As we near the holiday break, our student phenologists are keeping a keen eye on their surroundings. Enjoy this week's 6 reports!
Cherry School near Iron Junction
"Hi, this is Tanner, Bella, Aubree, Clara, and Avery reporting from Cherry School in Iron Junction, Minnesota on Dec. 11, 2024.
"This is Avery. We have been noticing the temperatures are getting to the negatives. On Monday the snow was sticky. We made snowmen and snow sculptures at recess. When we packed it together, it would stay. The snow was really heavy. On Tuesday, the snow was icy and we couldn’t really make stuff with it.
“This is Aubree. On Dec. 7, Dom noticed an eagle in Virginia. On Dec. 9, Sydney saw a chickadee while walking to her bus stop. On Dec. 8, Ellie noticed a group of brown birds flying away for the winter. She also saw 20 birds on the road eating a dead animal.
“This is Clara. Today during our walk in the school forest, it was so cold that we had to go in early, but we saw some tracks while we were out there. We saw side by side tracks in a row going into a pile of sticks. We think it might be rabbit tracks, because it looked like they were hopping and because it was going into a wood pile. This is Tanner. We also saw what we think are deer tracks.
“We saw a black bird with a triangle tail flying. We think it is a raven. We noticed a disruption in the snow that looked like a path. We found out it was a subnivean tunnel. It could have been a vole.
“This is Bella. This concludes our phenology report. This has been Tanner, Bella, Aubree, Clara, and Avery reporting from Cherry School. Nature Rules!”
East Rapids Elementary
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 Dec. 7, 2024. My name is Ellie, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“December is known as the Little Spirit Moon according to the Ojibwe. On Saturday, Dec. 7, it reached a high of 45 degrees at Ms. Jackson’s house. Even though it was unseasonably warm, the Knife River was frozen in many places. However, water was flowing over some small waterfalls, and open water was observed in many places. On Sunday, Dec. 8, there was pouring rain, and then it turned to snow. About 4-5 inches of slush accumulated. By morning, it was 35 degrees and the roads were clear.
“On Tuesday, Dec. 10, Ms. Jackson’s class measured about 3 inches of crunchy snow on our school nature trail. They also observed layers of ice on the creek. It had a thin layer on top that was slushy and a very thick bottom layer. It was too thick to break. It is important to respect ice on ponds, rivers, and lakes. It takes at least 4 inches of new, solid ice in contact with stationary water for it to be safe enough to walk or skate on. Any flowing water under ice weakens it, so be extremely cautious, as flowing water may not always be noticeable.
“On Wednesday, Dec. 11, and Thursday, Dec. 12, a cold advisory forced indoor recess for all students. Also, on Thursday morning, Dec. 12, Lukas noticed that the inside door to his house was frosted over with ice in spots!
“On Monday, Dec. 9, Ms. Rademacher’s class noticed a flock of European Starlings at the bird feeders outside their window. On Tuesday, Dec. 10, Ms. Lounsberry’s class noticed the flock of starlings at their bird feeders.
"On the weekend of Dec. 7 and 8, Mrs. Cassidy’s class made snow cakes and decorated them with food for animals. On Monday they checked the trail camera, and the videos showed that a grey fox, red squirrel, and ravens visited their cakes. On Wednesday, Dec. 11, Ms. Rollo’s class found a dogwood patch with lots of bite marks. They think white-tailed deer ate a bunch of the buds off the branches.
“On Monday, Dec. 9, Ms. Markon’s class found one daddy longleg in the fresh snow in the school forest. They think the daddy long legs chose that spot to spend the winter.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week, and be observant!”
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Madelyn and Rowan reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of Dec. 15.
“A classmate saw a Barred Owl during the daytime, so she was able to snap a photo of it. We are hoping we get to see a Snowy Owl this winter.
“We did discover the live stream of a bird feeder from Sax-Zim Bog and have enjoyed checking in on the northern birds from our classroom.
“We are still seeing large flocks of birds flying south.
“A classmate found a dead star-nosed mole on top of the snow and brought it in for our class to observe.
“There has been a noticeable increase in rodent activity, both in traps and cat kills.
“We have discussed the differences between mice and voles, and even shrews, so we will be able to tell them apart if we encounter them in our homes or yards.
“We did have our coldest temps of the season, as it made it down to -13 on Dec. 12.
“Although the cold weather has hampered some of our outdoor exploring, we have been able to experience unique sensations, like wet hair freezing quickly.
“Although the animal and plant activity has slowed down as winter arrived, there is a world of different fungi and lichen that have been fun finds. One new discovery was the appropriately named trumpet lichen, which looks like tiny green horns.
“Cottontail rabbits and Bald Eagles continue to be frequent sightings.
“Juncos, chickadees, nuthatches, House Finches and cardinals have been regular visitors at our feeders, along with drab-colored goldfinches.
“That is our report for this week. Until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington
"Hi, this is June, Yina, and Norah reporting from Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota.
"This week’s weather has been cold, cloudy and wildly windy.
"With our plant observations, we observed that most of the leaves are gone from our trees, even the buckthorn leaves. Our oak still has some leaves, but only a few. We think the wind and cold has really changed the tree.
"We noticed lots of scat this week, at least 3 different kinds of animals. We think it’s from rabbits, deer and dogs. We also found fur that looks like it’s from a rabbit. We are thinking animals are eating a lot and thus pooping a lot in preparation for winter. There was not a lot of bird action today.
“We are wondering why the oak tree has some leaves still on the lower inside branches, but not on the upper outside branches?
"That’s all for today, stay tuned for the next OGE Phenology Club nature episode! Bye!!!
Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
Sophie: "Hi, this is Sophie,”
Ellen: "...and this is Ellen,”
Sophie: "...and we’re from Prairie Creek Community School, way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Ellen: "The temperature has been swinging wildly.”
Sophie: "We had our coldest forest school of the year last Wednesday when it was 16 degrees with a wind chill of -10.”
Ellen: "But today it’s supposed to be above freezing.”
Sophie: "We’ve had a lot of bird sightings - geese, chickadees, cardinals, turkeys and juncos are common.”
Ellen: "Sienna reports a few murmurations of starlings and a few lonely seagulls.”
Sophie: "Jaxon saw large white birds in a cornfield but wasn’t close enough to make an ID.”
Ellen: "Anna saw a squirrel and Maysoon saw three deer.”
Sohpie: "Annabel came across a grisly sight on a hike - there was deer hair and a trail of blood going up a set of stairs.”
Ellen: "She thinks that an animal dragged a deer (or a part of a deer) up the stairs.”
Sophie: "Perhaps we should have had a PG rating on this post!”
Ellen: "Too late now!”
Sophie: "This has been Prairie Creek,”
Ellen: "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).
