Student Phenology Data
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Make every Friday a Phenology Friday and Submit YOUR Observations!
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Meteorologists consider June 1 the first day of summer here in the Upper Midwest because it marks the beginning of the 92 warmest days of the year. Now is when many clutches of wood duck eggs hatch. The young stay in the nest box or tree cavity the day they hatch, jumping around 8 am the next morning when their mother calls them from below.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Northern catalpa trees and Japanese tree lilacs both have very showy big clusters of flowers. A trained listener can pick out two dozen different bird species in the morning chorus of singers. Barn swallow eggs are hatching. Striped skunk young are out traveling with their mothers. The large mint-green luna moths show up around street lights. Farmers in southern and western Minnesota work to finish harvesting the first crop of alfalfa. The wild lupine, an introduced plant from Washington and Oregon, is blooming with a dazzling display of purple, pink, and white at Lutsen and the whole Nother Shore area. Tulips, crabapple trees, and common purple lilacs bloom in Grand Marais.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Astronomical summer begins, and birds begin singing and calling close to 4:20 am, with American robins first. In the evening the last American robins sing and call until close to 9:40 pm. By now the near surface temperatures of most Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes should have warmed to at least 70 degrees. Red mulberries are ripe and ripening; birds and outdoor enthusiasts enjoy these juicy tasty berries. Gardeners pick buckets of ripe strawberries. The second clutches of eastern bluebird eggs are hatching. Young house wrens, song sparrows, blue jays, northern cardinals, and Baltimore orioles begin to fledge. Fireflies are on the wing and add a special wonder to early summer evenings. Chimney swifts fly and glide quietly over our cities, but by 9:40 pm nearly all of them are in their chimney roosting sites. Common nighthawks are much larger than the swifts and are seen flying and feeding on insects over cities and towns, and we hear them calling well into the night. They nest on rooftops.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
A few monarch butterflies may be on the wing – they’re from the new generation since migration. Ducks and Canada geese have molted their flight feathers, so aren’t flying. This is peak time to see fireflies. From extreme southern Minnesota north to Lake of the Woods, they display their amazing tiny lights. Look for them over meadows and grassy ditches not far from woodlands as soon as darkness sets in.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Watch for the first migrating ruby-throated hummingbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and Baltimore orioles to arrive. More house wrens return and fill our yards with their musical song bursts. Young fox kits come out to play in the sunshine: they are about a quarter adult size. In southern Minnesota the first jack-in-the-pulpits are up and open, and as deciduous trees continue leafing out, we are noticing shade in the urban and natural forests. In the northern part of the state, spring peeper frogs call, and male ruffed grouse are drumming, as the last of the lakes lose their ice covers. The 2021 ice-out season for Minnesota lakes, which began way in the southern part of the state on March 18, ended today May 1 with the ice-out for Greenwood Lake in Cook County near the Canadian border.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Phenology observations tell of nature’s small wonders and simple gifts. Year round, and especially now in May, there are endless surprises for those who go wandering using their senses. The big warbler migration is on and birders can expect to see about 21 species of these tiny songsters, including Nashville, blask0throated green, and magnolia. Tree swallows begin to lay eggs. Female Baltimore orioles build nests. It’s time to enjoy the visual beauty and fragrances of common purple lilac, crabapple, and apple tree blossoms and to hunt for the Minnesota state mushroom, the common morel. Woodlands most anywhere are capable of producing a morel crop. The delectable morel should not be eaten raw. Typical lake surface temperatures are in the 50 to 60 degree range for the Minnesota fishing season opener. Ruby-throated hummingbirds return to northern Minnesota from their wintering range between south Texas and Costa Rica.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Red-eyed vireos are returning from South America. Other newly arrived migrants include common nighthawks, great crested flycatchers, eastern kingbirds, and indigo buntings. Early broods of wood duck young jump from their nest boxes or tree cavities. Hooded mergansers are also cavity nesters and their young jump about this time. In 2017 the United Nations declared May 20 World Bee Day to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators. Besides honey bees there are probably more than 100,000 pollinator insect species – including big numbers of different beetles, flies, moths, butterflies, and wild bees, plus certain birds and bats. Not all plants require pollination, but it’s estimated three-quarters of the global food supply depends on it.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
A relationship with the natural world can help sustain us in difficult times. Migrating monarch butterflies are arriving, and eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies emerging from their chrysalids. Lily-of-the-valley is at bloom peak and fragrant. Another old favorite, the bridal wreath spirea can be in bloom at this time with each shrub looking like a white fountain. Northern Lights azaleas have striking bright pink, orange, purple, yellow, and white flowers with a spicy fragrance. White-tailed deer fawns are usually born the last two weeks of May or the first two of June.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Pileated woodpeckers and black-capped chickadees are excavating nest cavities, while American crows have begun nest building. Among returning migratory birds are ospreys, white pelicans, American coots, and purple martins.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
