Happy thanksgiving week, everyone - enjoy these eleven reports from our very observant student phenologists!
Great Expectations School in Grand Marais
Class: “This is the bear cubs...”
Miss Emma: “...from Great Expectations School in Grand Marais, and today is Nov. 13. I have a couple of questions for our Bear Cubs. Saya, what is the sky like today?”
Saya: "Cloudy.”
Miss Emma: "Trygve, what happened on Monday?”
Trygve: "There was a storm, a thunderstorm.”
Lida: "There was a wind storm and a lot of trees fell down.”
Miss Emma: "What animals have you seen?”
Jud: "Deer and Blue Jay.”
Miss Emma: "What kind of plants did we see in the backwoods?”
Fen: "Green Beard Lichen.”
Miss Emma: "Sylvan, do you remember what lichen is made of?”
Sylvan: "Mushrooms and… Mushrooms and algae.”
Miss Emma: "What else did you see in the backwoods?”
Sylvan: "I found a branch with orange wood inside.”
Jamie: "I saw some maple leaves.”
Miss Emma: "Were they on the trees or on the ground?”
Jamie: "On the ground and on the maple trees.”
Miss Emma: "What else did you see?”
Jud: "I saw a deer and a Blue Jay.”
Miss Emma: "What happened to the Witch's Butter?”
Jamie: "It dried.”
Miss Emma: "What about all the Mountain ash berries?”
Lida: "It fell off the trees.”
All: “Good bye, this is the Bear Cubs… Bye!”
Aurora Waasakone Community of Learners in Bemidji
North Star Elementary School in Virginia
“This is Clare, Ariella, Zaz, Dallyce, Bella, Jake, Brody, and Aila reporting from North Star Elementary in Virginia, Minnesota. Today is November 20, 2024.
“Dallyce and Brody have both noticed bear activity. The game cam at Dallyce’s house caught a picture of an active bear this week. Brody has had to restock his bait barrel because they keep eating the sweets. He has camera footage of them too.
“Ariella noticed that we have less and less daylight every day. It’s been really dark when she leaves play practice lately.
“Audrey noticed there are still three female ducks hanging out on the creek by her house. The mallards haven’t been seen for a couple weeks. She and Alaina looked it up and found that male ducks leave before females in the winter to molt and join other males in warmer southern states.
“Jake noticed that about 75% of the needles have fallen off the tamarack tree in his backyard in Mountain Iron.
“Leo noticed that about 97% of the deciduous trees have no leaves.
“Now that the leaves are down, we have noticed a lot of gray squirrel dreys up in the trees. They look like a messy pile of leaves, but somehow, they stay together!
“This has been a report from North Star Elementary in Virginia.
“Keep exploring the great outdoors!”
Cherry School near Iron Junction
“Hi, this is Sydney, Harlie, Honey, and Levi reporting from Cherry School in Iron Junction, Minnesota on November 20, 2024.
“We have been noticing cloudy and cold weather. It has been pretty windy. We can see the branches moving out the window. Last week, Cherry phenologists reported our deer count from the fifth- and sixth-grade classes. Today, the doe count is at 259 and the bucks are at 104.
“This is Harlie. On Nov. 18, Ellie noticed a thin layer of ice on some puddles in Iron. She also noticed two blue and grey birds finding food.
“On Nov. 19, Aubrey saw Blue Jays on her bird feeder in Cherry.
“This is Sydney. On Nov.17, Scarlett saw two swans when she was hunting.
“On November 19, Rayvynne and her dad went out to look for black mushrooms. They found them on birch trees.
“This morning, Harlie noticed snowflakes on wood chips.
“This is Levi. Today during our walk in the school forest, we noticed that it was snowing a bit and that the snow would stick to the logs. It didn’t really stick to the ground.
“We heard angry red squirrels. They were making angry sounds.
“We heard some birds in the trees. We used an app to identify the birds. They were Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches.
“This is Honey. We saw bubbles on the bark of a balsam fir tree. We popped one and a clear sticky substance oozed out. I shared with the class about them and how natives used to use it to build boats and rafts. My dad told me about that. [Teacher’s note: Honey and her family are Indigenous.]
