This week brought us three reports, featuring bog plants, a curious young bear, and a lot of beautiful monarch caterpillars.
Please share your observations, nature tales and insights! Send them to me (cmitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text us at 218-326-1234.
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Naturalist Julia Kuhns. It was recorded live at the Nature Rocks Concert for Conservation.
“This week's report is coming to you live from the Aitkin County Fairgrounds when in a few hours, Nature Rocks Concert for Conservation gets underway.
“The phenology highlight for the week was rain. LOTS AND LOTS of rain. There has been a little more than 4.5 inches of rain so far this month, including almost 2 inches this week. The high temperature for the week was 78 and the low was 49.
“Between raindrops, we observed some interesting things, including a rare Charlie Mitchell sighting. Charlie joined us last Saturday for Rivers and Lakes Fair. We trekked with her to the bog where we saw pink lady's-slippers, Labrador tea and pitcher plants flowering. Some of the pitcher plants were just starting to flower, and others were already about 10 inches high with fully open petals.
“On the lake, we saw the season's first sundew on the boggy south shore of the lake. Two beavers slapped their tails at us when we canoed too close. The loons were on their nest late last week, but are no longer on it this week. The big storm that blew through might have swamped the eggs. The pair of loons were together and let us get to about 10 feet away before moving on.
“About three weeks ago, we reported two families of Canada Geese families, one with five goslings and the other with two. We haven't seen them since. It was a mystery. Today, a pair arrived on the beach with one pretty large gosling. We don't know if they are new, or what's left of the other families. Either way, it was nice to see them.
“Wild roses are in bloom, and raspberries and blackberries have mostly finished flowering. It'll soon be berry season. We have seen quite a few monarch caterpillars on milkweed. Some were almost too tiny to see, and others were two to three plump inches. The American Robins and Tree Swallows we've been watching have fledged.
“We watched a large snapping turtle lay her eggs. A few days later, the hole was dug up and the eggs were eaten. We suspect a skunk had a turtle egg omelet. The turtle was one of a dozen snapping and painted turtles we've seen laying eggs in the last week. It's a great night for a concert, and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
Dave McMillan, the director at Long Lake Conservation Center, wrote, “ I'm happy to say that the event was a success. Thousands of young people will directly benefit from the proceeds raised at the concert.”
Charlie near Stillwater
“Hi Heidi and John, I wanted to share a story of a troublesome neighbor. On Saturday, my wife Hayley walked outside to find a young black bear rummaging through our garbage bin. She yelled at it, and it took off running with a full bag of garbage held in its mouth. Hayley saw it run down the stairs to the base of a cliff, headed toward the river.
“We didn’t want the bear to learn that stealing trash was a viable strategy, and we couldn’t let it spread trash through the whole valley, so we went down to gather up the remnants. Of course, the bear had dragged the bag down a gulley and into a nice big patch of stinging nettle. We yelled to scare it off, but it didn’t budge until I physically chased it off, and even then, it didn’t go far. The whole time I was gathering the scattered trash back into a new bag, it lingered around watching. It was a young bear, very curious, but not at all aggressive.
“We’ve since secured the garbage bin in the garage, where the bear can’t get it, but Hayley caught it raiding a neighbor’s trash can today. So, here’s everyone’s reminder to keep your garbage, bird feeders, and animal feed tucked away. Yearling bears have just parted ways with their mothers, so they’re out exploring the world on their own. It’s important that they find enough food, but equally important they don’t find it at our trash cans and bird feeders.
“So, do better than we did – keep your trash inside where they bears can’t get it, keep an eye on your suet feeders, and let’s keep those bears wild.”
Kathleen in Brainerd
“This week I was checking out the milkweed I planted two or three years ago in the corner of my Brainerd yard. It has taken off. Many caterpillars and even more blossoms. Skinny caterpillars in the morning are fatties tonight! Looking forward to chrysalises!”
Carol reports a frog-eating snake
Wanda asks about a mystery flower
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).