American robins are now building nests. Many Canada geese have begun incubating eggs. Wood ducks and house finches begin laying eggs. Some returning migrating birds include yellow-rumped warblers, great egrets, and northern flickers. In northern Minnesota, black bears have begun to come out of their dens, snowshoe hares are changing from white to brown and maple syruping is in full production. The lake ice-out season is part of the fabric of life in Minnesota and much of the northern part of the United States. Soon docks go back in with the anticipation of warmer weather together with boating, fishing, and fun in and on the water.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
These spring mornings are the best time of year to hear the symphony of bird music. Listen for tree swallows chattering, mourning doves cooing, red-winged blackbirds trilling, Canada geese honking, American robings singing, woodpeckers drumming, and more. Lawns are quite green and first movers are heard. Gardeners plant potatoes and onions, and seed-in leaf lettuce, radishes, peas, and spinach. Every forest, wetland, and prairie is full of spring signs. April 22 this year marks the 53rd anniversary of the first Earth Day. Each of us can help preserve and protect our amazing planet. By this week in 2021, southern Minnesota farmers had begun planting corn, spring wheat was starting to emerge, the first leaves were out on quaking aspens, and common dandelions were blooming on south-facing slopes providing food for pollinators.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
Expect to see the first Canada goose goslings, and maybe pull the first rhubarb for sauce. PJM rhododendron, Arctic phlox, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and magnolias should have begun flowering. Southern, central, and western Minnesota farmers are preparing soil and would like to be planting field corn and soybeans, spring wheat, oats, sugar beets, and green peas. As ice covers leave northern lakes, common loons return and fill the spring air with their enchanting calls. National Arbor Day is the last Friday in April; 2023 marks the 151st anniversary of the first Arbor Day and should inspire us to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. Trees give us beauty, building materials, and food, shelter and protection, habitat for wildlife, and help clean air.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
For meteorologists in the Upper Midwest, March 1 is considered to be the first day of spring, but some years winter still has a strong hold. White-tailed deer continue to drop antlers. Migrating American crows and bald eagles return to northern Minnesota, where deep snow usually covers much of the landscape offering the best cross-county skiing and snowshoeing of the entire winter. Lake Superior ice cover typically peaks between late February and early March. In 2020 the lake maxed out at 22.9 percent ice coverage, while it was 94.9 percent ice covered March 8, 2019. Black bear cubs, now about a month old and weighing close to 3 pounds, nestle close to their mothers.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
The first migrating flocks of Canada geese could be moving into southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities area. Their travels often come to standstills by snowfalls and strong winds. This week continues to be a good time to tap sugar maple trees; thawing days reaching into the 40s trigger sap flow. Black maples, boxelders, red maples, and silver maples can also be tapped for sap but all must be at least 10 inches in diameter.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Listen for the trumpeting rattling “garooo-a-a-a” calls of early returning sandhill cranes. Migrating common goldeneyes, common mergansers, redheads, and other ducks search for open water. A small percent of American robins winter in Minnesota, and migrants now returning from states just south of us are noticeably flighty and noisy. The first wood ducks and eastern bluebirds return about this time, so get those nesting boxes cleaned out and ready.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
Winters are warming faster than summers in Minnesota. Nearly two weeks of lake ice has been lost to climate change over the past 50 years. March can be a snowy time, but by the end of the month, storms are more likely to bring rain than snow. With much fanfare Canada goose pairs claim their wetland nesting territories. It’s wake-up time for Minnesota gophers, also called 13-lined ground squirrels, which have been hibernating underground since mid-autumn. March 22 is the average date for the shipping season to begin on the Mississippi River at St. Paul. Ice-out is the first day when a lake is at least 90 percent ice-free; so with this definition we don’t have to wait for ice pushed up on a shoreline by wind to finally melt.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
Open water attracts waterfowl such as mallards, pintails, redheads, common and hooded mergansers, and ring-necked ducks. It’s wonderful to hear the red-winged blackbirds trilling in marshlands. A few eastern bluebirds attempt to winter over in Minnesota, but nearly all of them spend the coldest months farther south and return in numbers between mid-March and mid-April. Their habitat includes orchards, farmlands, roadsides, and open woodlands. Look for pasqueflowers blooming on prairies, and sharp-lobed hepaticas and bloodroots blooming in woodlands.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Groundhogs, also called woodchucks, are hibernating underground each in their own burrow, and internal clocks will awaken them near the end of March, not on Feb. 2. A curled-up hibernating woodchuck’s body temperature may fall as low as 38 degrees from the normal close to 100 degrees. They breathe about once every six minutes, and their heartbeat is about five percent of normal. The small buds on native basswood and sugar maples, red-osier dogwood and staghorn sumac shrubs, wild plum, and backyard apple trees remind us that in a few short months, these tightly packed buds will turn into flowers and leaves. In northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, ruffed grouse commonly fly headlong into deep snow to spend the night or sleep out a storm. Loose snow is a good insulator.