“We saw a black bug with some orange on its head. We investigated when we got inside and found that it is a winter firefly.
“This concludes our phenology report. This has been Sydney, Harlie, Honey, and Levi reporting from Cherry School. Nature rules!”
Cohasset Elementary School
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 November 16, 2024. My name is Eliot, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“On Saturday, Nov. 16, we had only 9 hours and 30 minutes of daylight. That was 17 minutes less than the previous Saturday. On Monday morning Nov. 18, it was cold enough that Ms. Jackson saw her breath outside. Dew sparkled on the grass, but it wasn’t quite frozen. On that same morning, Naomi saw that the grass had a layer of frost over top of the ground at her house. On Tuesday, Nov. 19, we got 1.3 inches of rain with wind gusts of up to 38 mph.
“On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Ms. Jackson’s class was outside making homemade bird suet over a campfire. It started snowing lightly as the temperature dropped. The snowflakes were icy and looked like sugar-cookie sprinkles in perfect snowflake shapes. It is now feeling like winter. On Thursday, Nov. 21, we had a wind advisory. The wind advisory said to expect north winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 45 mph! As Ms. Jackson was driving to school that morning, she saw many garbage cans that had been blown over by the fierce winds.
“On Thursday, Nov. 21, Mr. Dover’s class found plants that were still green on the forest floor, including wild strawberries, miterworts, and wintergreens.
“On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Ms. Helgesen’s class saw a Bald Eagle circling above the school forest. Bald Eagles and other late season migrants are still on the move.
“On Monday, Nov. 18, Ms. Gallagher’s class found some orange jelly fungus on a log in the school forest. One piece was pretty dried out and shriveled, but another was full of water, probably due to the rain we have had recently. On Tuesday, Nov, 19, Mrs. Rademacher’s class and Mrs. Young’s class visited the stream and noticed that the river was really high and the water was brown with sediment from the rain we received.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week, and be observant!”
Pike Lake Elementary near Duluth
“Good morning, my name is Kenzie, and this is our report for the week of Nov. 25, 2024 from Pike Lake Elementary School.
“It has been getting colder and it is time for hat and gloves. There has been a little bit of snow, but it didn’t last long because the ground isn’t cold enough. We were observing snowflakes in the school forest. I was surprised that they didn’t melt when they hit the log, but was not surprised when it disappeared when I touched it.
“Isla here. This week was about deer tracks for me. The deer tracks I observed were sunk into the mud and its toes were spread far apart. I did some research and learned that when a deer’s hooves are spread apart, it means the deer was running at high speed. When the hooves are together the deer are just walking along. I also learned that a buck’s track is larger than a does track. I believe my track was made by a doe.
“Hello, it is Miles. With the first snowflakes falling I was wondering about first snow averages. I learned that it usually first happens around the start of November. This year we had the first flakes on Halloween. I also learned that snow is formed from condensed water in the atmosphere, once it gets cold enough the snow falls.
“Evelyn reporting. One day after school my dad, sisters and I were out on a walk in the woods. My sister saw a big rock with something strange next to it. It was moss growing on an old backpack. My research told me that moss can grow on just about anything. It just needs enough moisture and shade.
“This is Sonja. Sticking with moss, I saw a deer munching on some moss. I learned that moss has vitamins A and C. But moss is low in calories and sugar with very little protein.
“This is Annorah. This past Friday looking out our classroom window my friend and I saw three red and one grey squirrels, one sapsucker and a Pileated Woodpecker. We believe it is because we started feeding the birds at our feeding station.
“Hi, this is Harper. I was deer hunting with my father this past weekend. It was exciting to see a doe come up under our stand, but my dad said to wait quietly. When the female went back into the woods a 6-point buck came out. We got our deer!
“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 Rylie, Schnee and the students from New Century Academy in Hutchinson, reporting from Long Lake for Nov. 20-22.
“Our trip experienced the season’s first snowfall. It was snowmaggedon… the snowpocalyse… the dusting heard around the world. In all, a whopping inch of snow fell and melted before another wave pelted us with its mighty frozen fury leaving behind another quarter inch.
“The high temperature for our trip was 39 degrees and the low was 29.
