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Phenology Talkbacks: Northern lights, fall leaves create cornucopia of color

Fall foliage glows near Wild Country Maple Products in Lutsen, Minnesota on Sept. 28, 2023. A road is bordered with a forest, the trees in a riot of fall colors.
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Lorie Shaull via Flickr
Fall foliage glows near Wild Country Maple Products in Lutsen, Minnesota on Sept. 28, 2023.

Students and listeners from across the state send in their nature reports. Depending on the season, reports may cover wildflowers, animal behaviors, weather patterns and other wonders.

Student reporters this week observed the aurora borealis, a black bear break-in, and the first arrivals of winter resident songbirds.

North Star Elementary School in Eveleth

North Star Elementary School phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

The broken glass from a truck window holds a tuft of black bear fur.
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Lindsay Engel
A hungry black bear left some fur behind during a banana chip heist in Virginia, MN, during the week preceding Oct. 14, 2024.

“This is Stella, Ayda, Sonya, Eli, Abel, and Jimi reporting from North Star Elementary in Virginia, Minnesota on Oct. 9, 2024.

“Orion noticed two deer. One was full grown and the other was small but it didn’t have spots like a fawn. We think it was an adolescent deer that had lost its spots. And while he was grouse hunting, he saw around 20 grouse, more than he and his dad have ever seen in a weekend.

“Greyson saw two deer cross the street in Virginia near the Dollar General. They aren’t usually in town! Sonya, Stella, and Eloise have also been seeing a lot of deer crossing the roads in the country.

“Stella has noticed an abundance of dead bees from their family honeybee hive.

“Adam noticed there are still a few robins in his yard and Eloise saw one on the road too.

“Lucy noticed freezing temperatures on the thermometer for the first time this fall on Tuesday morning, October 8, and Genevieve also noticed frost on the ground that morning.

“Ms. Kay woke up to her truck horn honking in the middle of the night on October 8 and found a bear ripping the window open. It shattered the window and got inside the truck to eat her banana chips. It seemed to have a good time playing with the steering wheel. The truck smells really bad this morning.

“Stella also noticed fresh bear claw marks on the trees in the woods behind her grandparents’ house over the weekend. A bear also took Adam’s trash and his neighbor’s and tore them open last Thursday, October 3.

“We are still seeing ducks and swans on area lakes and ponds.

“This has been a report from North Star Elementary in Virginia. Keep exploring the great outdoors!”

Apple Blossom School in Bemidji

Apple Blossom phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

Cohasset Elementary School

Cohasset Elementary phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

East Rapids Elementary in Grand Rapids

East Rapids Elementary School phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

North Shore Community School near Duluth

North Shore Community School phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

"Hello from North Shore Community School on the North Shore of Lake Superior. This is the phenology report for the week of Oct. 5, 2024. My name is Tor, and I am your phenologist for this week!

“The month of October is known as the Falling Leaf Moon according to the Ojibwe.

“Ms. Jackson’s class noted observations about the trees they flagged last week. Here are the updates for week 2: The bur oak has about 80% of its leaves remaining and of those about 50% have started changing color. The red maple has less than 10% of leaves left and of those all have changed color. The paper birch still has about 60% of its leaves and of those leaves about 90% are colored. The quaking aspen still has about 85% of leaves and of those only about 5% are still green. The speckled (or grey) alder has only about 10% of the leaves left on the tree. The leaves that remain still are green.

“On Monday, Oct. 7, Lucy noticed a large flock of small birds flying over the school. Also on Monday, Ian saw a flock of geese fly over his house. On Tuesday Oct. 8, Warren noticed a lot of hawks flying over his house. All of these birds are migrating south for the winter. On Oct. 8 and 9, Ms. Urban saw a flock of over 50 Lapland Longspurs foraging in the field by the big and little kids playgrounds. When kids were near, the flock would fly in the air, spiral around the school and land again a safe distance away.

“On Monday, Oct. 7, Warren noticed squirrels dropping acorns from a tree onto the ground to store for winter. On Tuesday Oct. 8, Ian noticed that there had been a bear around his house and it got into his garbage!

“On Tuesday, Oct. 8, Ms. Urban saw a monarch butterfly migrating.

“On Sunday evening, Oct. 6, the Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, were visible. This was the first geometric storm of October. Many observers noticed a bright, red color. The northern lights were also visible on Monday evening, Oct, 7 and Thursday evening, Oct. 10 in a spectrum of green, blue, pink, and purple. The Northern Lights are caused by charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field and charged particles from the sun’s atmosphere that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The green colors are low level oxygen gas. The reds are high altitude oxygen gas, and the purples are nitrogen gas.

“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 Colton, Izzy and the students from Waconia Middle School.

Long Lake Conservation Center (Waconia 1) phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

“We had PERFECT autumn weather with a high temperature of 68 degrees and low of 28.

“The warm sun brought the cold-blooded critters out, including two painted turtles that were spotted sunning themselves on a log in Long Lake. Garter snakes were abundant and a handful were seen in and around their hibernacula.

“In the forest, our group also found purple aster and winterberry hollies filled with red berries. In the bog, we were surprised to see a red squirrel and noted that the cotton grass has gone to seed and poofs are riding the wind. Tamaracks in the bog are about 20% golden and when we shook them, it rained needles.

“On a hike in the woods, a group encountered a Ruffed Grouse. To our surprise, it didn’t flush. Instead, it let us get a look at it before it ran away into a thicket. We spotted a few Blue Jays and nuthatches, a flock of American Robins, and a swan is still on the lake.