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Barred owls carry on hooted dialogues with each other. Great horned owls are on nests incubating eggs; they are the earliest nesting bird in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Starting on Feb. 11, at our latitude, greenhouses become hot and humid on sunny days, the result of the Sun being higher in the sky and concentrating its rays. We also notice that cars parked in the sunlight warm up even on cold days. When driving on country roads in southern Minnesota, watch for horned larks, seen in small groups along road edges, and considered to be the first returning migrants. These gray-brown birds, about the size of Baltimore orioles, fly up as cars go by. It’s breeding time for wolves, but only for the alpha pair in a pack, which prevents overpopulation so they will continue to have an adequate food source. After a gestation period of 64 days, timber wolf pups arrive in northern Minnesota around mid-April.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Honey bees balled up deep within their hives keep warm by beating their wings. More “whi, whi, whi …” songs of spring from the white-breasted nuthatches remind us again that one season slides slowly into the next, and for now, we need to savor winter. By mid-February, the mating season has begun for tree squirrels like flying, fox, gray, and red, and also for red foxes. Look for striped skunks and raccoons out of their winter sleeping quarters during warm spells, searching for food and companionship.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
The long, arching, golden-yellow twigs of weeping willows glow on the landscape. White-tailed deer have begun shedding winter fur. This is a good time to get out and prune apple trees. Cuts made in warm weather could invite disease. Pruning is done to limit the numbers of apples a tree will produce, so the fruit will be of good size, and to open the tree so sunlight can penetrate the interior and ripen the fruit. It’s time for maple syrup producers to begin tapping trees. Eelpout, our only freshwater cod, spawning begins in late February and continues into March.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
Snow on evergreen boughs is a beautiful sight. Leopard frogs lie buried at the bottoms of ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. Pairs of great horned owls can be heard duet hooting in the night as they set up nesting territories. At this time in 2021, the ice on many Twin Cities and area lakes ranged from 7 to 13 inches thick, and sunfish bit during the day, crappies in the evening, and walleyes through the night. Each winter we observe that timber wolves travel on the wind-packed snow of northern Minnesota lakes.Â
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
The state of Minnesota warmed 3.0 degrees between 1895 and 2020 according to the Department of Natural Resources State Climatology Office. It’s time to begin looking for antler sheds. Listen for the black-capped chickadee’s whistled “fee-bee” song, also interpreted as the “spring-soon” song, and the “whi, whi, whi…” song of the white-breasted nuthatch. Hearing these two sounds of spring lifts our spirits and is a good reminder that one season slides slowly into the next. The surprising ground, rock, and tree lichens – showing orange, yellow, green, gray, gray-blue, and brown – delight our winter eyes.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports, based on year-round average temperatures, that Alaska is the coldest state, followed by North Dakota, and Minnesota is tied with Main for the third coldest. Most spring into summer nesting trumpeter swans remain in Minnesota year-round. We see them in open water areas of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers and other open water areas at Fergus Falls, Cass, and Hubbard counties, and other spots, where they feed on water plants, and also in corn and soybean stubble fields. The trumpeter swan, our largest waterfowl, disappeared as a breeding bird in the early 20th century. It was reintroduced into Minnesota in the late 1960s in Hennepin and Carver counties, and since then has greatly expanded its population and range in the state.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Those of us who are close to nature during the length of a Minnesota winter can appreciate the subtle spring signs and take joy in each occurrence. The wonderful whistled “what-cheer, cheer, cheer” or “birdy, birdy, birdy” songs of the northern cardinal, in January make us take note. Our minds think of warmer days. Yes, hearing a cardinal is an early sign of spring, as they sing in response to lengthening days. The female’s song is like the male’s but softer, so always look up and see who is singing. Male common ravens do elaborate courtship flight maneuvers over much of northern Minnesota at this time, including steep dives, tumbles, and rolls. Also, in the north, pine siskins, pine grosbeaks, red-breasted nuthatches, and Canada jays are among the birds coming to feeders. Ice covered about 6% of Lake Superior in late January 2021, and 12% in 2022.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Ice covers form after a lake or pond reaches 39°F throughout. Always remember, it takes at least four inches of new solid ice over stationary water for safe walking, skating, and ice fishing. You don’t want to fall through the ice as cold water saps body heat 25 times faster than air of the same temperature. In 32°F water, a person will last about 15 minutes before losing consciousness. Cattail heads standing in marshes resemble hotdogs on sticks. Pairs of great horned owls can be heard duet hooting, probably establishing nesting territories.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