“The snow allowed us to follow some tracks. We saw tracks of deer dragging their hooves. Those deer were clearly lazy walkers. Rabbit and squirrel tracks were also observed.
“Around the campus, we saw a scurry of squirrels, plus we counted eight around the bird feeders pigging out on the bird seed. It was fun to watch them crack open the sunflower seeds and discard the shells, and be upside down like Peter Parker, or swing back and forth like Miley Cyrus.
“Before heading out for our bird walk, we saw Pileated and Downy Woodpeckers, chickadees and a Bald Eagle. During our bird walk, we observed Trumpeter Swans on the Lake, Nuthatches and two grouse. The swans were talking pretty loudly and showed no intention of leaving any time soon.
“Our group found orange and black “jelly” fungus on a rotting log, and signs of beaver activity near their lodge on the far east side of Long Lake. It was notable that the beaver had chewed down three large oaks and a tamarack. We thought that was unusual.
“Snowmaggedon or not, it’s a great time to explore nature and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Riley and Max reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of Nov. 24.
“We had our first snow on Nov. 19, but warmer temperatures at the end of the week have melted it all off.
“We are seeing several robins and House Finches feeding on crab apples outside our classroom.
“The red fruit of the sumacs is providing a little splash of color in our ditches and fields.
“We did learn that another red fruit, the rose hips, are a major source of vitamin C.
“A classmate had a beaver sighting while he was deer hunting. They are busy trying to get their cache in place before the ponds freeze over and are more active during daylight hours right now.
“Wood ferns are still green and stand out against the brown colors that have taken over in the woods, and sensitive fern spore fronds are also easily spotted.
“A classmate found a wood frog that was moving slowly, but still fully exposed. Hopefully it is now somewhere safe and into its hibernation.
“We have seen an all white ermine and a partially white showshoe hare this week, even though they stand out more in our snow-free environment.
“Our birdfeeders have been very busy this week- Red- and White-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, juncos, House Finches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and cardinals have all been regular visitors.
“We have paid a lot of attention to different methods of seed dispersal - from wind (milkweed and thistle), fruit (buckthorn and high bush cranberry), and burs (burdock and lots of assorted plants): There are a lot of ways for plants to spread their seeds.
“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 Luna, Dixi, and Theo reporting from Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota.
"This week’s weather has been cloudy, windy and rainy.
"With our plant observations, we observed a tree falling down in our forest. We were inside talking about what to do on bad weather days and the tree fell down, right where we usually walk. We decided to stay in and not visit our woods this morning.
"In our neighborhood this week, we saw a white squirrel, a possum, and a fox.
"We are wondering if the weather will get better, and why and how did our tree fall.
"That’s all for today, stay tuned for the next OGE Phenology Club nature episode. Toodley-doo!”
Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
Annabel: “Hi, this is Annabel-”
Andrew: "-and this is Andrew-”
Annabel: "-and we’re from Prairie Creek Community School, way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Andrew: "In the mammal news: Sophie saw a dead fox and Henry saw a racoon.”
Annabel: "The gray squirrel in Sophie’s yard is getting lazy, but the possums in Sienna’s barn have babies.”
Andrew: "We all saw a mouse who had made a home under our fire pit. We’re debating whether that was a good place for a home or not.”
Annabel: "On to the bird news - it’s been a busy migration week. Jakob and his class saw a giant flock of Sandhill Cranes.”
Andrew: "Michelle saw many flocks of Snow Geese on Friday.”
Annabel: "and Sophie saw large flocks high up in vee formations.”
Andrew: "Both Henry and Sahil noticed bird nests they had never seen before, -”
Annable: "-and Amelie saw two eagles near a nest. We’re excited to watch the eagle cam from the DNR.”
Andrew: "There were also sightings of swans, sparrows, cardinals, Blue Jays, woodpeckers and one lonely goose flying by itself.”
Annabel: "There have been a lot of spider sightings in people’s houses along with Asian beetles, but there haven’t been any box elders this week.”
Andrew: "I saw a blue bottle fly outside, but it’s probably the last one because-”
Annabel: "-we had our first accumulating snow on the Nov. 20, and it’s getting A LOT colder.”
Andrew: "This has been Prairie Creek-
Annabel: "-one more step along the phenology journey.”
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).
