Student Phenology Data
Submissions
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
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.
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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