The red fruit on highbush cranberry shrubs and many varieties of crabapple trees is quite colorful and provides food for wildlife. Bald eagles hunt fish where open water is found, such as along the Mississippi River between the Twin Cities and Winona and farther south, and along the Minnesota River between Mankato and Le Sueur.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Some animals adapt to a northern winter by going into hibernation. At this time millions and millions of individual animals are in a deep sleep across Minnesota and Wisconsin. The list includes black bears, woodchucks, 13-lined ground squirrels, turtles, snakes, lizards, frogs, and toads, as well as countless insects, ticks, and spiders.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Fresh snow reflects close to 90 percent of the Sun’s radiation from its surface. The intensity of sunlight is now just a quarter of the maximum level we had back in June. No wonder we can expect cold days. House finches, mourning doves, and nuthatches are among the first visitors to drink from heated birdbaths each day. Downy, hairy, red-bellied, and pileated woodpeckers come to suet feeders. 2020 tied 2016 for the warmest year worldwide. The past six years were the hottest on record for our planet.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Norway maples and Lombardy poplars display beautiful golden-yellow leaves. We see tundra swans overhead and hear their muffled musical whistles – a wonderful sign of fall. They are coming from their summer range, which is mainly north of the Arctic Circle, and heading for their wintering range along the Atlantic coast. Look for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of tundra swans at the Mississippi River and backwaters a couple miles south of Brownsville. The swans stop hear to feed on water plants and rest. Gray squirrels collect fallen leaves and strips of bark from branches to add to their winter nests. Snowshoe hares in northern Minnesota are showing much white as they change from their brown summer coats. Statewide, farmers labor to finish up the combining of corn and other field work.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Dried flowerheads of Japanese silver grass and common milkweed seed carriers glow silver-white in late afternoon sunlight. Numerous gossamers, single strands of spider silk, are floating in the air or caught between twigs of trees and shrubs; they glisten in the sunlight. Look for big rafts of American coots that may contain more than 1,000 birds on some lakes. In southern Minnesota, Franklin’s gulls and ring-billed gulls follow farmers doing fall plowing to pick up worms and other small animals in the soil.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
The last broccoli is cut from gardens and parsley is still green and growing. Red cedar trees have taken on a maroon-brown look for winter. November brings long chilling nights with bright stars and hooting owls. Some days are clear with ocean-blue skies, while others are cloudy, producing beautiful fiery sunrises and sunsets. Ice begins to form on ponds and lakes on the first calm freezing day or night after the body of water reaches 39° F throughout, the temperature where water is most dense. Lighter, cooler water stays on top, reaches 32°F, and then freezes.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
In the cold air, steam fog rises from open water of lakes and streams. A heated birdbath is popular with birds and other wildlife. Chickadees, blue jays, pine siskins, red squirrels, and more come to drink. Pileated woodpeckers and nuthatches search dead trees for wintering insects. The rutting season of the white-tailed deer reaches its peak during the last two weeks of November.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
The low-angle sunlight makes driving more difficult these late fall mornings and afternoons. Frost digs its way into the ground. Evergreens such as pines, spruces, and arborvitae add much interest to the November landscape.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Enjoy the color-splashed landscape featuring fantastic reds on sugar maples and sumacs. Now is the big push for American robins, blue jays, and northern flickers migrating through southern Minnesota, where much combining of soybeans is happening. The sugar beet harvest is in full swing in south central and western Minnesota. In the cool bogs of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, wild cranberry fruit is ripe. Moose are in their rutting season in northern Minnesota.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Migrating white-throated sparrows and dark-eyed juncos visit feeding stations, announcing that cold weather is on the way. Short-tailed weasels are turning from brown to white. If you want to walk in crunchy fallen leaves, smell the aroma, and see great colors, this is the time to be in a deciduous forest. In northern Minnesota, snowshoe hares are starting to turn from brown to white. Black bears are usually heading for their winter dens between Seot, 24 and Oct. 24.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Ripe Honeygold, Haralson, and Fireside apples, plus garden raspberries continue to be picked. Migrating flocks of American robins and red-winged blackbirds are still moving through. After lawn trees have shed their foliage, many of the leaves can be shredded with a rotary mover where they fell. These ground-up leaves will enrich a lawn and help grass roots hold moisture.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Look and listen for the first flocks of migrating tundra swans. Most deciduous forests look quite bare, but pockets of fall colors remain. Bittersweet vines have dropped their leaves, leaving the bright orange clusters of fruit. On sunny days, expect late sightings of painted turtles on logs in ponds, basking in the warm light. Late leopard frogs are moving back to lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams where they will hibernate. Bald eagles, rough-legged hawks, and American crows are heading down the North Shore toward Duluth.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Sept. 1 is the first day of meteorological fall. Across the state the green prime is ending and we see tinges and patches of fall foliage colors. Tan-brown leaves and tilting cobs tell us field corn is drying. American robins, American crows, wood ducks, wild turkeys, and other birds eat ripe wild grapes. Butternuts and red oak acorns fall. The monarch butterflies that are migrating through and headed for Mexico are typically the great-great-grandkids of the ones that made the same migration trip the year before. They stop to nectar on wild asters and goldenrods, along with Mexican sunflower and autumn joy sedum in gardens. Yellow-jackets find us when we eat outdoors. To avoid getting stung, remember to act like a tree, don’t move fast, and don’t try to swat them.