Viggo: "But some things definitely seem early compared to earlier years. Hold on to your hats folks — there’s some data ahead."
Ruby: "We definitely have maple flowers. That’s a month earlier than we’ve ever seen them."
Viggo: "And the fly honeysuckle has bud break, which is also a month earlier than we’ve ever seen."
Ruby: "Amelia’s grandma saw the first robin flock on Feb. 27, and now there are flocks everywhere!”
Viggo: "Curiously, that’s about average for our robin flocks. Sometimes they come earlier and sometimes they come later. Our data points are all over the place."
Ruby: "We saw the first vulture yesterday, March 3, and that’s about three weeks earlier than average."
Viggo: "The Red-winged Blackbirds are back! We haven’t heard them yet, but they are on the telephone wires by the wetland."
Ruby: "This is the earliest we’ve seen them, but they are not too early. We have almost always seen them by mid-March."
Viggo: "This week has a few other sightings that aren’t necessarily ‘firsts’ but are still worth noting."
Ruby: "Sebastian saw a male and female Mallard on a pond."
Viggo: "We’ve seen a lot of starling flocks around this weekend — at least we think they’re starlings. They fly together in large flocks."
Ruby: "Kaia saw a bright red cardinal."
Viggo: "I saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk at my bird feeder. Not surprisingly, I did not see any other birds at my feeder that day!
Ruby: "Michelle saw an eagle on a nest."
Viggo: "And there were a lot of eagles flying around in pairs."
Ruby: "This has been Prairie Creek...”
Viggo: "One more step along the phenology journey."
Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington
“Hi, this is King, Norah, Gorden and Nora reporting from Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota.
“This week’s weather has been warm with a high of 48 degrees today. We’ve had no precipitation this week.
“In our animal observations, we noticed a dead woodpecker.
“With our plant observations, we noticed budding trees and a puffer mushroom.
“We are wondering how the woodpecker died and why is the mushroom green and dusty?
“That’s all for today. Stay tuned for the next OGE Phenology Club nature episode! Oak Grove out!”
Little Falls Community Middle School
“This is Brock and Logan reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of March 3.
“We have heard chickadees, cardinals, and Pine Siskins singing in the morning, and on Saturday, March 2, we spotted our first small group of robins.
“The lake and river ice is breaking up, and we have seen several flocks of swans and geese, and even one Snow Goose flock.
“The fuzzy willow catkins are very noticeable in ditches and next to ponds.
“There were three different bucks on a trail cam that were still carrying their antlers. Since there was more than one, it made us wonder if dropping antlers was stress related?
“Downy Woodpeckers have been hammering on trees, signs, ladders and eaves in the morning trying to attract a mate.
“We had a report of a Golden Eagle from a student. We first assumed it was probably an immature Bald Eagle, but there are some Golden Eagles that were tagged by Camp Ripley, so it is a possibility.
“We had a raccoon walk out onto the ice and attempt to steal fish from our bucket while we were night fishing.
“We did see two different foxes out during the daylight hours, which seemed unusual.
“That is our report for this week. Until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Eagle View Elementary near Pequot Lakes
“Today is Monday, March 4, 2024. We are bringing you this week's phenology report from Eagle View Elementary School.
“What a crazy weather week we had for the last week of February! We had wind, snow, sleet, below zero and sunny, warm weather. Our fourth graders tapped the maple trees near our school. They were having fun tasting the sap as it dripped out of the tree! The sap ran on the warmer days but didn't run at all on the colder days.
“We started our indoor twig experiment. We are watching to see which trees buds open first. So far, the maple buds are bright red and getting bigger.
“On Friday, Mrs. Trottier saw four swans flying above Rice Lake, which is mostly still frozen. On Saturday, she saw six swans, two Canada Geese and a coyote! The coyote was walking right across the frozen lake!
“Our first graders were citizen scientists in February when they participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count. They observed our backyard bird feeders, identified birds, and counted how many they saw. They spotted chickadees, sparrows, Blue Jays and a couple of Downy Woodpeckers.
“This is Claire and Callia reporting from Pequot Lakes. Bring on spring!”
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Claire, Vance and the students from Bertha-Hewitt Elementary School.
“During our outdoor school trip to Long Lake Conservation Center Feb. 26-28, the low temperature was minus 5 degrees, and the high temperature was 54 degrees.
“On our drive east and north to LLCC, we saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans on a frozen pond near Staples, a Bald Eagle and a pair of turkeys.
“When we got to LLCC, it was warm and sunny, so we checked the garter snake hibernacula and there were a few snakes out in the sun along the cement foundation of the garage. We also found active slugs on this warm day and noticed green grass, beaver-chewed trees and deer tracks.
