The second week of October brings us ten reports - listen in to learn about the autumnal meanderings of black bears, the movement of monarchs, and much more.
Great Expectations School in Grand Marais
“Hi, this is Esa, Maite, and JD reporting from Great Expectations School in Grand Marais. On Oct. 2, we noticed two strange things growing on the paper birch tree. We thought they might be some sort of cocoon. After doing some research, we found out the fuzzy looking one is the egg and the brown one is the pupa stage of the spongy moth, an invasive species to the area. We reported it to our county’s invasive specialist.
“The moose maple (sometimes called mountain maple) that grows around our school has orange yellowish edges around the leaves. They also have some helicopters or seeds growing. The sugar maple nearby is mostly green, but about 20% of it is turning colors.
“This week many students have spotted foxes. A big black fox had a standoff with Violet’s cat, and a skinny red one had a standoff with Aurora’s cat.
“Maite recently went for a walk on the Kadunce River and saw a bunch of trout in the river. Trout will come up rivers like Kadunce from Lake Superior to spawn in the fall.
“A number of students have also seen some black bears this week, so we know they are still not hibernating.
“This has been Esa, Maite, and JD reporting from Great Expectations School.”
North Star Elementary School in Virginia
“This is Genevieve, Brook, Fletcher, Camden, Silas, and Mabel reporting from North Star Elementary in Virginia, Minnesota on Oct. 2, 2024.
“Lucy has seen dozens of birds, including geese and swans, flocking up on the ponds just north of Virginia.
“On Sept. 26, Fletcher noticed a coyote running across Highway 169 north of Virginia.
“On Sept. 27, Greyson and Camden both saw monarch butterflies.
“The same day, Camden discovered a heap of bear feces between his house and his neighbor’s car in the town of Virginia.
“That day, Stella was hiking at Jasper Peak near Tower and found wolf tracks and the remains of the wolf’s last meal.
“On Sept. 28, Genevieve saw a robin in her crabapple tree, which still has lots of fruit on it.
“On Sept. 29, Brook spotted both an adult and a juvenile Bald Eagle eating something on the side of the road. The juvenile Bald Eagles are dark brown with patches of light brown, and haven’t gotten their white head and tail yet.
“On Oct. 1, Orion saw a raven carrying only the back half of a squirrel in Olcott Park.
“This has been a report from North Star Elementary in Virginia. Keep exploring the great outdoors!”
East Rapids Elementary in Grand Rapids
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 September 28, 2024. My name is Isabel, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“Duluth set a record high for the second day in a row of 84 degrees on Friday, Sept. 27. The month of September for Duluth is the hottest on record and the second driest on record.
“On Monday, Sept. 30, Annabell noticed that approximately seventy percent of the ground cover at NSCS has changed color. Isabel also noticed on Monday that about ten percent of the trees have no leaves. On Wednesday, Oct. 2, Ms. Jackson’s class tagged 5 trees to observe: a red maple, a quaking aspen, a burr oak, a paper birch, and a speckled alder.
“The red maple’s leaves are mostly yellow with a little bit of green. It lost about 5% of its leaves. The burr oak has lost about 10% of its leaves and 95% of the leaves are still green. The leaves that changed color were brown. The speckled alder lost about 25% of its leaves, and they are all still green. The tree had more red buds on it than leaves. Most of the leaves on this tree had holes in them and it still had quite a few dead leaves on the tree. The paper birch lost about 15% of its leaves, with 85% still on the tree. About 30% were yellow leaves and 70% were green. The quaking aspen tree still had 85% of its green leaves and only 15% have fallen off the tree.
“On Friday, Sept. 27, Isabel noticed 2 Bald Eagles circling over North Shore Community School forest during our EE class. Teddy noticed more grouse in his yard this past week than he has in the last 4 months. They’re eating the chokecherries and crab apples as they ripen on the trees in his yard.
“A bull moose was spotted at the top of the McQuade road on Oct 1, just before the sun rose.
“Ms. Jackson had not seen any monarchs in her flower garden all summer, but finally had one on Friday, Sept. 28. It was mostly likely just passing through due to its migratory pattern. On Wednesday, Oct. 2 at dusk, Ms. Jackson had mosquitos buzzing around her door window as she was trying to get into her house.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week and be observant!”
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Julia and the students from St. Odilia School in Shoreview.
“The weekend winds carried seasonal autumn weather, and we enjoyed a pleasant high temperature on Tuesday of 60 degrees and a crisp low of 40.
“Snakes took center stage during our trip. We observed garter snakes everywhere we went, including in the woods during Wilderness Meal, on campus, and near the hibernacula. We watched a life-and-death battle between a large garter snake and a leopard frog. The struggle lasted for several minutes before the snake won its meal.
“Don’t worry, there are plenty of frogs left. We found six during Lake Bottom Organisms class - five leopard frogs and one toad. We also found a dragonfly larva.
“We flushed a grouse on a nature hike and heard the autumn song of the chickadee, which was different from the spring ‘cheeseburger, cheeseburger’ song. Speaking of singing, unrelated to nature - we learned that Mrs. Archibald sings when she wakes up. The chickadees have nothing on her.