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Great and common ragweeds continue shedding pollen into the air. The first common milkweed pods burst open and the seeds with their silky hairs are carried by the wind. Soybean fields show much golden-yellow foliage. Gardeners pull beets, dig potatoes, snip leaf lettuce, and pick cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants. Some late sweet corn is still being harvested. Dahlias, mums, and garden roses, plus annuals such as morning glories and snapdragons, continue to have showy flowers. Most ruby-throated hummingbirds leave northern Minnesota by Sept. 15 and southern Minnesota by Sept 25. They winter from south Texas to Costa Rica and usually migrate by day, but can also fly long distances at night.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Farmers begin harvesting their fourth crop of alfalfa. Fall leaf colors, like golden-yellow on green ash trees and reds on sumacs, are coming on fast. Maples on forest edges display big patches of reds and burnt-oranges. Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Cortland, and Sweet Sixteen apples are ripe. Wild asters are blooming nicely, including smooth, arrow-leaved, heath, and New England. Muskrats build dome-shaped homes for winter in marshy waters. Common loons are assembling on larger lakes in northern and central Minnesota, before migrating to the Gulf Coast or Atlantic seaboard. Good numbers of migrating hawks have been passing over Hawk Ridge in Duluth on their way to southern wintering grounds. For hawks and close relatives, clear skies and a northwest wind provide the best conditions for flying. Fall colors are peaking in the Isabella, Finland, and Gunflint Trail areas.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Dahlias, garden roses, and chrysanthemums are blooming nicely. Green fruit from black walnut trees continues to fall. Wild rose hips have turned red, and highbush cranberry shrubs display red leaves and clusters of bright red fruit. The growing season is coming to a colorful end with colonies of sumac shrubs displaying brilliant tones of red and sugar maples shoeing burnt-oranges and reds, plus green ash and eastern cottonwood trees glowing with golden-yellow foliage. The wild rice harvest continues in central and northern Minnesota, It’s the peak of the fall color season in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Both moose maple and sugar maple trees exhibit beautiful reds and burnt-oranges and paper birches are covered with golden-yellow leaves.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Gardeners harvest cucumbers and ripe tomatoes while farmers harvest their third crop of alfalfa. Blooming fields of sunflowers have all flowerheads facing east. The stable fly is the one that gives us the painful bites around our ankles while we are out in a boat or on shore enjoying nature. Fledglings recently out of nests include cedar waxwings, red-tailed hawks, and green herons. Black bears in northern Minnesota are feasting on wild red raspberries, blueberries, and other native fruits.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Great and common ragweeds shed pollen into the air to be carried by the wind. In our part of the country, these native ragweeds with their green flowers account for more hayfever symptoms than all other plants combined. Colonies of Canada golden rod have bright golden-yellow flowers that do not shed pollen into the air or cause hayfever symptoms. Long lines of about 1,000 barn swallows on utility wires tell of early staging for migration. Both butternut and black walnut “fruits” (nuts covered with husk) are full-size byt still green and hanging on the trees. Stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, tubing, sailing, canoeing, and swimming are all enhanced by the warm water conditions (usually upper 70s or warmer).
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
European mountain ash trees are loaded with big clusters of bright orange fruit that American robins, cedar waxwings, and other birds relish. Beekeepers have begun extracting honey. White-lined sphinx moths that resemble hummingbirds visit petunias, impatiens, and other garden flowers. We see common tree frogs on screens and windowpanes summer evenings and also on zinnias and other garden flowers. Spotted touch-me-not, a hummingbird favorite, is blooming in wetlands. Wild clematis vines are loaded with small white flowers.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Look for monarch butterflies heading south, one by one. Common nighthawks are migrating to winter in South America. These dark colored birds, with long pointed wings and a white patch on each outer wing, can be seen in loose flocks gliding, diving, circling, feeding on insects in the air, and definitely headed south. Beacon, State Fair, and Zestar are Minnesota apple varieties that are now ripe. American wild plum trees have ripe red and yellow fruit. Thickets of wild plum are common throughout southern and western Minnesota, and the plums can be eaten raw, cooked as sauce, or made into a jam or jelly.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
It’s peak time for warbler migration with up to 20 species seen in some locations. Apple growers start to pick SweeTango and Chestnut crabapples. Poison ivy, staghorn sumac, and Virginia creeper foliage have patches of autumn colors. Bur marigold blooms and is showy in wetlands. Canada goldenrod, Jerusalem artichoke, smooth aster, and heath aster all bloom nicely on sunny uplands.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Gardeners dig the first new potatoes. The second cutting of alfalfa is underway. Minnesota produces about 40 percent of all green peas and it’s time to harvest the crop. Deer flies continue to be bothersome. We see mint0condition monarch butterflies on the wing; they are the first of the new generation since their parents migrated into Minnesota in late May. Dragonflies are numerous now and travel fast on glistening wings. Like other southern Minnesota lakes, Lake Waconia water has warmed into the 80s, and sunfish, largemouth bass, and walleyes are biting.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Huge numbers of field corn fields are now pollinating. Farmers continue cutting, raking, and baling the second crop of alfalfa. Prairie wildflower such as monarda, gray-headed coneflower, and black-eyed Susan are showy. Geraniums, petunias, snapdragons, and marigolds flower beautifully in annual gardens. Flies buzz, bees hum, mosquitoes whine, dragonflies rattle – and these are just some of the wings of summer. Deer fly numbers are down. The second generation of eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies are now on the wing. House wrens, northern cardinals, and warbling vireos continue to be most vocal. Cedar waxwings and ruby-throated hummingbirds are nesting. Families of tree and barn swallows line up on utility wires.