What Little I Know

Gentle reader, I owe you an update about the green herons and their brood. I would have been more forthcoming had there been happy news to share. But I haven't been eager to report the sad things we've witnessed in the Garden. Here's an outline of what little I know:

• June 8: Nestlings seen, just barely visible by their movement and still within the nest
• June 18: 3 chicks seen out of the nest and up in the pine branches, documented by my colleague Christina (photo)
• July 2: We see one dead chick on the ground
• July 11: We notice the nest is significantly dismantled (photo). Is this evidence of predation?
• Mid-July: We see a second dead heron chick on the ground
• August 4: Wildlife rescue service picks up a third chick, reportedly not doing well

In my reading about Green Herons, I learned that they are most diurnal when raising young. When they're not tending to a brood, they shift to more nocturnal habits. And this information fits with my experience --- since early August, I haven't once seen a Green Heron in the Garden.

Attention as Place: Surveying One Square Meter

If you follow the Walker Art Center via blogs, Facebook, or Twitter, you've caught word of ROLU-in-Residence. When I heard that a component of ROLU's residency bears the title "Attention as Place," I was intrigued. Notions of "attention" and "place" are at the core of Open Phenology.

"Attention as Place" is a showcase of interactive and intellectually compelling projects culled from ROLU's Web-based network and temporarily localized in the Walker's Cargill Lounge. While most works in this showcase have a physical aspect, they are more fundamentally about the intangible, the indeterminate, the speculative, or the experiential. And for that reason, viewers can have an intimate, give-and-take experience with any of the 22 projects that compose "Attention as Place."

Take, for instance, Amy Franceschini's SURVEYING ONE METER, an action-based project with the following prompt:

Look for the roped-off One Square Meter at the base of Open Field's hill, near the parking ramp entrance.

Catalog in writing everything you see in a one meter square in Open Field. This could be a text, a poem, or a list. Get as detailed as possible.

The parameters of Franceschini's project calls to my mind The Forest Unseen (book trailer, left) by David G. Haskell. And though the Walker's Open Field is no old growth wilderness, Franceschini's project urges us to see it as it is, how it is, and where it is. Like Open Phenology, Franceschini's project is based on the ethos that our immediate environment has great potential as the stage for re-enchantment and discovery.

Since Tuesday, I've completed two surveys of the square meter, each time depositing my written observations in a designated box in Cargill Lounge. You are welcome to participate in Franceschini's SURVEYING ONE METER. Visit the Walker's Cargill Lounge where a staff person will give you a clipboard with paper and pencil. Venture out to the square meter and tell us what you see.

The Suddenly Uncommon Common Grackle

(Or less common, anyhow.)

Phenomena are often detected by the presence of something. But sometimes they are inferred by the absence of something.

In May and June, I couldn't step foot in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden without seeing and hearing Common Grackles. Usually dozens of them. But in the heat of July, they seem to have disappeared. I noticed this same phenomenon last year (post from July 1, 2011), too.

Curious about their peculiar absence, I surf over to E-Bird to explore the data. It looks as though my observations might fit the general pattern.

Here's a data visualization showing the frequency of Common Grackles on checklists submitted for Hennepin County, 2000-2012. The frequency of Common Grackles peak the week of May 1 at about 35%. Then frequency drops off and by mid-July it reaches lows close to 10%. I'm not sure how to explain this. But based on my observations of the Sculpture Garden, Common Grackles (adults as well as the new brood) vacate the nesting area once young reach the juvenile stage. It could be that during the juvenile stage of their development, Common Grackles redistribute & congregate in specific locations---locations where only 10% of checklists are generated. And that by contrast, during the nesting & fledgling phasea, Common Grackles are seen in 30% of locations where E-Bird checklists are generated.

To view a larger version of this interactive graph, courtesy E-Bird, click here.
What is "frequency"? Refer to the E-Bird glossary by clicking here.

The Benefits of Constant Vigilance

Young Green Herons, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Photo by Christina

What: Two Green Herons fledglings, seen out of the nest!
Where: Along the east border of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, a pair of Green Herons built a nest high in a pine tree. For several months now, Rachel, Christina, and I have been checking on the nest, watching to see that the adults were present and straining our eyes to detect young. In the week before my long vacation, we finally observed indications of a successful brood --- scarcely perceptible, we could see movement of downy head(s) and maybe a small beak at the nest's brim, under a vigilant adult.
When: June 18, 2012
Observers: Christina and Rachel, two colleagues of mine who enthusiastically stepped in as proxy phenologists over my vacation. I'm so grateful to Christina and Rachel for sustaining the continuity of our phenology practice!
Conditions: Elated! (I wasn't there to report on weather or other objective details, so I'll skip ahead to to the subjective conditions.) Upon arriving to town after vacation, the first thing I did was log into my Twitter, @openphenology. I was thrilled to read my colleagues' report of the fledglings and view their terrific photo (above). It all serves as a reminder that phenology entails a continual and regular practice. Or, to use Christina's and my mantra: Constant vigilance!

Yes! Young!

What: The Green Herons have young in the nest! For the first time, we see it with our own eyes! We struggle to document it, but the nest's too far, obscured, and poorly lit. But through binoculars, you can see a parent perched on the nest and at the nest's brim, movement of a little beak and the top of a fuzzy head.
Where: East border of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
When: Thursday, June 7, 2012 at about 5:30 pm
Observers: Abbie and Christina
Conditions: Sunny and hot.

Still there!

I was getting worried about those Green Herons after noticing their absence. Was the brood unsuccessful and the pair abandoned the nest?

• Friday, May 25 at 10 am: nest check, no herons seen 
• Friday, May 25 at 4:45 pm: nest check, no herons seen 
• Tuesday, May 29, 10:30 am: nest check, no herons seen

But finally today, at 8:20 am, I made another nest check and was relieved to see the nest was occupied by a very still heron. So I'm staying hopeful!

Green Herons, Amazingly Enough

What: Amazingly enough, a pair of Green Herons are nesting in a pine tree, with a view of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

Where: Hoping that these birds will successfully raise their young, I won't be too specific about the exact location. Except to say that it is remarkable they didn't choose a spot further from city noise and disruption.

When: After repeat sightings on May 9, 10, and 11, we're concluding that these herons are not just passing through --- they are established residents with a nest and hopefully offspring.

Observers: Christina, Rachel, Abbie