Student phenologists across the state are seeing wooly bear caterpillars making their many-legged way along roads and sidewalks. Enjoy this week's ten reports!
Great Expectations School in Grand Marais
“Hi this is Oscar, Ty, and Charlie reporting from Great Expectations School in Grand Marais MN, on Oct. 25. We have been noticing lots of changes in the weather lately. The days and nights have been much cooler. In the mornings and evenings, windows at multiple students' houses and their parent’s cars are fogging up. Last week it snowed on the Gunflint Trail, and other places inland from Lake Superior. The snow did not stick on the ground. Over the MEA weekend a number of our classmates observed a comet in the sky. This comet is about 44 million miles away from Earth.
“The trees in the area are at various stages of losing their leaves. The paper birch, alder, and moose maple have lost most of their leaves. Other trees, like the red maple, have fully changed color but are still holding on to most of their leaves, losing only about 25%. Most of the flowers have gone to seed, but some ox-eye daisies can still be found downtown.
“On the bus this week Idella saw a bull moose on the side of the road. Moose are coming to the end of the rutting season. Alma, Charlie, and Ari have seen various deer on their bus rides as well. Alma and Charlie even saw one standing on its hind legs, it was most likely trying to reach some food that was much taller than it.
“This has been Oscar, Ty, and Charlie reporting from Great Expectations School.”
Aurora Waasakone Community of Learners in Bemidji
North Star Elementary School in Virginia
“This is Kruz, Tanner, Michaela, Ryitt, Faith, Gavin, Ben, Emma, and Thomas reporting from North Star Elementary in Virginia, Minnesota on October 30, 2024.
“This is Tanner. We have noticed that it is dark when we get to school in the morning. I noticed that my hair freezes when I go outside on the way to school.
“We've gotten some rain this week and noticed it’s been really windy.
“Around 3:15 this morning, on October 30, many of us woke up to a loud thunderstorm.
“This is Faith and I noticed that the apple tree in my yard has been losing most of its leaves.
“This is Gavin and I estimated that 90% of the leaves on the silver maples across the street from our school have fallen.
“This is Ben and I noticed that the milkweed in my yard has died back. I have also observed close to a dozen meadowhawk dragonflies near the shore of the pond at my house. I noticed many of the dragonflies had broken wings and wondered if they were damaged as they fought for a mate. We learned that meadowhawk dragonflies mate and lay eggs on the shores in the late fall. The eggs will hatch next summer.
“Rahmy observed that the last of the geese in the area are migrating south. There aren’t many left!
“This has been a report from North Star Elementary in Virginia. Keep exploring the great outdoors!”
Cherry School
North Shore Community School near Duluth
“Hello from the North Shore Community School on the north shore of Lake Superior. This is the phenology report for the week of Oct. 26, 2024. My name is Samantha, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“On Thursday, Oct. 31, Annabell noticed that the mornings were getting a lot darker which means that winter is approaching.
“On Sunday, Oct. 27, Mrs Rolfe noticed that 80% of her milkweed pods had erupted. Some milkweed pods can hold over 200 seeds inside! The plants typically flower between late spring and the end of summer. Following seed dispersal, their aboveground growth dies back to the ground. They then remain dormant through the winter and re-emerge in the spring from established root systems.
“Ms. Jackson’s class made tree observations for the trees they tagged 4 weeks ago. Here are week four’s observations. The burr oak had one remaining brown leaf. The speckled (gray) alder had no leaves remaining. The paper birch had 1 brown leaf left on the tree. The quaking aspen had 8 brown leaves remaining.
“Chance noticed on Sunday, Oct. 27 that there are a lot more Blue Jays in his yard than normal.
“Magdalene saw a woodpecker gathering a cache of bugs for the winter on Oct. 26.
“Naomi saw a Woolly Bear caterpillar on Saturday, Oct. 26. There are two generations of Woolly Bear caterpillars each year. The first appear in June and July, and the second in September. The second-generation worms are the “weather prophets.” If the rusty colored band is wide on their bodies, it will be a mild winter. The more black coloring there is, the more severe the winter. Interestingly, the Woolly Bear overwinters as a larva. Their entire body will enter a “frozen” state until May when it will emerge as the Isabella moth. On Saturday, October 26, Ms. Urban saw a meadowhawk dragonfly.
“On Sunday, October 27, Ms. Urban saw a garter snake near the Sucker River.