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Garden phlox, hydrangeas, daylilies, hollyhocks, purple coneflowers, and Russian sage have showy flowers. Wild blueberry picking should be good in many areas in north and northeast Minnesota; jack pine forests are places to check.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Wild chokecherry fruit is ripe and popular for jelly making, and important food for wildlife such as black bears, chipmunks, cedar waxwings, and American robins. Indian grass and big bluestem are two tall prairie grasses now in bloom. Purple loosestrife blooms in wet ditches and common sunflowers along highways. Garter snake young are being born. Listen for snowy tree crickets calling each evening. They chirp with a consistent “shee-shee-shee” or “treat-treat-treat,” a sleigh bell-like sound. If you count the number of chirps in 15 seconds and add 40 you will have a good approximation of the air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Meteorologists consider June 1 to be the first day of summer in the Upper Midwest because it marks the beginning of the 92 warmest days of the year. Enjoy the superb fragrance of the diminutive green wild grape flowers. Now is the time many clutches of wood duck eggs hatch. The young stay in their nest box of tree cavity the day they hatch, even if it’s in the morning, and then leave the next morning. Around 8:00 am is a popular time for young wood ducks to jump.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Juvenile eastern chipmunks and gray squirrels dart about exploring their new environments. Adult Canada geese and trumpeter swans begin to shed flight feathers. First deer flies are on the wing and mosquitoes are becoming bothersome. Gardeners pick the first ripe strawberries and field corn is up about a foot in many southern Minnesota fields. Captivating bird music is in the air. A few of the songsters include song sparrows, warbling vireos, and common yellowthroats. A good share of the singing is done by males as they use vocalizations to establish nesting territories. In northern Minnesota, black flies are on the wing, spring peeper frogs still call, and white-throated sparrows are often whistling “old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.”
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Canada serviceberry trees are loaded with sweet, juicy fruit relished by American robins, gray catbirds, cedar waxwings, and many other birds, plus chipmunks, other wildlife, and us humans. Baltimore orioles, tree swallows, and house wrens are busy feeding nestlings. The wild lupine, an introduced plant from Oregon and Washington, is blooming with a dazzling display of purple, pink, and white at Lutsen and along the whole North Shore.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
House wrens, northern cardinals, and warbling vireos are among the very vocal birds. Red mulberries are ripening; birds and us outdoor enthusiasts enjoy these juicy, tasty wild fruits. Astronomical summer begins, and birds start singing close to 4:20 am, with American robins first.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
First garden hollyhocks are blooming and the first wild black-cap raspberries are now ripe. Green frogs call; they are “banjo” playing day and night from calm waters. Both snapping and painted turtles continue coming up on dry land to dig holes and deposit eggs. Purple martins feed nestlings. Downy woodpeckers bring fledglings to suet feeders. No ducks or Canada geese are flying as they have molted their flight feathers. The peak time to see fireflies is now in early summer. From extreme southern Minnesota north to Lake of the Woods, fireflies display their amazing tiny lights. Look for them over meadows and grassy ditches not far from woodlands.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
The first rose-breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles return after wintering in areas from Mexico to northern South America. Both species are known as fantastic songsters and come to feeding stations. Newly arrived ruby-throated hummingbirds come to sugar-water feeders. When the common purple lilacs bloom, mushroom hunters search for the Minnesota state mushroom-the common morel. Asparagus is now tall enough to harvest. In northeast Minnesota, ruffed grouse drum and common raven young are leaving their nests.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Indigo buntings and scarlet tanagers arrive and come to feeding stations. The big warbler migration is on and birders can expect to see about 21 species of these tiny songsters, including blackburnian and chestnut-sided. Remember to spare the dandelions and save the bees. Common dandelions, especially now in spring, are a critical food source for honey bees and other pollinators. Honey bees will fly as far as two miles to find flowers-preferably wild, abundant, and pesticide-free-and along the way a lot of vegetable gardens, flower buds, fruit trees, and shrubs will get pollinated free of charge. Ruby-throated hummingbirds return to northern Minnesota from their wintering range between south Texas and Costa Rica.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
It’s time to taste a harbinger of spring; rhubarb is grown for its large thick leaf stalks that are popular for making tangy sauces and pies. Young eastern cottontail rabbits are out and about. White-throated sparrows arrive at feeding stations. Farmers plant the first corn. Forsythia shrubs and daffodils bloom in our yards. Common dandelions bloom next to south-facing walls while we see sharp-lobed hepatica and bloodroot flowers in woodlands.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Honey bees tell their hive mates where to find the best nectar and pollen by doing a dance, a bee version of GPS. Willow and common dandelion are among early food sources. We begin the emerald green time with many tones of green on the landscape. Boxelders and willows have small leaves, and the native basswood and sugar maple leaf buds are opening. These and other trees create a bright green tinge in deciduous forest canopies. Watch for the first newly hatched Canada goose goslings swimming and grazing on fresh green grasses with their parents. Prairie chicken males dance on leks in far western Becker County, and sharp-tailed grouse can be heard and seen displaying on leks near Biwabik. As ice covers leave northern Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes, common loons return and fill the spring air with their enchanting calls.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
