Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
Annabelle: “Hi, this is Annabelle—”
Theo: “And this is Theo —”
Annabelle: “And we’re from Prairie Creek Community School way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Theo: “We’ll start with the roadkill report: we had a skunk, a possum and a raccoon.”
Annabelle: “That skunk is a sure sign of spring —”
Theo: “Or it was a sure sign of spring.”
Annabelle: “We have seen a lot of Bald eagles. And Silas is pretty sure he saw a group of about five Golden Eagles.”
Theo: “Ellen and her bus driver reported seeing vultures, but that is a very early sighting so we are waiting to see more.”
Annabelle: “There have been geese, swans and ducks in the air —”
Theo: “And juncos, Cedar Waxwings, cardinals, chickadees and mourning doves in the trees.”
Annabelle: “About a half an hour before sunrise yesterday, Michelle heard a cardinal, robins and Mourning Doves—”
Theo: “And we’ve all been hearing the fee-bee song and the pump handle song at the bus stop.”
Annabelle: “Maysoon saw and heard a flock of starlings.”
Theo: “We have a mystery bird call - it goes like this —”
Annabelle: “Doooo Doooo do dododododododo” (third down)
Theo: “Any guesses, John and Heidi?”
Annabelle: “Amelie saw a lot of crows. Oscar and Silas saw a ton of deer.”
Theo: “We tapped a few maple trees last week.”
Annabelle: “The red osier dogwood is really bright red and the elder buds are starting to plump up.”
Theo: “This has been Prairie Creek —”
Annabelle: “One more step along the phenology journey.”
Oak Grove Elementary School in Bloomington
“Hi, this is Mariya, Ikhlas and Mirren reporting from Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota.
“After last week’s really cold weather, this week’s weather has been turning warm, with the snow melting and causing a lot of mud.
“We found a squirrel tail on our playground. We think the fox that lives in our woods got to it.
“Today we cut a branch from three trees: a buckthorn, river birch and red maple. We are going to watch them over the next several weeks and record our observations of how they bloom. Every couple of weeks, we will cut another branch from each tree and compare them to the original cuts.
“That’s all for today, stay tuned for the next OGE Phenology Club nature episode. Stay preppy, we’re out!”
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Ella and Gabby reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of March 2.
“We heard our first Northern Cardinal singing on evening of Feb. 24, and loudly again the next morning.
“Mr. Kaddatz woke up in the middle of the night to the loud, deep hooting of a Great Horned Owl near his house, on Feb. 25.
“A classmate spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker visiting his bird feeder, and Pileated and Downy Woodpeckers were regular sights this week.
“I (Ella) was able to go along at Camp Ripley as they did checkups on black bears in their dens and I held one of the newborn cubs.
“The Bald Eagles continue to be a regular sight around here.
“We did hear the noticeable call of a raven one afternoon, along with a mob of crows.
“As the snow was melting, there were several vole trails that were revealed in our yards.
“We found several Wild Strawberry leaves growing in the woods on March 1.
“There was a group of 15 deer spotted. Two were still carrying antlers.
“A muskrat came up through a hole in ice while a classmate was ice fishing.
“We are seeing several small groups of swans flying overhead, and there was a large flock in a plowed field.
“The most exciting report of the week was a Great Gray Owl that was seen and photographed a few miles north of town. This is the first Great Gray Owl we have heard of from around here.
“Willow and red osier dogwood branches are bright red and stand out against the drab background in wet areas.
“You can hear Woodpeckers hammering on trees throughout the day, another indication of spring mating season.
“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 Indica, Steven, Haylie, Damara, Ronnie, Max and the students from Coulee Connections in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
“During our trip to Long Lake Conservation Center from Feb 24-27, we had a high temperature of 48 degrees, the warmest it’s been since Oct. 19. Much of the snow has melted and some of the trails have turned into a slushy soup.
“Long Lake’s otters liked the warm weather and popped out of a hole in the middle of the lake to enjoy the sun. It’s the first otter sighting in many months. A trail camera was set up near its hole. The otter looked healthy and strong. While we were exploring near the otter’s hole our group saw a star-nosed mole scurrying across the lake and found a dead one close by.
“During a hike to an inactive beaver lodge, we noticed a hole dug on the top. It looked like it might have been dug by a fox. We uncovered a small plant underneath the snow and were surprised that it had green leaves. Our group noticed two newly chopped woodpecker holes, and saw lots of deer scat, and even some old grouse scat.
“The squirrels ruled the day at the bird feeders. We tried to count them all, but they were too busy. A few were even chasing each other. Our guess is that there were close to 20 chunky squirrels. We saw a House Finch, chickadee, nuthatches and a Red-bellied Woodpecker. An adult in another group said she heard a coyote calling at night. At dinner, a small herd of deer came snack on what seeds the squirrels and birds had left behind.
“We think the Vikings are better than the Packers. It’s a great time to explore 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 Feb. 22, 2025. My name is Estelle, and I am your phenologist for this week!
"On Friday, Feb. 21, the ice coverage on Lake Superior was reported at 31 percent along the south shore, which had nearly doubled over the previous 10 days. It is still below average. At 7:00 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 24, it was 40 degrees outside!
“On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Ms. Urban saw patches of leaves and exposed dirt where there had just been snow a few days before. The snow is starting to melt at the bases of trees in the forest, because the bark warms up in the sun and the trees store and radiate heat, melting the snow that is immediately surrounding the trunk. Also on this day, we were at 40.6 inches of snow for the season. That is a deficit of negative 25.1 inches from the average. This time last year, we had 18.5 inches of snow. Due to the warm weather this week, Monday’s snow melt depth was 9 inches, Tuesday’s was 7 more inches and Wednesday was an additional 5 inches. There is not any measurable, fun snow to play in any longer at recess as there are only scattered icy patches. On Friday morning, Feb. 28, wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour were recorded.
"On Sunday, Feb. 23, Ms. Urban saw a flock of Pine Siskins looking for food on the side of the road while she was on a walk. Lorelai and Iris were surprised when they saw a Bald Eagle soaring in the sky on their bus ride to school on Monday, Feb. 24. On Friday, Feb. 28, Ms. Urban saw two goldfinches at the birdfeeder at her house. They were still in their non-breeding plumage.
"On Wednesday, Feb. 26, Ms. Rollo’s class found some big paw prints in the school forest. Ms. Urban took a measuring tape out and the tracks were 4 inches long. The stride distance was nearly 60 inches! Based on the measurements, these could be grey wolf tracks.
“On Thursday, Feb. 27, Ms. Urban noticed 11 inches of water and slush on top of the ice at Schmidt Creek. There is still a layer of ice underneath all the running water. Ms. Jackson’s class noticed that the water and ice level reaches the bottom of the bridge. The snow on the nature trail was about 8 inches deep under the shelter of trees. It was icy, wet, and packy snow.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week, and be observant!”
Sax-Zim Bog near Meadowlands
"This winter the Sax-Zim Bog had an irruption of Owls, mostly Great-Gray and the rare Boreal Owls from mid January to early February! They were reported from Two Harbors to Duluth and the Sax-Zim Bog. Folks from across the country and from around the world came to see them!
Recent bird sightings and observations from the bog include: Rough-legged Hawk, Boreal Chickadee, Great-gray Owl, Ruffed Grouse, Canada Jay ( now gathering nesting materials), White-winged Crossbills, Common Redpolls, Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak ( low numbers) Black-billed Magpie, Pine Siskin, Common Raven, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bald Eagle, Northern Shrike, Brown Creeper, Black-backed Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, Snow Bunting and Barred Owl. Happy Birding!"
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).
