Have you felt the intimidating presence of a Sharp-shinned Hawk?

Northern Lights Community School in Warba

Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade

This report is brought to you by Cassidee, Mabel and the students from St. Henry's Area School in Perham and St. Joseph Catholic School in Grand Rapids.

“Winter fought back during our trip with a cloudy and chilly high of 44 and a low of 25. Because of the extended cold, maple sap is still flowing.
“As we were gathering for class, Asher’s mom saw a bobcat chasing something through the woods. There have been a lot of rabbits on campus, so our guess is that it was chasing one. It all happened so quickly that we don’t know if the bobcat caught its prey. The Long Lake naturalists say this is the first sighting of a bobcat in at least five years.
“We saw deer, squirrel and raccoon tracks and lots of scat. Buds are still on the aspen trees and we found a fallen branch that a rabbit had chewed on. Flocks of juncos and Purple Finches were on the feeders, and a pair ofCommon Mergansers were seen in the open water near shore.
“Naturalist Julia said that she saw the otters sliding down the snow on the hill this morning.
“The air is filled with choruses of birds singing. So beautiful.
“We had a great time exploring nature and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”

Baxter Elementary

“Hello from Mr. Macejkovic’s class at Baxter Elementary School.
“This is the phenology report for March 28 through April 10.
“Our names are Sofia, Skylynn, and Isla, and we are your phenologists for this week.
“We were blessed with 6 inches of snow in the storm over Easter. It has put a pause on many of the signs of spring.
“We did find our first dandelions up against the south side of our school. Tyler keeps telling us he sees green grass. Sofia planted tulips but the rabbits in her yard keep eating them. Our male small tooth aspen’s catkins are very large and some are starting to drop. We found the first flowers on our hazels bushes on Friday, April 10. The catkins are soft, but not releasing pollen yet when we flick them.
“We’ve noticed lots of deer activity, but they aren’t afraid of us at all. None of them have had antlers, and Isla said she’s seen them by open water a lot. Mr. Macejkovic noticed one with a very swollen belly.
“Isaac is wondering what happens to all the robins when the winter weather comes back? Levi and others have seen lots of juncos. Geese have been spotted returning by Declan. Mallards, geese, and loons are back. The first loon was seen on April 1. Tyler and Griffin have seen male turkeys displaying and we watched a video of two males facing off that Mrs. Bordwell shared. Jett spotted a Pileated Woodpecker. Red-winged Blackbirds continue to arrive. Levi saw our first Red-tailed Hawk on April 8.
“This concludes the phenology report. Have a great week, and be observant!!!”

Little Falls Middle School

“This is Arlo and Emmett reporting from Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of April 5.
“Our first Killdeer of the year was spotted on April 2.
“We had our first sighting of Fox Sparrows on April 3. They had to do their ‘double scratch’ technique through the new snow for the first few days.
“Not only are the juncos still around, but their numbers seem to have doubled. They have also become very protective of the bird feeders.
“We have seen both Great Blue Herons and Sandhill Cranes flying overhead and can identify them by how they hold their necks.
“The most amazing discovery this week was a video from Brett of a coyote that was missing both of its back legs. It is able to maneuver around by balancing on its two front legs.
“It was incredible that it has survived the winter, and we have lots of questions about its backstory and how it is feeding.
“We had multiple loons that were spotted on April 4.
“A classmate heard and recorded a cowbird on April 8, and we spotted a Chipping Sparrow outside our classroom window.
“There are large ‘vortexes’ of Turkey Vultures soaring around Little Falls each afternoon.
“The tops of the silver maple trees are red and fuzzy looking, as the flowers continue to grow.
“Hooded Mergansers and Wood Ducks have been found in open ponds.
“That is our report for this week, until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”

Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield

Grace: “Hi, I’m Grace-”
Ezri: “And I’m Ezri-”
Grace: “And we’re from Prairie Creek Community School, way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Ezri: “Big news this week – We found the skull of a ten point buck when our class was geocaching in Big Woods State Park.”
Grace: “Wow, Ezri. That is literally the biggest news of the week! We also saw hepatica flowers on our field trip.”
Ezri: “We heard frogs and saw minnows on our trip, too.”
Grace: “Michelle saw a Northern Harrier on Sunday.”
Ezri: “I saw turtles this weekend!”
Grace: “The grass is growing and is getting more green.”
Ezri: “The bloodroot is blooming.”
Grace: “We have leaf out on many bushes-”
Ezri: "And - breaking news - our magnolia tree has a few blooms on it!”
Grace: “This has been Prairie Creek-”
Ezri: “One more step along the phenology journey.”

What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.

For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter and podcast 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).