By April 1, we’ve gained four hours of daylight since the winter solstice. We see ice covers leaving lakes, migrating birds returning, and the first greening of the landscape. Canada geese have begun nesting, and wood ducks are busy claiming nesting boxes. Listen for the muffled, musical whistling of tundra swans migrating overhead. Ospreys carry sticks to their nests, and eastern bluebirds sing and check out nest boxes. Maple syruping continues in central and northern Minnesota.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
American robins build nests and chipping sparrows are returning. Farmers hope to be seeding spring wheat. Wood frogs, spring peepers, and western chorus frogs are calling from wetlands. Painted turtles come up on logs for some sunning. They do this to raise their body temperatures, enabling their food to digest. Also, the ultraviolet light they receive helps with the manufacture of vitamin A. This is the normal time for ice to be leaving central Minnesota lakes.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
It’s time to taste a harbinger of spring; rhubarb is grown for its large thick leaf stalks that are popular for making tangy sauces and pies. Young eastern cottontail rabbits are out and about. White-throated sparrows arrive at feeding stations. Farmers plant the first corn. Forsythia shrubs and daffodils bloom in our yards. Common dandelions bloom next to south-facing walls while we see sharp-lobed hepatica and bloodroot flowers in woodlands.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Honey bees tell their hive mates where to find the best nectar and pollen by doing a dance, a bee version of GPS. Willow and common dandelion are among early food sources. We begin the emerald green time with many tones of green on the landscape. Boxelders and willows have small leaves, and the native basswood and sugar maple leaf buds are opening. These and other trees create a bright green tinge in deciduous forest canopies. Watch for the first newly hatched Canada goose goslings swimming and grazing on fresh green grasses with their parents. Prairie chicken males dance on leks in far western Becker County, and sharp-tailed grouse can be heard and seen displaying on leks near Biwabik. As ice covers leave northern Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes, common loons return and fill the spring air with their enchanting calls.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Northern cardinals now sing loud and long; they do this to declare nesting territories. Some American goldfinches have begun showing a few yellow neck feathers: another subtle spring sign. It’s time to look for the first eastern chipmunks out and about. Migrating American crows and bald eagles return to northern Minnesota, where deep snow usually covers much of the landscape and offers the best cross-country skiing and snowshoeing of the winter.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
We begin looking for the first migrating American robins, red-winged blackbirds, and Canada geese, but cold temperatures and strong winds from the north can hold them in Iowa. Now is usually a good time to tap maple trees; sap flow is triggered by thawing days reaching into the 40’s.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
March can be a snowy time, but by the end of the month, storms are more likely to bring rain than snow. We expect the first wood ducks to return about this time, so get those nesting boxes cleaned out and ready. Pairs of American crows check out possible nesting sites and carry nesting materials in their bills. Look for many eastern chipmunks to be above ground by now.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
It sounds like spring, with western chorus frogs sounding like metallic clickers, Canada geese honking, and make red-winged blackbirds trilling in wetlands. Now is the peak of American woodcock courtship displays at Carver Park Reserve from about 7:30 to 8:15 pm. March 22 is the average start date for the shipping season on the Mississippi River in St. Paul.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Tundra swans migrate in large Vs through southeastern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, and some flocks stop to rest on open water. Listen for eastern phoebes and song sparrows, and watch for the first turkey vultures. More eastern chipmunks, 13-lined ground squirrels, and woodchucks are out and about after spending the winter in underground burrows. Rhubarb and chives could begin poking up in gardens. Good to excellent maple sap runs can be expected, and we look for the bright scarlet cup fungus in the forest.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Most Minnesota lakes are covered with 15 inches to two feet of ice, but if you head out on one always think of springs, soft spots, and changing conditions. Be careful! With an abundance of walleyes and saugers, plus yellow perch small-mouth bass, and northern pike fishing can be good on Lake Pepin and both up and downstream on the Mississippi River and backwaters. Groundhogs are hibernating underground each in their own burrow, and their internal clocks will awaken them near the end of March, not on Feb 2.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
When driving on country roads in southern and western Minnesota, watch for horned larks, seen in small groups along the road edges. These grayish-brown birds, smaller than robins, fly up as cars go by. They are considered to be the first returning migrants. After Feb 11 the Sun is higher in the sky and concentrating its rays. We also notice that cars parked in the sun warm up even on cold days.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Listen for house finches singing their warbling songs of spring, and the vocal spring flicker-like calls of the red-bellied woodpecker. Look for striped skunks and raccoons out of their winter sleeping quarters during warm spells, searching for food and companionship. Bald eagle nesting time has begun, and some pairs will return to old southern Minnesota nest sites and begin adding sticks-and a few will begin egg laying this early.
