What: Charlotte and Nathaniel are tapping Boxelder trees for syrup. Encountering this friendly and industrious pair on my walk home from work, I stop to converse with them about their project. Where: In the Near North neighborhoods of Minneapolis, near Bassett Creek When: Wednesday, March 13, about 5:30 pm Observer: Abbie Conditions: How do you know when the sap is rising? Charlotte tells me the thermometer gives the signal. When nights are still 32 or below but days warm up above freezing, that's when a maple's stored sugars are traveling up from the roots and out to the branches.
Dear Readers,
The Minnesota Phenology Network is hosting a gathering on April 5, 6 and 7. Usher in spring with a weekend of guided nature walks, workshops and keynote speakers including:
Stan Temple- Senior Fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation
Scott Mehus – Education Director at the National Eagle Center
Rebecca Montgomery – UMN Department of Forest Resources
‘Dinner on the Bluff’ showcasing local foods
Stream benthic community exploration
Introduction to phenology observation
Guided hikes at Eagle Bluff and Forestville State Park
Join the weekend gathering at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, located at 28097 Goodview Drive, Lanesboro, MN 55949.
What: Around town, silver maple branches are studded with buds. But unlike the Flickr image above, buds are not opening just yet. While on a walk, I noticed underfoot a little cluster of red buds that had fallen to the ground. I didn't have my camera with me so I searched Flickr to find this picture above. The flower pictured here was photographed on March 12, 2012 and the fact that it's further along in opening is demonstrative of last year's aberrational March weather. Where: South Minneapolis, Nokomis neighborhood. I don't think there are any silver maples in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, but this observation motivates me to scout the park to identify tree species and notice the first flowering phenomena. When: Sunday, March 10 Observers: Abbie and Scott Conditions: More puddles than pavement
What: I counted easily 800 American Crows on my walk home from work. Where: About 500 were roosting around Spring Lake and another 300 were at Linden Yards When: Monday, March 4, 2013 Observers: Abbie Conditions: A snowy day, with predictions that by Tuesday morning, there might be 10 inches
What: A flock of about 25 Mallards repeatedly circling in low flight. I've seen this happen on other winter nights, even during remarkably strong winds. I think this is a communal roosting behavior, but it seems like a lot of energy to expend. What's going on that the ducks are compelled to fly around and around before settling for the night? Where: North edge of Theodore Wirth Park When: Thursday, March 7, just before 6 and before sunset Observers: Abbie
Determined to see the starlings, my favorite aerial dance troupe, I tore away from my desk at 4:30. Alas, not a single starling. So preoccupied with the starlings' absence, I almost missed the robins' presence.
What: About thirty American Robins, actively sifting through leaf litter for morsels Where: Under the arbor vitae and in the leaf litter that collects along the stone wall that edges the courtyard. When: ~4:30 pm Observers: Abbie Conditions: A day or 2 ago, this leafy buffet was covered with snow.
What are these American Robins finding to eat? Hidden in the leaves, what is concealed to me but entices a dense gathering of robins? At this point in the season, are there any arthropods or annelids for the birds to pick out? Or is it all berries and seeds? These questions remind me of a passage by Aldo Leopold I recently read:
"These golden grasses conceal, under their waving plumes, a subterranean garden of bulbs and tubers, including wild potatoes. Open the crop of a fat little Mearns' quail and you find an herbarium of subsurface foods scratched from the rocky ground you thought barren. These foods are the motive power which plants pump through the great organ called the fauna."—Aldo Leopold
What: This time last year, flocks of European Starlings graced our evening skies with dramatic and marvelous performances, as seen in the video above. So since last February, when that phenomena diminished and ceased, I've been eagerly anticipating their return. But so far, hopes are unrewarded. About four weeks ago, my boss sent me an exuberant text reporting that she saw the starlings over the Garden. I've made a few evening outings hoping to encounter the flock, but today was another miss. Here is what I did see:
10 American Robins (high up in the Linden trees along the grande allée)
4 American Crows (in flight)
1 Downy Woodpecker
3.5 Snowmen
0 European Starlings
Where: Minneapolis Sculpture Garden When: Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at 3:40 pm Observers: Abbie Conditions: Too cold for dress shoes! Should have worn my boots.
