Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
Amelie: “Hello, this is Amelie-”
Silas: “And this is Silas-”
Amelie: “And we’re from Prairie Creek Community School, way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Silas: “Both Leo and Sahil reported geese flying in the opposite direction from the fall. They were in more of a line than a ‘V’.”
Amelie: “We have some more roadkill to report: a squirrel, a racoon, and two dead possums.”
Silas: “Speaking of possums, Oscar saw a possum in his shed, and he thinks it might have been pregnant. It was really big, and it was during the day.”
Ameile: “Oscar also saw an owl and Anna heard an owl.”
Silas: “Ruby saw a hawk under the train bridge and saw two more hawks nearby.”
Amelie: “Wyatt heard a Mourning Dove and I saw a murder of crows.”
Silas: “We all report a return of the box elder bugs and the Asian beetles.”
Amelie: “Maysoon saw more starlings and we have all been hearing the chickadee ‘fee-bee’ and the cardinal.”
Silas: “Speaking of cardinals… We think that was our mystery bird from last week. We had all heard it and when we listened to the White-throated Sparrow, it was too high. We listened to the end of the ‘O Ricky song’ and decided that was what we had heard. Thank you everyone for your help!”
Amelie: “We’ve noticed that our pets like cats, rabbits and dogs seem to be shedding a lot.”
Silas: “The pre-dawn birdsong is getting louder and this morning there were a lot of robins chirping. We also hear a lot of nuthatches and, of course, the cardinals.”
Amelie: “And we are still seeing juncos.”
Silas: “And this just in — this morning Michelle, Ryan and Megan saw a piebald robin.”
Amelie: “We’re all going to keep our eyes out so we can see it too.”
Silas: “This has been Prairie Creek-
Amelie: “One more step along the phenology journey.”
Oak Grove Elementary School in Bloomington
“Hi, this is Raya, Miles and Yina reporting from Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota.
“We are having warmer and dreary weather. Yet tonight, we might have a blizzard.
“Today we looked at pictures of an octopus and sea anemone that one of our classmates took on a trip to Mexico. We also looked at pictures of owl pellets found in our woods.
“We then went outside and looked at the owl pellets. We saw bones in it, and it looked gross. It makes us think we have at least one owl in our woods.
“We looked at our 3 tree branches to study their growth. We noticed the red maple and buckthorn were starting to bloom, and the river birch did not look much different.
“That’s all for today, stay tuned for the next OGE Phenology Club nature episode. Keep an eye on nature! Bye!”
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Jackson and Isaiah reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of March 9.”
“There was a sighting of an Eastern Bluebird in Mora on March 3. It was a male and was checking out a bluebird house.
“We saw a group of American Robins, and we thought they might be our first migrants, but we have not seen any other groups coming through, so we are still waiting for our first official “first robins” of the spring.
“There were a couple pairs of Mallards sitting on open water in a roadside pond.
“The Blue Jays and crows have been very loud and seem to be determined to drive off any other birds that are in the same area as they are.
“We saw a winter stonefly moving around on the snow near the Mississippi River.
“There have been otters feeding while sitting on the ice near open water on the river.
“The catkins of the willows are fuzzy and easy to spot near ponds and ditches.
“Many people have begun to tap their sugar maple trees to collect sap for maple syrup.
“Small groups of Trumpeter Swans have become a very normal sight around Little Falls in the past few weeks.
“We still have large groups of juncos and Pine Siskins hanging around.
“House Finches and Purple Finches have been spotted visiting bird feeders.
“We are downloading the Merlin bird app to our phones in preparation for the explosion of migrating birds that should be arriving soon.
“That is our report for this week, until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Soeler, Iselle and the students from Sejong Academy in St. Paul.
“The weather was all over the place with a high of 53 degrees and a low of 13. We had sunshine, rain, snow and wind!
“On the lake we saw slush on top of the frozen lake, deer tracks frozen into the lake ice, an otter hole with aquatic vegetation on the ice around the hole and swans flying overhead. Long Lake currently has 17-18 inches of ice.