“Our group found ripe cranberries in the bog. Liam ate three and said they tasted ‘pretty, pretty good.’ During the peak of midday sun, we saw a monarch butterfly. Could it be the last of the season?
“Other than the cooler weather, signs of autumn were everywhere. Flocks of Canada Geese honking loudly were flying overhead and 10-15% of the leaves have turned color.
“Fall is finally in the air, and we want everyone to remember to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
This report is brought to you by Francis, Veronica and the students from St. Joseph School in Rosemount, and Henry, Maggie and the students from Nativity of our Lord in St. Paul.
“We had beautiful autumn weather with a high temperature of 74 degrees and low of 31. That is the first sub-freezing temperature of the season, and coldest since April 25. There were some spots with frost.
“During our Wilderness Meal lunch, we saw a bunch of spring peeper frogs, including an orange one. Most were green. We learned that spring peepers can change their color quickly to camouflage from predators.
“Our group enjoyed beautiful, misty sunrises. One was pink and the other orange. A lone swan was still on the lake, and a flock of Canada Geese stopped by on their flight south. Robins were also observed flying south.
“We saw two monarch butterflies on Tuesday, flying west. In the bog, we noted that the tamarack needles are starting to turn golden.
“Many of us tasted the bog water. The reviews were that it didn’t taste great or tasted weird.
“During Shelter Building class, we found a wolf spider on a dead tree. We found a dead fish while canoeing.
“There aren’t many wildflowers around, but we did see great blue lobelia and flat-top goldenrod. Red sumac are turning bright red and the leaves of the common Milkweed are turning yellow.
“Nature is turning colors and it’s a great time to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Brekken and Nash reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of Oct. 6.
“We had a sighting of a Baltimore Oriole, and groups of White-throated Sparrows have arrived on their way south.
“The leaves of the sumac trees have turned a bright red, and really stand out in fields and ditches.
“We are still getting reports of monarchs in Little Falls this week.
“We observed our first frost of the season on the morning of Oct. 4.
“We have had a flock of Cedar Waxwings appear on our crabapple trees outside our classroom on Oct. 2 or 3 for five of the last six years. This year, there was a small group that showed up on Oct. 3.
“There is a very showy grass with large white plumes, called amur silver grass, that is very noticeable in some local ditches.
“We do have groups of robins feeding on fruit that the trees are still holding.
“A student found a cardboard box in their cabin that was completely full of acorns and insulation. We are assuming it is a squirrel's cache.
“A student reported the unusual sight of four bears walking together in straight line.
“There are box elder bugs appearing in large numbers on the sunny side of our homes and garages.
“A student reported that the barn spiders that she has been seeing consistently in the last few weeks have suddenly disappeared.
“We have had an uptick in the number of deer that we have observed in ditches and roadways. This could be caused by our farmers working in their fields this time of year.
“That is our report for this week. Until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
To see photos from the student phenologists at Little Falls, go to @little_falls_phenology on Instagram.
Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
Jaxon: "Hi, this is Jaxon...”
Anna: "... and this is Anna...”
Jaxon: "... and we’re from Prairie Creek Community School, way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Anna: "It has been a roller coaster of temperatures here. We had our first frost on Oct. 3, but it was close to 80 degrees this weekend.”
Jaxon: "The leaves are starting to turn red - especially the maples...”
Anna: "... but the zinnias are still in bloom at Sienna’s house.”
Jaxon: "There have been a few mushroom sightings, including a chicken of the woods.”
Anna: "And the acorns are ripe and falling from the oak trees.”
Jaxon: "Sienna also saw four separate murmurations of starlings.”
Anna: "Sophia saw five hawks.”
Jaxon: "We are still seeing vultures, seagulls, herons, and egrets.”
Anna: "Last week we didn’t see any cranes, but this week we did.”
Jaxon: "We still haven’t seen any hummingbirds, so we think those have migrated.”
Anna: "Sahil heard a woodpecker and crow.”
Jaxon: "We’ve seen a lot of turkeys...”
Anna: "... and we’ve seen flocks of Blue Jays and robins.”
Jaxon: "There were a lot of dead animals to report: Deer, racoons, opossums and a squirrel.”
Anna: "Luckily there were also some live animals, including deer, garter snakes, toads and a large snake."
Jaxon: "I saw a little brown snake, but I don’t think it was a garter snake.”
Anna: "We saw a mosquito and a dragonfly this week. We definitely have seen a lot of box elder bugs!”
Jaxon: "They are all over our classroom.”
Anna: "We are on the lookout for a junco, but we haven’t seen one yet.”
Jaxon: "This has been Prairie Creek...”
Anna: "... One more step along the phenology journey.”
McGregor School
Erin Wagner, a seventh grade teacher at McGregor School, shared a surprising discovery. While teaching phenology, they learned about how fruits can ferment during fall, making the birds that eat them dizzy and liable to run into things.
When the class went outside later that day, they found four dead birds around the building. Erin said, "They were all shouting about the 'drunk dead birds!'"
She continued, "It was a wonderful day to be a young scientist. (Not such a wonderful day for the birds)."
What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.
That does it for this week! For more phenology, <b>subscribe</b> 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).
