Twin Cities Naturalist

I'm sure you've noticed by now. There are robins everywhere this year. The numbers are staggering. I counted 50 quickly this morning on the lawn at my son's childcare and every yard that lacked snow was also full of robins. I easily saw 1000 robins this morning just on my commute to work. The story is the same in every part of the Twin Cities.

Here's the scoop. There are several factors at play. First off, we're doubled up on robins. Our summer resident robins mostly move south in the winter in search of food. Robins from further north, and I mean all the way up into Canada, also moved south this winter. Some of them went past the Twin Cities while some of them formed winter flocks and hung out around open water and ornamental fruiting trees. The slow start to spring and continued fowl weather including lots of snow up north has put a halt to migration. Pretty much the entire Mississippi Flyway's worth of robins are backed up in the Twin Cities right now. These are resident birds mixed in with a sizable percentage of all the birds in Canada.

Like us, they are simply waiting for the weather to improve. This is about as far north as they dare go at this point.

I do believe there is one other factor at play and it has to do with freakish weather. We have a late spring this year but and unbelievably early spring last year. It was already in the 70s in March last year and many birds were very successful at nesting. I heard reports of many species laying an entire extra clutch of eggs over the course of the season. What we may be seeing here is a combination of the backing up of migrating birds combined with a higher than normal population of birds.

Jason DeRusha just did a Good Question segment on this topic and it featured my buddy Sharon.


~Kirk

Wellie weather.

As the snow melts away in the woods it is always incredible to see green plants hiding out that stayed green all winter long.

The 2013 Report:

Today, Saturday February 2nd is Groundhog's Day, here's your official Twin Cities Groundhog Report.

At 8:30 this morning, it was 2 °F and with clear skies. Snow fell overnight with more forecast for today. As all the real groundhogs are still hibernating in Minnesota, our stand-in groundhog Stuffed Stanley is the official groundhog of record.

Surprisingly given the forecast of ore snow, the sun shone brightly this morning and Stanley cast a shadow for the first time in some years.

Note: Stock photo. Stanley was grumpy this year and refused to sign the photo release.

According to legend, the sudden appearance of the shadow scares the groundhog back into hiding and we will have six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow then spring will soon be here.

The official Twin Cities Groundhog Prediction:
The groundhog DID see his shadow in the Twin Cities so we have six more weeks of winter to look forward to.

Background:

What's the connection between Groundhogs, shadows and the seasons?

The connection is tenuous at best. Further south than Minnesota, male groundhogs do come out of hibernation early to scope out and check on their breeding territory. In Minnesota, February 2nd is usually too early for this to happen. Seeing the first groundhogs checking out their territory is surely a sign of spring though. Okay, but what does seeing a shadow have to do with it? The connection to shadows has to do with prevailing weather patterns. We often associate sunny days with warmth and the coming spring but sunny days in the winter aren't always warm. Clear winter days are often the result of cold Canadian air that has settled over the state. A shadow in the winter often means we're in a pattern of cold air flowing south. It can take many weeks to break that pattern and warm the land.

This winter is ver different than last year. Last year was so warm because cold Canadian air had trouble pushing into Minnesota at all. Right now we are in the middle of a cold snap of air from the north. In general these patterns take time to break up so there is at least a slight correlation between how long winter lasts and what sort of weather pattern we are experiencing

Celestially, February 2nd is an important day. According to the solar calendar, it should mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Forty-two days ago was the winter solstice, the day of the year when we have the least sunlight. From that day on, the amount of daylight increases until the day when there are equal amounts of night and day. We call this day the equinox and it falls around March 21st. February 2nd falls half way between the solstice and the equinox so in theory it should mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Has anyone seen any crocus flowers blooming?

Obviously the winter solstice is not really mid-winter. Why do we call the solstice mid-winter if it is really more like the day winter begins? This has long been a puzzle and even caused a few arguments between astronomers and meteorologists. The answer is something we call the lag of the seasons and it affects Groundhog’s day as well. Yes, it is true that Groundhog’s day technically marks the beginning of spring from a celestial point of view but our experience tells us otherwise. Our seasons lag behind what the sun tells us in the sky.