Lincoln Elementary School in Owatonna, MN
What a lucky find earlier in the week when we got a new snow fall! It was fun to see the wind blow the grapple across the fluffy snow.
Student Discoveries:
- The snow on the ground is fluffy but the falling snow feels poky when it hits my face
- I feel like I’m in a snow globe
- It’s a winter wonderland
Wonders and Predictions:
- Why is it hard when it’s in the sky but the snow on the ground is powdery?
- I know, I think it rained and then the snow turned to ice. That’s why they aren’t like snowflakes
Lincoln Elementary School in Owatonna, MN
We looked for evidence that animals have been on our school grounds. We compared the tracks we found with an identification sheet but students didn’t agree about whether they were from a rabbit or a squirrel but they gave thoughtful reasons for their thinking:
- I think they are from a rabbit because they don’t have claws and squirrels have claws.
- I think they’re from a squirrel because a lot of the tracks are by the trees and squirrels climb in trees.
- I think they’re from a squirrel because there are lots of tracks all over and we see squirrels around all the time. We hardly ever see rabbits.
- If we saw acorns we’d know they are squirrel tracks.
Highlands Elementary School in Edina, MN
Great to see, hear, feel, smell what 0 degrees is like for these students.
Questions:
- I wonder what types of smells can you smell outside?
- I wonder why is the snow so deep?
- I wonder why were the leaves still on the tree?
Observations:
- I hear: snow crunching, snapping of twigs, bird calls
- I feel: cold snow, bumpy sticks/twigs, rough trees, smooth logs
- I smell: pine, coldness
Lincoln Elementary School in Owatonna, MN
On a warmer winter day, we went on a water form hunt and documented findings.
- water vapor in jet contrail
- car exhaust
- school furnace exhaust
- snow
- ice
- water puddles
- running water – snowmelt from our school roof
Lincoln Elementary School in Owatonna, MN
After our latest snowfall, students discovered
- clear bird tracks
- claw prints on squirrel tracks
- an animal hole, it goes way back, like a tunnel; the animal might still be in there
- Mrs, Gytri, did you know we’re standing on the subnivean layer?
- an animal burrow near the bird feeders
- students playing Rabbits in the Hole
- a frozen leaf
- a beautiful snow formation
Hanover Elementary School in Hanover, MN
This week’s cold temps kept students & teachers inside but the animals were out! Animals have adaptations like thicker fur in the winter and behaviors like fluffing up their feathers in order to retain warmth on these bitterly cold January days and nights! From our school forest cameras, we observed
- a little deer
- a strolling pheasant
- a cotton-tailed rabbit
- a lone coyote prowling
- gray squirrels having fun in the snow
- a blue jay
- a fluffed up red-bellied woodpecker modeling his winter adaptation
- a junco in flight
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes, MN
Look for ring-necked pheasants & wild turkeys up in crabapple trees feeding on the fruit. European starlings, cedar waxwings, and over-wintering American robins also relish crabapples. Most summer nesting trumpeter swans remain in Minnesota year-round. We see them in open water areas of the Mississippi & Minnesota rivers and other open water areas, where they feed on water plants, and also in corn stubble fields. Common ravens in northern Minnesota & Wisconsin perform awesome aerial acrobatics, preparing for the mating season.
Lincoln Elementary School in Owatonna, MN
Our kindergarten class has been studying animals in winter and used a track sheet to investigate, read the evidence and make conclusions about what happened.
Crosslake Middle School in Crosslake, MN
Middle School 5th – 8th grade Science class
Questions:
- I wonder how did the flower seeds get into the crack by my basement?
- I wonder why our grass is suddenly growing so fast?
- I wonder what kind of tree that is?
Observations:
- I smell: fresh air, it doesn’t smell like anything really
- I hear: birds, crickets, garbage pick-up, talking
- I feel: the warm sun, the warm breeze, the grass below me
Crosslake Middle School in Crosslake, MN
Some Middle School 5th – 8th-grade
Questions:
- I wonder when the first snowfall will be for my area?
- How many calories does an acorn have for a squirrel?
- I wonder how many seeds are in a hibiscus flower seed pod?
Observations:
- it’s getting colder
- we’re losing more light
- we’re starting to get snow
Lincoln Elementary School in Owatonna, MN
First-grade Observations:
- wood chips
- “minty” smelling air
- a water faucet that had a huge chunk of ice flowing from it
- hard, crunchy ground
- a blackbird
- wind
- cold nose
- frost
- wind shaking pine branches
- leaves rustling