“The second day was cold and windy. Very early in the morning, one of our chaperones saw a doe and two fawns on the shore of Long Lake. Later in the day we got to see five swans flying in a ‘V’, two eagles fighting in the sky, Dill Prickles the porcupine, and some squirrels sitting on logs.
“It was a great week in nature, and we want to remind everyone to… Unplug, get outside, and LIVE CONNECTED!”
This report is brought to you by Violet, Jaxon and the students from Our Lady of Victory School in Fergus Falls.
“During our outdoor school trip to Long Lake Conservation Center Feb. 28-March 1, the low temperature was negative 2 degrees Fahrenheit, and the high temperature was 51 degrees.
“It was a warm ending to a very warm February. The average February high temperature at Long Lake was 34 degrees, compared to the historical average of 25. The average low this February was 19.7 degrees, compared to the historical average low of 0. The February averages were closer to what we expect to see in mid-March.
“On Friday, it was so warm that the garter snakes came out of their hibernacula to soak up the warm sun.
“Our group saw lots of deer, including four that we observed from the windows of our rooms and a handful by the Dining Hall. Dill Prickles made a couple of appearances, and we all got a close look. He looked very cute drinking water.
“The temperatures were mostly below freezing, so the maple sap wasn’t flowing.
“One of the highlights of the trip was listening to the lake sing. We learned that the singing is caused by the expanding and contracting of the ice, causing cracking that vibrates and makes noise. It was really loud.
“At the feeders, we saw a female Hairy Woodpecker and a Common Redpoll.
“The snow is gone, and spring is on the way. It was a great week in nature, and we want to remind everyone to… Unplug, get outside, and LIVE CONNECTED!”
This report is brought to you by the 10th Annual Phenology Gathering at Long Lake Conservation Center.
“Hi, this is Jessica and Rebecca reporting from Long Lake Conservation Center. We were here for the annual phenology gathering and these are some of the things that we saw.
“There was no snow here and because of that, we could see a lot of plants, including the pitcher plants.
“When it comes to the woody plants, we saw some buds swelling on the alders. We also noticed some garter snakes moving around. We saw some red squirrels eating acorns, and deer running across the frozen lake.
“We heard a lot of things, too. We heard Pileated Woodpeckers drumming, grouse drumming in the bog, and we hear that when grouse drum, the deer ticks are out. So, we're going to check for deer ticks when we go home today.
“We heard turkeys gobbling and the robins calling. We were told these are the first robins of the year here at Long Lake. There were noisy geese overhead and nuthatches were foraging and conversing in the trees.
“We also heard noisy ice in the lake, and everyone was talking about how much they love the sounds of the ice.
“That's all from Long Lake Conservation Center! Unplug, get outside, and LIVE CONNECTED!”
North Shore Community School near Duluth
Due to time restrictions, italicized portions were cut for the on-air broadcast.
“Hello from North Shore Community School on the North Shore of Lake Superior. This is the Phenology Report for the week of Feb. 24, 2024. My name is Parker, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“Feb. 24 brought us a beautiful full moon called the Snow Moon. The Ojibwe name for this full moon is the Called Bear Moon. February’s full moon is a 'micro moon' this year. Think of this term as the opposite of a 'supermoon.' It simply means that the full moon is at its farthest point from Earth, not the nearest point.
“One of our local Duluth news stations reported that the month of February is the LEAST snowiest on record as recorded at the Duluth Airport. The snow total was 1.6 inches as of Feb. 28. Interestingly enough, the other Top 3 least snowiest winters also all fell on a Leap Year — one in 1896 with 2.1 inches of snow, the second in 1988 with 2.3 inches, and the third in 1888 with 2.4 inches.
“The average temperature for the 2023-24 year so far has been 25 degrees.
“Sunday, Feb. 25, while Mrs. Rolfe was at Brighton Beach, she saw her first two ducks and four geese since fall of last year.
“On Thursday, Feb. 29, Ms. Urban saw two Bohemian Waxwings feeding on the ground next to her driveway. Bohemian Waxwings and Cedar Waxwings can be found in mixed flocks, usually visiting the tops of trees to forage. They especially like to eat berries.
"In a mixed flock, Bohemian Waxwings are slightly larger than Cedar Waxwings. Bohemians have rusty-red undertails and gray bellies, compared to Cedars, which have white undertails and yellowish bellies. Both have the 'waxy' tips to their wings and the bright yellow band on the tip of their tails. Bohemian Waxwings are usually only seen in Minnesota in winter, and spend the summer in northern Canada and Alaska.
