The Voice

Of all the birds that return in spring, and of all the birds that sing and trill and call with the exurberance only spring can inspire, the most exuberant of all has to be wrens. This morning, I awoke to a wren singing away. This is the third year I can remember the wren being in the backyard. Not a bad way to wake up - hearing the rolling trills of this tiny singer.

It nests in a birdhouse hanging from the neighbor's clothesline. For being such a tiny bird, it is one of the feistiest. This afternoon, a male house sparrow was trying to take over the birdhouse. The sparrow is almost twice as large as the wren, but size didn't matter. The wren kept dive-bombing the sparrow. And even when the sparrow flew away from the house, the wren followed it and chased it until the bird flew out of the yard. What determination! And what beautiful singing!

Frogs croak - toads trill...

The chorus frogs have been singing for almost a month now. And Tuesday night of this week, you could hear the toads trilling. Yet another sign of spring.

American toads are small - between 2" and 4" long. They eat grasshoppers, insects, worms, spiders, and slugs. Warm, rainy nights are when they are most active. This time of year they're doing a lot of calling for mates. A female will lay 2000- 20000 eggs underwater. In 4-10 days tadpoles will hatch and then change into full-fledged toads in about two months. The warmer it is, the faster the transformation will take place.

After a couple of warm days, today is cool and snow flurries are possible tonight, so I don't expect to hear the toads. Maybe next week...

My nieces holding toads found in the yard in the Summer of 2008 - no, they won't get warts!

What is this fragrance so appealing?

This is the time of year when we can experience a particularly appealing fragrance - the scent of lilacs. But as all things have been weird this spring, the lilacs have been no different. The lilacs bloomed early, but they haven't been very fragrant. If you stuck your nose right into a fully-opened cluster, you could detect a slight scent. But today, with temperatures soaring into the high 70s, lilac fragrant filled the air. Definitely a sign of spring - and a heavenly one, at that!

(An article from last year on a horticulture website talked about plans for a lilac that would flower in both spring and summer. Many people were against the idea saying that it made lilacs that much more special knowing their fragrance was only available for a short time as winter let go and summer arrived. I haven't seen anything since then, so maybe the plant developers changed their minds.)

More of the Same

Well, yesterday we had another of those odd Minnesota weather days. It was snowing heavily through the Range at the same time that tornadoes were touching down in the southwestern part of the state. Looking at weather maps, a distinct line showed where the break was between the cold and warm air masses. All we got here in northern Dakota County was a gentle rain - about 0.3".

Several new birds have shown up - female cowbirds (they're the same size and shape as the males, but are a more uniform grey color), and chipping sparrows. The chipping sparrows are a good sign because they show up just before the juncoes leave. I'm seeing more white-throated sparrows in the backyard, too. Lots of activity as bird populations shift from their southern habitats to their northern ones.

White-throated sparrow - easy to see how this species got its name!

More arrivals

This morning, during the training for Physics on the Farm, I heard the distinctive call of a sora rail. It's not surprising that I didn't see the bird - they tend to be quite secretive. Or, according to an article in this month's BirdWatcher's Digest (ID Yourself: Rails, p. 32), it's just that rails tend to hang out in dense vegetation which makes them hard to spot - they're there, but not in plain view. Soras look a little like a stocky chicken, but walk more upright. They have a black mask and greenish-yellow bill and legs. You might spot one at the edge of the cattails, but it's more likely that you'll hear something that makes you think of the Three Stooges: a whoop-whoop-whoop kind of cry that starts on a high pitch and descends with each "whoop." Listen (and look) for the sora at the Farm Pond, the north end.

The other arrival spotted today at the nature center is the white-throated sparrow. Along with a white patch on the throat, look for two white stripes from the eyes over the crown of the head to the neck. And listen for their distinct call. It's rhythm makes it sound like they are saying: "Oh-h-h my Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da." Some people hear "Oh-h-h Sam Pea-bod-y, Pea-bod-y, Pea-bod-y." Say either phrase out loud and you'll hear the pattern. The white-throated sparrows are here for a short time as they are migrating through the area and heading north. With their appearance, you can start counting the days until the juncoes also depart for the north. My records from home show the average last appearance of juncoes is April 28. It's usually within two weeks of the first sighting of a white-throated sparrow. The countdown has begun...

Just ducky...

Walking down the Farm Road with a class this afternoon, we spotted a male mallard in the pools of water in the marsh on the north side of the road. There's probably less than 4" of water in these temporary pools created by the recent rains.