Saying spring starts on Groundhog’s day is a little like saying a frozen dinner is ready to eat as soon as it is pulled out of the freezer. The northern hemisphere has been cooling down for months by the time the solstice arrives. Forty-two days with just less than a minute more sunlight each day is not enough to thaw out the frozen landscape into a lush vernal garden.

The established pattern of cold weather continues for many weeks after the beginning of the increase in daylight. This lag makes it seem like mid-winter actually falls on Groundhog’s day rather than the solstice. Rest assured though that on Groundhog’s day, even if it feels like the middle of winter, we are getting an hour and seven minutes more daylight today than we did just forty-two days earlier.

Groundhog’s Day may marks the beginning of spring according to the sun but it will be about forty-two more days until we feel the change enough to call it spring. It may seem like winter has a grip on the land but the sun has been working hard to reverse the trend for over a month and we’ll soon start to see those effects.

Incidentally, the legend tells us that if the groundhog sees its shadow it will be scared back into the den and we’ll have six more weeks of winter. Why six weeks? How many days are there in six weeks? Forty-two. Six weeks takes us exactly to the spring equinox.

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I've been working behind the scenes for a while now on a new project and it is time to bring it out into the daylight.

There is a growing trend across the country to set up young birder clubs. This time last year there were fifteen states with young birder clubs. As of yesterday there are twenty one states with clubs and more are forming. Earlier this month the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Black Swamp Bird Observatory had grouped up to form the Young Birders Network.

Each state club is unique. The Minnesota Young Birder Club connects youth to other young birders in the state via monthly field days, workshops, and social media. The goal is to provide a challenging environment where youth can learn about birds, conservation and science while socializing with friends.

Skills: Through hands on workshops youth can learn about how to identify, attract and help birds. They develop skills with the latest gear and learn how and where to find birds in the field.

Conservation: By taking part in conservation projects youth can help improve habitat for birds in Minnesota.

Science: Youth get trained on citizen science programs such as e-bird, project feeder watch, project nest watch and more. They not only learn how scientists collect data but they actually take part in and contribute to real scientific research.

Community: Though the club, youth interact with peers in friendly competitions, challenges and learning experiences. They share their photos, observations and stories online. Members interact via a private invitation-only Facebook group. Youth members can post photos or questions while keeping up on what's happening in the group.

The Minnesota club is open to youth ages 13-18 from Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

Official meet-ups and field trips are held monthly. There are workshops, field days and a week-long summer camp.

Field sessions take place across the metro while workshop are usually held at the Lee & Rose Warner Nature Center located in Marine on St. Croix. The club provides free transportation from the Science Museum of Minnesota for the first 13 registrants for each field trip (but not workshops).

You can help!

Right now we need two things. Youth who want to participate and adults who want to sponsor the future of birding in Minnesota. 

Youth members pay just $20 per year and can then attend as many events as they wish for no charge. The week-long summer camp is an additional fee. Once they join they receive a new member packet with information on events and how to access our Facebook group.

Youth Member Application

Adults are encouraged to become club sponsors. Adult sponsors help underwrite the cost of the club for our youth members and make our education programs possible.

Adult Sponsor Application

If you have any questions about the club contact Outreach Coordinator Kirk Mona at kmona@smm.org.

I was recently interviewed on WCCO talking about all of the crows roosting in Minneapolis.


The winter roost is really incredible to witness. You can head into the city in the evening, grab some dinner and watch thousands of crows coming into the city. They come because the city parks are well lit and make a good place to watch out for Great Horned Owls. Crows have always grouped up in the winter to communicate as well. Since the 1960s though these small winter roosts have come together into mega roosts. It a a fascinating new adaptation and not one we are likely to see go away. ~Kirk

A Northern Shrike on a cold winter's morning.


Ran into this guy on my morning commute. Shrikes are impressive predators that catch other birds and rodents and then impale them on thorny bushes so they can come back and eat them later. The practice has earned them the name The Butcher Bird.

~Kirk