“On Feb. 27, Laura saw two crows who seemed to be fighting. However, upon closer inspection, she realized that they were in fact mating. This is unusual because crows normally start mating in March through April.
“On Wednesday, Feb. 28, Ms. Urban noticed that the maple trees had some wet spots on their bark. The warm temperatures at the beginning of the week would have caused the sap to flow, and if trees have broken branches or new wounds, the sap can leak out of the cracks to make the bark wet.
“On Thursday, Feb. 29, Ms. Urban noticed that on the big kids’ playground, the willow buds had burst. Many species of willow trees have fluffy, white buds that are easy to see when they burst.
“On Wednesday, Feb. 28, Ms. Jackson’s class wrote in their phenology journals at their sit spots. It was a bright, sunny day with a pure blue sky. The wind was frigid, and the temperature was 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Students could see their breath in the cold air.
"Not a sight nor sound of a bird or living creature was heard or spotted. There were only a few small patches of snow and ice. Students have been disappointed that we have not been able to snowshoe or ski this winter on our school nature trail.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week and be observant!”
Cohasset Elementary School
“Hello, we are in Mr. Lindner’s fifth grade science class in Cohasset Elementary School. We have made a lot of observations over the last past week.
“Last week on our nature walk, we observed and identified types of lichens growing on trees. We noticed lichens everywhere once we started looking for them. We identified three different types of lichens using our field guide. They were sinewed bushy lichen, which were a furry, pale green. We also identified the common fire dot, which was orange, and the star rosette lichen, which was pale green-white with black dots.
“There have been many swans and ducks on the open water of the Mississippi. Maggie saw a type of beetle on the bark of a tree and Josette saw a spider on the outside of her house. Maggie also said she saw a robin at a park near her house.
“We are going to be recording the average daily temperature. Once the total gets to 220, we should be seeing ice-out on lakes.
“We are looking forward to another week of observations. Thank you for listening! Like Mr. Latimer always says: 'Onward and awkward!'”
Science Nature Adventure Program at Bemidji Middle School
“Hi, this is Mason. It’s been a very warm February, and we lost all of our snow at the Bemidji Middle School.
“For our scheduled snowshoeing field trip, we ended up hiking it instead. There were record high temperatures that day, with a big change in store the next day. We felt about a 35-degree temperature change in 24 hours. Unfortunately, it only dropped a couple inches of snow. There was no ice left along the Turtle River.
“We saw signs of beaver along one part of the trail and were able to see moss that would normally be covered by snow.
“Some other observations recently were higher temps, red squirrels, Pileated Woodpeckers and other birds. There have been Trumpeter Swans along open water. Someone smelled and saw a skunk.
“Other things seen were: ladybugs, fox and deer moving around. There have also been some people tapping maple trees!
“Until next time... Snap to it! Get into the wild and be observant!”
TrekNorth High School in Bemidji
“Hello from TrekNorth High School in Brrrrrmidji, Minnesota! I’m Ano and I’m Sabin and we are going to share what we did in nature with our stats class the week of Feb. 26-March 1.
“We went for another walk today to work on our observation skills. It finally snowed this week, so we decided to stay on the sidewalk. We noticed there wasn’t as much to observe when we weren’t right in nature. We wrote some more sentences that would make our English teachers proud:
- Gale wrote: “Distant dissipating rows of clouds grace the morning dawn, a lovely prelude to the rise of spring. Oh, and I saw a bird.”
- Carter wrote: “I saw the brown grass coming out of the cold snow.”
- Matthew wrote: “I heard a bird call this morning walking outside of my houseski.” <laughter>
“Other observations included:
- Seeing a skunk on the side of the road on our way to school.
- Swans flying overhead as we began our walk.
- Tracks of birds, rabbits, squirrels and deer in the snow along the sidewalks.
“One last thing to report: we have been trying to track the path of the sun as it comes in our classroom window. We mark the top right corner of the light coming through the window every day at 9 a.m. This is much harder than it sounds! We have included a picture of our progress for you to see. You will need to zoom in to see the marks.
“From TrekNorth High School in Bemidji, I’m Ano and I’m Sabin and we’re doin’ math (and stats!) in nature.”
Lake of the Woods School in Baudette
“This is Braylee with the phenology report from Baudette for Feb. 26-March 1.
“On Sunday, three Trumpeter Swans were spotted in a wheat field west of Baudette.
“On Tuesday, a blizzard covered up all of our brown grass and snow-free fields as well as cancelled school.
“Finally, the Rainy River appears to be opening up early. There’s plenty of open water near Birchdale.”
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).
