Oak Grove Elementary School in Bloomington
“Hi, this is Di’Angelei, Khobi and Mirren reporting from Oak Grove Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota.
“We are having temperatures ranging from lows in the twenties to highs in the sixties, so the temperatures are increasing on us because spring is coming.
“Today we checked our sap from the maple tree. It was frozen, but we noticed some sap coming out of other holes we drilled. We have about ½ cup of sap, which will not make much syrup.
“Our animal camera spotted a fox, a raccoon, and maybe a muskrat.
“We are experiencing a bunch of mud all over our playground and in the woods. This is because of the snow melting and the rain we are getting.
“That’s all for today, stay tuned for the next OGE Phenology Club nature episode. Have a great spring break, BYE!”
Charlie Mitchell near Marine on St. Croix
"Hi John and Heidi, this is Charlie reporting from Marine on St. Croix. This week has been busy for phenology!
“On March 25, I saw my first Turkey Vulture of the season.
“While canoeing on the St. Croix on March 27, we saw our first Tree Swallows swooping and calling over the water, heard a Killdeer and Eastern Wood Peewee calling, and saw both painted and map turtles basking on fallen logs.
“On our walk to the river, we spotted the first sharp-lobed hepatica blooming on a south-facing slope. By March 30, the blooms were covered in a centimeter of snow; it’s a good thing their stems are insulated with a layer of fuzzy white hairs to keep them from freezing!
“I’m trying be a good John Latimer disciple by recording seasonal lasts. I’m still seeing a few Dark-eyed Juncos, and the Merlin Bird ID app has heard a few Pine Siskins.
“The sap in the sugar maples is still running. We have gotten 3 batches of maple syrup cooked and we have around 7.5 gallons of syrup total this year. We're going to cook one more batch before ending the season, since there are a few flies.
“We saw a couple of butterflies last week.
“I hope you both are well, and have a great morning!”
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Mr. Kaddatz’s fifth-hour class reporting from Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of March 30.
“There has been a noticeable return of Turkey Vultures to Little Falls, and seeing several of them soaring above the trees is a common sight after school.
“In the morning, it is a common sight to see robins and Blue Jays singing from the very tops of trees around our school.
“We are seeing lots of geese and swans in our area, and there has been an increase in the number of ducks that are showing up each day.
“We have had Fox Sparrows rooting around under our feeders, and the Dark-eyed Juncos have not started heading north yet.
“We have seen multiple groups of Wild Turkeys numbering in the thirties or forties.
“There is a cottontail rabbit that has been spotted entering a hole in a yard.
“A classmate has been collecting sap from a box elder tree, and we are curious to see what the syrup she is making will taste like.
“There was a predacious diving beetle that flew into the school parking lot. We are guessing it was on its way to a nearby pond from wherever it spent the winter.
“The Eastern Bluebirds have returned and are already hanging around by bluebird houses.
“The seeds of the cattails are fluffy and spread with the slightest contact.
“We have had several Wood Ducks that have appeared on local ponds.
“The male catkins and female cones of the speckled alder are visible and easy to spot around wet areas.
“The first Killdeer was heard and spotted on March 27.
“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
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 weeks of March 15 and March 22, 2025. My name is Ellie, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“On Tuesday, March 18, Ms. Jackson’s class noticed that there are sparse amounts of ice piles on the playground, but still more ice on the school nature trail. Schmidt Creek has ice on the bottom of the creek bed and flowing water on top. There was no sap from our maple trees to collect as the temperature had been too cold.
“Thursday, March 20th was the spring Equinox, when we had 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night.
“On Sunday, March 23, a fresh coat of 2-3 inches of snow and ice coated the roads. It quickly melted. On Tuesday, March 25, Ms. Jackson’s class noticed that Schmidt Creek on the nature trail was frozen again. The air temperature was 29 degrees. On Wednesday, March 26, the creek had several inches of open water. No sap was in our sap buckets this day when checked.
“Ms. Camper saw the first robin on Saturday, March 15. On Thursday, March 20, Dax saw Canada Geese at Lester Park. Also on Thursday, Ms. Urban saw her first Fox Sparrow of the season at her birdfeeder.
“On Sunday, March 23, Ms. Urban had so many birds at her house she had to fill up her bird feeder twice! She saw Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, one Purple Finch, Dark-eyed Juncos and American Goldfinches. On Tuesday, March 25, Ms. Rademacher’s class heard a grouse drumming in the woods. On Thursday, March 27, Ms. Urban saw 5 Snow Buntings outside by the playground.
"Ms. Jackson spotted pussy willows that had bloomed on Friday, March 21.
“On the night of Friday, March 14, Ms. Urban saw the Northern Lights at her house. She saw red, green and purple in the northern lights.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week and be observant!”
North Star Elementary School in Virginia
“This is Brody, Azalea, Alaina, Bella, Autumn, and Dallyce with a report from North Star Elementary on March 28, 2025.
“This is Brody. Bears are awake and back at my shack near Deer River. We have seen two different ones so far on the game cams. I also saw my first American Robin of the year on Tuesday, March 25.
“This is Azalea. Last Saturday, March 22, Michaela noticed a chipmunk at her grandma’s house. On Tuesday, March 25, I heard a woodpecker drumming while I was walking to my bus stop.
“This is Alaina. Over the past week, temperatures have ranged from 14 to 52 degrees. That’s a 38-degree temperature difference. Our warmer days and cool nights are perfect for making the maple sap start to flow!
“This is Bella. We are 8 days past the vernal equinox and today have 12 hours and 41 minutes of daylight. In one week, we gained 41 minutes of sunshine!
“This is Autumn. We got a couple inches of snow last weekend but most of it has already melted.
“This is Dallyce. Yesterday, while I was exploring the great outdoors with my dad, we noticed a lot of bunny tracks in the snow.
“This has been a report from North Star Elementary in Virginia. Keep exploring the great outdoors!”
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).