This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week, and be observant!”
Pike Lake Elementary near Duluth
“Good morning, my name is Brooks, and this is our report for the week of Oct. 27, 2024 from Pike Lake Elementary School.
“Hi this is Brooks. On Thursday, Oct. 24, we were walking on the boardwalk in our school forest in phenology class. While we were walking we heard a bunch of crows cawing. Mr. Marohn said he thought there was a dead deer back in the woods, so he of course took us back into this clearing back in the woods where he thought he heard the crows. We stood there for about two minutes and then we all were bedazzled. We watched a Great Horned Owl fly right past us and it was getting chased by crows. Mr. Marohn said he thought the crows were trying to drive the owl away from something, so he let us venture off into the woods. It was time to walk back and I looked behind a log and found a deer bone. That's what happened in phenology class last week.
“This is Sonja. Last week I observed a leaf fall off of a tree. I noticed that it was red, and I wondered why it was that color. So, I did some research. I found out that it loses its chlorophyll so that the tree can survive the winter. I learned that the tree gives the leaves chlorophyll and it makes the tree’s leaves green and healthy. But when fall comes around the trees take all the chlorophyll so it will survive the winter. In the summer all of the leaves grow back and then repeats over and over again until the tree dies.
“Hello, I am Miles. This past week I saw a bee flying around and I was wondering what it will be doing when the weather gets cold. I found out that they go into their hive and hide together in clusters to stay warm.
“This is Lily. Last week I observed a mushroom in a tree branch. I was wondering when the squirrel put it up there. I also was thinking about if it were to fall out when it snows if I could find the mushroom. I think it would be hard to find.
“Nicholas here. On Oct. 30, I witnessed a deer scraping its antlers on a small tree in my yard. Additionally, last week I witnessed the first ice of the season forming around the edge of a puddle.
“This concludes our report from the outer reaches of the Proctor school district. Be Aware. Things are happening out there.”
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Eva, Jake, King and the students from Fridley Middle School, reporting from Long Lake for Oct. 29 and 30.
“The weather was friendly with a high of 61 degrees and a low of 32.
“Cold weather is on the way, but there are still a few Trumpeter Swans on the lake and flying.
“Garter snakes were seen near the hibernacula but not out in the woods. It could be the last time we see them until the spring. In the bog, about 5% of the Tamarack needles are still hanging on. The pitcher plants have turned from the green with red vein coloring of summer to their solid dark red purple color of autumn and winter. Students enjoyed the challenge of catching the last of the falling leaves. There aren’t many left.
“It’s a beautiful time of year, and we want to remind you that it is always a good choice to ELECT to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Skyler and Mayson reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of November 3rd.
“We have seen large flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds gathering in fields.
“A classmate heard a Ruffed Grouse drumming while deer hunting.
“Minute pirate bugs and gnats are still swarming in our yards.
“Highbush cranberry fruit are ripe and ready to pick.
“We had a bat sighting on Oct. 30.”
“Leaf-legged bugs (also known as conifer seed bugs) have become a daily sighting, along with the large numbers of Asian beetles and box elder bugs.
“We had a fox squirrel sighting in some woods near a corn field. They are one of four species of squirrels to live around here.
“Woolly bear caterpillars are a common sight, and we even saw a yellow woolly bear.
“Skunks and raccoons have been very active in the evening.
“We watched crows feeding on crabapples outside our classroom window. They were actually just picking them and dropping them to the ground from the top of the tree.
“House centipedes and sowbugs have been appearing in damp areas of our houses.
“That is our report for this week, until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Oak Grove Elementary School in Bloomington
"Hi, this is Elton, Kameela and Khobi reporting from Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota.
"This week’s weather has been a mix. The temperature has been unseasonably warm. It’s been mostly sunny and windy, with a little bit of precipitation this week.
"With our animal observations, we found an animal print, possibly from a deer. It’s hard to see prints right now because of all the fallen leaves. We found a small feather that was white on the tip, with the rest being black. We don’t know what kind of bird it is from.
"With our plant observations, we noticed the buckthorn and our oak are hanging onto their leaves and color. We noticed our Tamarack hasn’t changed much either, but the maple tree has lost almost all of its leaves.
"We are wondering if we’ll see more signs of animals next week, or if that oak will start to change.
"That’s all for today, stay tuned for the next OGE Phenology Club nature episode! Peace out peeps!”
Mark Jacobs
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).