Later  in the afternoon, I spotted another mallard duck and drake in the reeds on the south side of the boardwalk. The cattails haven't sprouted yet but there are lots of dead stalks lying in the water. The mallards were waddling across them and stopping periodically to feed.

It seems that these mallards aren't too particular about the amount or location of water so long as there is a small amount to swim in.

Mallards seem very adaptable in another way. Yet again, there is a mallard duck nesting in the courtyard at Heritage E-STEM Middle School. Last year, staff had to help the ducklings and mom to leave the area. We'll keep track of what happens this year.

Extremes - but this is Minnesota, after all...

Yesterday it was warm and slightly muggy. In the evening, we were under a tornado watch. Heavy rain fell around 7:30 p.m. and again after midnight. Tornadoes were spotted west of the Twin Cities. At the same time, northeastern Minnesota was under a winter weather watch and by this morning, schools across the area were closed. In the Twin Cities, we had blasts of snow throughout the morning, although no accumulation - just snow and cold, cold winds. A winter coat, mittens and a hat felt really good. And I'm glad I was wearing my longjohns.

And this is what makes this spring so challenging - tomorrow I won't need them - we're going to be back in the 60s. Minnesota - either you love the wacky weather or you need to leave!

Hello...Good-bye

Another sign of spring - this morning I spotted a white-throated sparrow in the backyard. They migrate through and will only be around for a couple of weeks. But their appearance signals the soon-to-be departure of the juncoes. Looking back at my phenology records for the past ten years, this is the average time of spring when the white-throated sparrows return. So, all the warm weather we had in March and April doesn't seem to have impacted the travel plans of the birds. Maybe their actions are more strongly affected by the amount of sunlight we have each day than by temperature. Anyway, my records show that it is usually within two weeks of the the sparrows arrival that the juncoes head home - north. We'll see what that date actually is for this year.

What's Blooming?

As I took out the trash barrels last night, I noticed lots of plants sprouting in the garden under the spruce tree at the foot of the driveway. The wild roses are already 8" tall and there are lots of weeds, like lambs quarters, popping up. And there - among the roses and thistles - were two small milkweed plants. This is probably the earliest I've seen milkweed up.  The frost of the last few nights didn't seem to affect them. I'm not expecting to spot monarch for 6-7 weeks; if the milkweed will have lots of time to grow and be ready for the the butterflies, their eggs, and larvae.

Spring in Minnesota

Today we awoke to below freezing temperatures for the first time in a month. Given all the plant growth because of the warm weather, there were many concerns about how the the cold would affect the plants. Experts from the Arboretum stated that most of the perennials we're seeing (violets, tulips, daffodils, crocuses) are adapted to a range of temperatures and will withstand the cold just fine.  And while the fruit trees that are blooming will loose blossoms, only about 10% will die off. There are plenty that will survive to bear fruit.

Even with the strong northwest winds that made today seem more like late February than early April, I spotted blooming bleeding hearts by the farm house. Look for the lovely arches of pink heart-shaped flowers by the spruce tree. The tree and the house probably shelter the plant from the worst of the cold.

One last observation about today: I needed to wear my winter coat today. Mittens felt good against the cold breeze. As I came into my house after work, I could hear someone cutting grass. All I could picture was someone in a parka, mittens, and stocking cap pushing their mower back and forth across the lawn. Gotta love Minnesota and it's weird weather.

The bees are happy...

As you walk around the nature center, you'll notice there are lots of flowers finally blooming. Look by the farm for dandelions. While most of us consider dandelions to be a nuisance, they're important for our bees. They've been busy collecting nectar to start making a new year's batch of honey.

The lilacs below the Farm Ed. kitchen windows are open, but they don't have much fragrance yet. And look for these at the west end of the apiary trail.

Pete is responsible for starting these marsh marigolds on the north side of the apiary trail where the stream curves out of the marsh and heads west. The leaves are thick and fleshy. The flowers are bright yellow. Another name for this plant was cowslip, so named because (according to Wildflowers of Minnesota ) "the plant grew on the hummocks and cows slipped on it when they went to the stream to drink."

More Arrivals

There are lambs, piglets, and chicks at the farm. On the Farm Pond dragonflies, cormorants, and egrets are active. And in my backyard, I spotted a female red-winged blackbird and a grackle. And - a less than thrilling sighting - I found seven dandelions blooming in all their yellow glory this morning in the front yard. Time to rip some weeds out of the lawn...