Despite a deep freeze that sent temperatures diving below 20 degrees, our observant student phenologists braved the bitter conditions to explore and enjoy the outdoors. Listen in to learn the results of their arctic-adjacent expeditions!
Oak Grove Elementary School in Bloomington
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Delilah and Paige reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of Jan. 19.
“The small covering of snow has allowed the voles to be more active in their subnivean tunnels, but not deep enough to hide them from our view.
“If you are traveling down the highway, you will more than likely see pairs of crows every half mile or so.
“Skunks have been a common sight this month. They do not hibernate and will wake up occasionally to scrounge for food.
“There was a single Mourning Dove flying overhead. Most have migrated for winter, but obviously this one is surviving here this winter.
“Goldenrod galls are easy to spot in meadows and ditches. A majority of them have holes that indicate a Downy Woodpecker has already found the larvae that was inside.
“Although the Trumpeter Swans are still present, we have noticed that we are seeing fewer and fewer geese this month.
“We have been seeing pheasants on shoulders of roads, probably searching for spilled grains.
“There have been several sightings of different insects appearing indoors, waking from hibernations. Most notably have been western conifer seed bugs and Asian beetles.
“There have been groups of Blue Jays visiting feeders at the same time.
“Great Horned Owls have been ‘hooting’ at night. The sound is loud enough to be heard inside the house.
“One interesting observation to make this time of year, is to look at the silhouettes of trees, especially oaks. The twisted shapes of the branches and trunks are quite different from how they appear when covered in leaves.
“That is our report for this week. Until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Declan and Bennett and the students from Modern Montessori.
“Hi, this is Declan and Bennett from Modern Montessori in Champlin with the phenology report from Long Lake Conservation Center.
“During our trip from Jan. 15-17, the low temperature was 10 degrees and the high was 34.
"With all the new snow for our trip we got to see and experience many things. There were
LOTS of deer tracks going back and forth. Many were dragging their hooves in the snow. Some of the deer tracks we identified as a buck. We also spotted little rodent tracks; it was hopping along with its tail dragging behind it, and then we saw where it dove into the snow in its tunnel.
“The squirrels have been running all over getting food and we have been hearing and seeing chickadees calling and eating at the feeder.
“We went out onto the lake in our snowshoes and brushed away the snow to look at the ice, where we found some frozen plants. While we were out there we saw a snow-nado! A few big gusts of wind were lifting the powdery snow and swirling it around.
“There have also been beautiful sunrises and sunsets while we were here, as well as some clear night sky to see several planets.
“A few of us spotted some smaller things, like some snow flies. They are small insects without wings and they were walking on the snow.
“On a hike one of us found a stick that had these shriveled mushrooms on it. It turns out they were amber jelly roll mushrooms, a type of jelly fungus. We put a few of them in water to watch them expand.
“We had a great time exploring nature and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
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 Jan. 11, 2025. My name is Chance, and I am your phenologist for this week!
"On Sunday, Jan. 12, we got 6 to 7 inches of snow. The average amount of snow is 20.6 inches in January, and we currently have 7.2 inches. We hope to still get a lot more snow this month! On Monday we had a low temperature of negative 12 degrees and it felt like negative 31 degrees because of the wind. Thursday, Jan. 16 brought warmer temperatures, it was actually misting out in the morning and the temperature was 31 degrees.
"An owl IRRUPTION, yes, IRRUPTION, not ERUPTION, has been noted in our area. An abundance of owl sightings, especially Boreal Owls have been seen in our area. The reason for this is due to lack of their food source in Canada, such as voles, so owls are searching for food. Last year, there was an overabundance of voles which contributed to good nesting success and all the young now dispersing. This may explain the frequent sighting of the Great Grey Owl on our school grounds.
“Please be careful when driving, as there have been several owls that have been killed or injured from cars hitting them. Also, only view them from afar, so as to not cause them any distress.
"January’s full moon first appeared Sunday, Jan. 12, and will extend into Jan. 15, Wednesday morning. The full moon will reach peak illumination beginning at 5:27 p.m on Monday. The Wolf Moon is derived from Native American culture, in which during this time wolf packs could be heard howling on the outskirts of villages. The Ojibwe call the January full moon Manidoo-giizis or Spirit Moon.
“Some students have noticed some halos in the sky around the sun. This is called atmospheric optics! Halos occur when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny ice crystals cover much of the sky. Each ice crystal acts like a miniature lens that bends direct sunlight (or moonlight) hitting one face into our eyes through its opposite face forming a circular halo around the Sun or the Moon.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week and be observant!”
Cherry School near Iron Junction
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).