“No monarch butterflies were seen, making Oct, 3 the last sighting of the year. The cool nights have FINALLY started the trees turning color. We estimate that the trees are about a quarter of the way to peak color. Last year peak color happened on Oct, 19.

“At about 10:30 on Monday night, some teachers and chaperones saw the Northern Lights and took some cool pictures. In the day and at night, it’s a colorful time of year and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”

This report is brought to you by Broox, Quinn and the students from Waconia Middle School.

Long Lake Conservation Center (Waconia 2) phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

“Summer weather returned with a near record high temperature of 78 degrees on Thursday with the low of only 39. Despite the warm temperatures, signs of autumn were everywhere, including the leaves becoming ablaze with color. We estimate that the trees are about 60-70% of peak color. The red maples on campus are fully turned and are a particularly beautiful red in contrast to the yellows of the aspen and birch.

“Garter snakes seemed to be everywhere, including the forest and around the hibernacula, but we also found one in the bog.

“Those who stayed up were rewarded with a brilliant northern lights show, and a clear view of the Milky Way and Jupiter.

“We thought we had seen the last monarch butterfly of the season on Oct. 3, but our group saw one on Oct. 9. Our group saw many tiny wood frogs and a toad that looked angry! The squirrels and chipmunks are very busy getting ready for winter. Sunflower seeds in the bird feeders seem to be the meal of choice for the squirrels, but Blue Jays, chickadees and nuthatches managed to sneak in to grab a bite. We noticed lots and lots of Blue Jays.

“It’s so dry that even the bog isn’t very “boggy”. The bog puddles were less than ankle deep. The Long Lake staff said that when wet, they can be knee deep. Our group found a racoon’s nest with the remains of what we think are turtle eggs. We flushed two Ruffed Grouse, saw a few deer that don’t appear to be wearing their winter coats yet, a wooly caterpillar, a wolf spider, a purple aster, and winterberry hollies filled with red berries.

“It’s a beautiful time to explore nature and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”

This report comes from teachers participating in the University of Minnesota’s Phenology Investigations in Minnesota Schools program.

Long Lake Conservation Center (PIMS) phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

Little Falls Middle School

Little Falls Middle School phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

A blackboard shows illustrations of a lady bird beetle, red-bellied snake, ruffed grouse, destroying angel fungus, and tansy.
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Chad Kaddatz
A blackboard shows the phenology topics for Mr. Kaddatz's classroom in Little Falls for the week preceding Oct. 15, 2024.

“This is Corbin and CJ reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of Oct. 13.

“Our first juncos appeared on Oct 8, and are busy searching for food under our bird feeders. They are competing with the Fox- and White-throated Sparrows on the ground.

“If you check out any outdoor fabric surfaces, like a grill cover, you will find lots of seeds from a variety of plants stuck to the surface.

“Tansy flowers are still providing some yellow color to our fields and meadows, but our goldenrods have formed white seeds.

“Classmates have found predaceous diving beetles and giant water bugs this week on land.

“White-tailed deer are starting to make scrapes in the woods.

“Large flocks of robins are moving from tree to tree eating fruit.

“Black bears are still moving around, and some classmates have still spotted bats in the evenings.

“The Asian beetles are gathering around on our homes and garages.

“Oranges and reds are the dominant colors on trees in our area this week.

“Sandhill Cranes are still spotted in fields, not in large numbers, but small groups or pairs.

“Black walnut trees have turned yellow and their fruit is all over the ground. Be careful if you pick them up, as they will stain your fingers brown.

“One afternoon last week, Mr. Kaddatz noticed groups of tiny insects. They turned out to be minute pirate bugs, a predatory insect that feeds on mites and aphids, and they will bite you if given the opportunity.

“That is our report for this week, until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”

Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield

Prairie Creek Community School phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

Ellen: "Hi, this is Ellen...”

Finnly: "...and this is Finnly...”

Ellen: "...and we’re from Prairie Creek Community School...”

Finnly: "...way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”

Ellen: "It has gotten cold down here. We are finally starting to see the leaves changing.”

Finnly: "We also had northern lights last week.”

Ellen: "Andrew finally saw the first junco on Oct. 12.”

Finnly: "Sahil saw a crane and we’re still seeing dragonflies, vultures and bumble bees.”

Ellen: "But we didn’t see any herons this week. And we didn’t see any toads.”

Finnly: "Our classmates reported seeing many rabbits, deer, squirrels and foxes.”

Ellen: "Caroline even saw a fox squirrel.”

Finnly: "Henry saw a mouse.”

Ellen: "And I saw a hawk.”

Finnly: "Sienna saw murmurations of starlings and a lot of seagulls.”

Ellen: "Amelie saw a flock of small birds flying right over her head...”

Finnly: "...and finally, Annabel saw a large pile of walnuts and it is now gone. Very suspicious.”

Ellen: "This has been Prairie Creek...”

Finnly: "...one more step along the phenology journey.”

Newstok family

Newstok phenology report: Oct. 15, 2024

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, 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).

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Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined KAXE in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, produces the Phenology Talkbacks show, coordinates the Phenology in the Classroom program, and writes nature-related stories for KAXE's website. Essentailly, Charlie is John Latimer's faithful sidekick and makes sure all of KAXE's nature/phenology programs find a second life online and in podcast form.<br/><br/><br/>With a background in ecology and evolutionary biology, Charlie enjoys learning a little bit about everything, whether it's plants, mushrooms, or the star-nosed mole. (Fun fact: Moles store fat in their tails, so they don't outgrow their tunnels every time conditions are good.)