This week, enjoy contributions from six schools as spring sprints toward summer!
Please reach out with your observations, nature tales and insights! Email me (cmitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text "phenology" to 218-326-1234.
Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield, Minnesota
Sophie: "Hi this is Sophie...”
Viggo: "...and this is Viggo, and we’re from Prairie Creek Community School way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Sophie: "We’ll start with the weather - it’s been warm here. On Friday, there was a double rainbow.”
Viggo: "And then many of us saw the Northern Lights late on Friday night. We were able to see them with the naked eye – but the colors came out on people’s phones. Now we’re wondering if all the colorful photos that we’ve seen in calendars would have looked like that in real life.”
Sophie: "It’s smokey down here today from the wildfires in Canada...”
Viggo: "...and the spruce trees are releasing their pollen in giant clouds. ACHOO!”
Sophie: "Speaking of spruce tips, they’ve finally emerged and we’ve been eating them at recess.”
Viggo: "The locust tree also has leaf out. And our mystery tree has leafed out! It is a… drum roll, please...”
Sophie: "WALNUT!”
Viggo: "Silas saw our first hummingbird, finally, on May 11.”
Sophie: “We have Blue Jays and robins nesting.”
Viggo: "Maysoon saw a field with over 20 Red-winged blackbirds.”
Sophie: "We’ve also seen Killdeers and pheasants.”
Viggo: "Anita’s mom saw goslings on her walk, too.”
Sophie: "Arick saw a bat...”
Viggo: "...Which is not surprising because we noticed more mosquitoes this week.”
Sophie: "The tiny swarming black ants are out on our sidewalks and a few folks have seen the flying lemon ants.”
Viggo: "Jimmi saw baby bunnies and Andrew reports that the fox kits are still hanging around their den.”
Sophie: "This has been Prairie Creek.”
Viggo: "One more step along the phenology journey.”
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Mariah and Savanna reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of May 12.
“Flowers on crabapple, plum, and cherry trees are very showy right now.
“We had another big week of new bird sightings. It seemed that everyone was seeing Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and orioles, and the hummingbirds have also returned to our feeders.
“We have spotted Yellow Warblers, Golden-winged Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Ovenbirds, Palm Warblers as well as Yellow-throated Vireos, Blue-headed Vireos, and Warbling Vireos.
“Lincoln’s Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Gray Catbirds were discovered, along with a rare sighting of a Red-headed Woodpecker.
“The mallards are nesting, Mr. Kaddatz stumbled across a hen sitting on her nest in the pine woods by his house, which is a long way from the nearest water, and some have spotted goslings swimming with geese already.
“We have spotted our first Jack-in-the-pulpits in the woods, and some lucky individuals are finding morel mushrooms.
“This weekend we noticed a large return of mosquitos, dandelions, and creeping charlie.
“Fluffy cottonwood and aspen seeds seem to be blowing everywhere.
“We have seen an orange sulphur butterfly, some silvery blue butterflies, and an Eastern swallowtail butterfly.
“A classmate noticed earlier this week that there is a lot of pollen floating on top of the river in calm areas.
“We did hear Mr. Latimer talk about being careful to keep his hummingbird food fresh. We were wondering how many days is OK for it to sit in the feeder.
“That is our report for this week! Until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Kaylee from Battle Lake Public School in Battle Lake, Angela from Good Shepherd School in Golden Valley, and Molly from Mary of Lourdes Middle School in Little Falls.
“During our outdoor school trip to Long Lake Conservation Center on May 6-8, the low temperature was 40 degrees and the high temperature was 72.
“The first hummingbird of the season was spotted on campus. Long Lake naturalists believe it was probably a scout, coming to see if food is available. There have been reports of orioles in the area, as well, but none were observed at Long Lake.
“A pair of bluebirds were seen at a birdhouse near the chef’s garden. We think they are going to build a nest in the birdhouse.
“Our group heard lots of frogs and saw a tree frog on the bench near the fire pit.
“Olive found a leech on the bottom of her canoe and the ticks were out in good numbers, despite the rain yesterday.
“Our group saw a number of baby turtles making their way to the lake. On the lake, we saw two loons and a beaver.
“On our bog trek, we got to eat cranberries. They were very sour.
“We observed a dragonfly, chipmunks, Red-winged Blackbirds and even saw a mouse in a room. We named him Tom and let him go back outside.
“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 Aubrey, Owen, another Owen, Kason and the students from Minnewaska Area Middle School in Glenwood.
“During our outdoor school trip to Long Lake Conservation Center on May 8-10, the low temperature was 36 degrees and the high temperature was 66.