“In the forest we tapped maple trees, no sap is running yet. We saw green hepatica leaves, maple trees with buds, two Blue Jays and granular snow that reminded us of sugar or salt.
“In the night sky we saw Jupiter and the moons of Jupiter. We also saw our moon in the first quarter phase, this moon phase is halfway between a new moon and a full moon. The part we see will be getting bigger from now until the full moon on March 14. On this date there will also be a total lunar eclipse. The earth will be directly between the sun and the moon. The moon will look red because of the earth’s atmosphere.
“Check it out on Friday night after midnight and remember to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
Pike Lake Elementary near Duluth
“Good morning my name is Ellie, and this is our report for the week of Feb. 16 from Pike Lake Elementary School.
“Warm temperatures, great flocks of birds, and flowing maple sap are the highlights of our week. Last week we had a high temperature of 48 and a low temperature of 11 degrees. The combination of temperature above and below freezing has created perfect conditions for sap flow. Here are some other observations we have made over the past week.
“Good morning. This is Avery. Ellie and I were talking about the large flocks of chickadees we were observing last week. We got together and did some research. We found that for increased protection from predators it is best to have more eyes to spot the danger. Additionally, it improves the chances of locating food. We observed both Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees.
“I am Sonja. Last week we observed a Pileated Woodpecker at our bird feeder! Their size is very impressive. I learned that they grow up to 19 inches long! Their eggs are white without any markings. Based on the color, ours was a male.
“Adele here. Watching the bird feeder, I discovered a mesmerizing bird! My partner told me that it is called a Purple Finch! The bird I was captivated by was a reddish male. I learned that they can be found in large flocks and have greenish blue eggs.
“My name is Aubre. My friends and I had a rewarding time watching the birds at our school bird feeder. We have observed two kinds of chickadees, two kinds of nuthatches, many varieties of finches and a Pileated Woodpecker.
“Hi, I am Piper. When I looked down at the ground I saw a cluster of leaves. I was wondering why they were there because there were no leaves on the trees. I thought the leaves would have disintegrated over the winter. I did some research and found out that it takes a couple of years before a leaf will fully decompose. If the leaves are broken into tiny pieces, it takes less time.
“This concludes our report from the outer reaches of the Proctor School District. Be aware. Things are happening out there.”
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 March 1, 2025. My name is Cadence, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“On Monday, March 3, we started the day with some freezing rain that made our sidewalks very slippery. On Tuesday, March 4-5, we saw a snow accumulation between 3-4 inches to our playground areas that were previously showing grass. The snow was very sticky, making it great for building forts and snowmen! On Thursday, March 6, Mrs. Rolfe’s class was by the creek and found that they could break the ice on the creek and saw running water under the ice.
“On Wednesday, March 5, Mrs. Rolfe’s class went to chickadee landing and bird watched. They saw a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches, several Pine Siskins, White-breasted Nuthatches, a Downy Woodpecker, and a lot of chickadees.
“Annabell has noticed some deer bedding down alongside her driveway. On Tuesday, March 4, Mrs. Rolfe saw a skunk in Lakeside. On Wednesday, March 5, Samantha saw that there were three deer playing with a fox in their pasture.
“The pussy willow buds in the swales at NSCS are getting very large but have not broken open yet.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week and be observant!”
East Rapids Elementary in Grand Rapids
Cohasset Elementary School
Aurora Waasakone Community of Learners in Bemidji
“Hello, this is Aurora Waasakone Community of Learners'conservation crew. This is phenology for the first week of March.
“Cora saw a beaver on the on the banks of the Mississippi. There was a snowshoe hare that got caught by her cat.
“Magpies are present along with Blue Jays. A black bear was spotted, and it looked sleepy. Lots of deer have been feasting alongside the roads and in the ditches. Chipmunks and squirrels are chattering, Trumpeter Swans have been finding open water. Pussy willows are blooming, winter fur is starting to shed on the horses, cats and dogs.
“This has been Ellena and Cora reporting for the AWCL conservation crew. Keep observing.”
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).
