Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
Wyatt: “Hi, this is Wyatt-”
Ruby: “And this is Ruby-”
Wyatt: “And we’re from Prairie Creek Community School-”
Ruby: “Way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Wyatt: “Well, spring is starting to spring… finally.”
Ruby: “It feels late – but according to our records, it’s about average.”
Wyatt: “On March 22, we saw our first kestrels and a crow with nesting material.”
Ruby: “On March 27, Caroline saw a butterfly – that is pretty early, especially since it snowed the next day.”
Wyatt: “On March 29, we spotted the first heron and there have been a lot since then.”
Wyatt: “On April 2, we saw and heard Killdeer and we noticed that our elm tree was flowering.”
Ruby: “On April 3, we saw the first bluebird, chipmunk and our first worm.”
Wyatt: “This weekend, we noticed the forsythia was flowering-”
Ruby: “And gooseberries and honeysuckle are leafing out.”
Wyatt: “The crabapple tree we watch has bud break. The squill has started to come up. And the golf course is starting to get green.”
Ruby: “The robins are starting to nest. We think we may have seen a second piebald robin – Oscar reports seeing both of them at the same time. We are wondering if piebald populations can develop by passing on genes.”
Wyatt: “Otherwise, we had a one in nine hundred million chance of seeing that.”
Ruby: “Other birds: egrets, cranes, Pileated Woodpecker, hawks, juncos, turkeys-”
Wyatt: “Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds, eagles, vultures, starlings, and geese.”
Ruby: “Whew! This has been Prairie Creek-”
Wyatt: “One more step along the phenology journey.”
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Madilyn and Emalee reporting from Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of April 6.
“There have been huge flocks of juncos, as it appears that migrating groups have joined the birds that spent the winter here.
“Fox Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and a Swamp Sparrow were sighted.
“We have seen the return of Wood Ducks and also Hooded Mergansers, along with loons showing up on open water.
“The flowers of the maple trees are red and give the trees a ‘fuzzy’ appearance.
“We did see our first Great Blue Heron of the year, and are seeing Sandhill Cranes, often paired up, out in fields.
“Turkey Vultures and gulls are spotted overhead after school and around the Mississippi River.
“We did see our first mourning cloak butterfly feeding on sap on the side of a tree.
“Speaking of sap, we were able to sample a couple varieties of maple syrups that different families had made, including Joslyn’s Box Elder syrup, which had a unique, nutty aftertaste.
“There have been a few reports of Northern Flickers feeding on the ground in people’s yards. They are easy to recognize by the yellow flash of their wings as they fly.
“There was a small cloud of insects, possibly midges, spotted on Sunday.
“A classmate was lucky enough to spot a Woodcock in a small clear spot of ground in her yard after the snowstorm.
“There was a hawk with white undersides and wings, that we later identified as a Northern Harrier.
“There was a pair of Mourning Doves sitting together under a bird feeder.
“That is our report for this week. Until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Baxter Elementary School
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 29, 2025. My name is Madeline, and I am your phenologist for this week!
"Starting on Friday, March 28 through Sunday, March 30, we had a weather combination that included thunderstorms, ice, hail, snow and sunshine! On Wednesday, April , we, along with all neighboring schools, had a snow day due to a spring snowstorm that had snow accumulations of anywhere from 6-12 inches of snow in our area. The heavy wet snow was perfect for building snowmen and snow forts! On Thursday, April 3, and Friday, April 4, due to warm weather the snow started to melt, causing a muddy mess everywhere!
On Tuesday, April 1, Red-winged Blackbirds were heard and seen in French River.
"During EE class on Thursday April 3, Mrs. Rolfe’s class was out for a snowshoe walk when they came upon a fresh deer bed in the new snow.
“Due to the colder temperatures over the weekend, we found on Monday, March 31, that we had not collected any sap from our two red maples since our last collection on Friday, March 28. Our school has been collecting sap for about two weeks, so on March 31, Ms. Urban had our first sap boil out by shelter two on the nature trail. We had collected a total of 15 gallons of sap and after boiling we had half a gallon of maple syrup. That’s about a 30:1 ratio of sap to syrup; not bad! We will continue to collect sap and have one more sap boil before the season ends.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week, and be observant!”
North Star Elementary School in Virginia
“This is Brycen, Cooper, Sam, Bryn, Kiera, and Maddy with a report from North Star Elementary on April 4, 2025.”
“This is Brycen. When I was at my dad’s land, north of Virginia, we saw a Great Gray Owl on a branch on the side of the road. I got to watch it for about five minutes before it flew into the woods.”
“This is Cooper. On Wednesday, we got about 7.5 inches of snow in Britt. The snow is hanging around and is very slushy. It’s perfect for making snowballs, but don’t throw them at school!”
“This is Sam. I observed that the snow that fell on the paved bike trail has already melted, but it’s still piled up in the shady areas. The asphalt absorbs a lot of heat from the sun, so the snow didn’t last long there.”
“This is Bryn. I saw a snowshoe hare by my house. It was turning from its winter white to its springtime brown coat. It was cool to see it in between phases!”
“This is Kiera. I saw a bear in the street in front of my house. My dad yelled, ‘Go bear, go!’ and it ran away.”
“This is Maddy. Yesterday I saw a crow bringing nesting materials to his partner.”
“This has been a report from North Star Elementary in Virginia. Keep exploring the great outdoors!”
Great Expectations School in Grand Marais
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).