“Our group spotted and heard the first oriole of the season. Serviceberries are blooming, aspen leaves are growing quickly and are now about the size of a quarter, and we saw the fiddleheads ferns sprouting from the forest floor. We found a number of newly hatched baby painted turtles and one person in our group helped one by putting it in the lake.
“The grouse were still drumming, which the Long Lake team said was a little late in the season for that. The frogs are croaking loudly in the marshes. They sound a lot like birds.
“The ground is muddy from the recent rain and we found some really cool tracks. In addition to A LOT of deer tracks, we also found what we think are wolf tracks and a bear paw print near the Cooperation Course. A neighbor reported capturing a bear on her trail cam and we found a large deposit of bear scat on campus. There are clearly bears in the area.
“Wild Turkeys are laying their eggs and we found two that were eaten by an unknown predator. There was a hole about the size of a golf ball in the side of the eggs. Both eggs were found near the edge of the bog where short-tailed weasels are known to live. We think it might be the critter eating the eggs.
“One person in our group ate a dandelion and we found lots of slugs. Unfortunately, we found a puddle filled with mosquito larvae. Mosquito season is coming soon. It was a great week in nature, and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside, and LIVE CONNECTED!”
North Shore Community School near Duluth
“Hello from North Shore Community School on the North Shore of Lake Superior. This is the phenology report for the week of May 4, 2024. My name is Cora, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“May is known as the Flower Moon Month according to the Ojibwe. On Saturday, May 4, we had 14 hours and 26 minutes of daylight. Just as the mud had started to dry up on our school playground, on Tuesday, May 7, students had to have inside recess due to rain. The benefit of all the rain is that our school grounds are filled with bright green grass.
“The first hummingbird was spotted on Monday, May 6. Keep an eye out for Baltimore Orioles as they have arrived! Jim, our school custodian, had one at his bird feeder on Wednesday, May 8. They enjoy grape jelly, orange halves, or sugar water in shallow glass jars. Orioles also feed on insects, wild fruit, and flowers for nectar.
“On May 7, Penny saw a Red-Breasted Grosbeak at one of her feeders. She also saw a bird she’s never seen before, a Blackburnian Warbler. She mainly had males in her yard, which have a bright orange throat, black triangles on their faces, a white patch on their wings, and a black back with white stripes. Blackburnians usually come up to the Eastern side of North America for breeding in the summer, and stay all the way down in South America for winters! Mrs. Jackson’s class saw a Brown-headed cowbird on Wednesday, May 8.
“The first marsh marigolds bloomed on May 4. The preschoolers found blooming marsh marigolds, and lady fern fiddleheads on May 8. Many trees have swollen, green buds, but the aspen trees have fully burst and have leaves growing in.
“Mr. Keegan saw the bloodroot flower in our school forest on Monday, May 6. The petals were open because it was a sunny day. When he checked on it on Tuesday, which was cloudy, the petals were closed. The bloodroot is named for its red sap in its roots. Bloodroot was once used as a dye by Native American artists and in the natural dying of yarn and fabrics. These flowers are snow white in color and they carpet the forest floor.
"Mrs. Helgesen’s class found a pale green assassin bug on Wednesday, May 8.
"Mrs. Rolfe’s sixth-grade students noticed that there are frog eggs in the swale by the woods edge of the school property on Monday, May 5.
“On Sunday, May 5, Claire had a wood tick on her after playing in the woods. Remember to do tick checks after playing outdoors, as it’s been reported that ticks are out in full force!
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week and be observant!”
Oak Grove Elementary School in Bloomington
We received a video from the Phenology Club at Oak Grove Elementary School in Bloomington.
Instead of their usual phenology walk last week, they met with Randy Dop, a local photographer and drone operator.
Dave Murphy, a volunteer and substitute teacher at Oak Grove, sent one of the resulting videos. He said, “This is our fourth-grade Phenology Team. I believe they are all yelling, ‘Hello John Latimer and Charlie Mitchell,’ but I cannot be sure!”
St. Croix Preparatory Academy in Stillwater
Finally, we heard from Kellie Nelson, our partnering teacher at the St. Croix Preparatory Academy.
She said, “I just got the attached lovely card from one of my students & wanted to share the end of it with you - thanks for the support to help me get my kids outside and loving nature!”
The card, which is from a student named Ira, concludes, “I love going outside on phenology walks. I have never known this much about nature.”
Notes from listeners
Mary from Cass Lake texted in about her local swan nest, and John replied with a story about a tottering turkey.
John's co-host Heidi Holtan inquired about trillium, enjoyed the antics of Pine Siskins, and saw her first oriole of the year.
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).
