What do you do when someone brings you a dead pheasant that hit their
window? Put it in the prairie with a motion activated camera on it so
you can see what shows up for a snack. None of us expected a Bald Eagle
to come and take the entire thing at once!
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Monday Phenology: May 21, 2012
Posted by Kirk
This is a transcript of the Monday Phenology podcast. If you are reading via email you can click here to listen.
The sun rose at an amazing 5:37 am. It is almost hard to imagine that back in the dead of winter the sun didn't rise until 7:51 am. Tonight the sun set at 8:42 PM giving us 15 hours 5 minutes and 17 seconds of sunlight.
Nature's Week in Review:
Monday reached 85 degrees which was the hottest day yet for 2012. Why on earth did I wear jeans? I saw my first Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Indigo Bunting and a great looking first spring male Orchard Oriole.
Tuesday, dragonflies were still emerging in great numbers. Mosquitoes too. While hiking in the woods I found I was swatting them away for the first time this year. It was another beautiful sunny day.
Wednesday the trillium were blooming in the forest which meant they were eaten moments later by giant forest rats a.k.a. White-tailed Deer.
Thursday was a good day for bird banding at the nature center with all kinds of warblers. There were Nashville Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats and even Northern Parula.
Friday morning my co-worker Paul and I took the morning off and went up to Falls Creek SNA for some birding with Paul's wife Leslie. The three of us birded like mad for a few hours, got some good species but not the one I was really hoping for. I wanted to see a Cerulean Warbler which I've never seen but alas we didn't even hear one. They have been spotted there this spring and many other springs as well. The two species that are close to a sure thing there, Acadian Flycatcher and Louisiana Waterthrush, did not disappoint. We spent 45 minutes trying to get a view of a calling male Northern Parula. We could tell exactly what tree it was but the little guy was a master at hiding. I finally saw the bird briefly but it moved before the others could get on it. We had to leave. It wasn't a lifer for anyone but would have been nice if we'd had time for everyone to get a look. On a side note, there was poison ivy in spades and it was at times challenging to watch the tree tops and the ground at the same time. Exercise all due caution at this site.
Saturday I got a lifer Bay-breasted Warbler. It involved a bit of sprinting. My co-worker Paul spotted it in a tree above our bird banding station and I was a tenth of a mile away on the other side of a bog. He told me about it over the walkie talkie and I set of running. I got there just in time to see it before it flew off. I had to cancel an afternoon canoe program due to high winds. A thunderstorm whipped up by dinner time and we got a downpour of rain. It wasn't long lasting but we got .7 inches of rain. The bulk of that seemed to come in just a few minutes.
Sunday morning things got colder and my Bonsai in the garden were very happy for it. The sweltering heat of the last few days had been taking their toll.
The week ahead:
Dragonflies emerge in waves over the course of the summer. Watch for Chalk-fronted Corporal dragonflies emerging early this week. They have a distinct white shoulders and white upper tail. Their faces or "fronts" are also white but this is often harder to see.
Read More
The sun rose at an amazing 5:37 am. It is almost hard to imagine that back in the dead of winter the sun didn't rise until 7:51 am. Tonight the sun set at 8:42 PM giving us 15 hours 5 minutes and 17 seconds of sunlight.
Nature's Week in Review:
Monday reached 85 degrees which was the hottest day yet for 2012. Why on earth did I wear jeans? I saw my first Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Indigo Bunting and a great looking first spring male Orchard Oriole.
Tuesday, dragonflies were still emerging in great numbers. Mosquitoes too. While hiking in the woods I found I was swatting them away for the first time this year. It was another beautiful sunny day.
Wednesday the trillium were blooming in the forest which meant they were eaten moments later by giant forest rats a.k.a. White-tailed Deer.
Thursday was a good day for bird banding at the nature center with all kinds of warblers. There were Nashville Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats and even Northern Parula.
Friday morning my co-worker Paul and I took the morning off and went up to Falls Creek SNA for some birding with Paul's wife Leslie. The three of us birded like mad for a few hours, got some good species but not the one I was really hoping for. I wanted to see a Cerulean Warbler which I've never seen but alas we didn't even hear one. They have been spotted there this spring and many other springs as well. The two species that are close to a sure thing there, Acadian Flycatcher and Louisiana Waterthrush, did not disappoint. We spent 45 minutes trying to get a view of a calling male Northern Parula. We could tell exactly what tree it was but the little guy was a master at hiding. I finally saw the bird briefly but it moved before the others could get on it. We had to leave. It wasn't a lifer for anyone but would have been nice if we'd had time for everyone to get a look. On a side note, there was poison ivy in spades and it was at times challenging to watch the tree tops and the ground at the same time. Exercise all due caution at this site.
Saturday I got a lifer Bay-breasted Warbler. It involved a bit of sprinting. My co-worker Paul spotted it in a tree above our bird banding station and I was a tenth of a mile away on the other side of a bog. He told me about it over the walkie talkie and I set of running. I got there just in time to see it before it flew off. I had to cancel an afternoon canoe program due to high winds. A thunderstorm whipped up by dinner time and we got a downpour of rain. It wasn't long lasting but we got .7 inches of rain. The bulk of that seemed to come in just a few minutes.
Sunday morning things got colder and my Bonsai in the garden were very happy for it. The sweltering heat of the last few days had been taking their toll.
The week ahead:
Dragonflies emerge in waves over the course of the summer. Watch for Chalk-fronted Corporal dragonflies emerging early this week. They have a distinct white shoulders and white upper tail. Their faces or "fronts" are also white but this is often harder to see.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday Phenology: May 14, 2012
Posted by Kirk
This is a transcript of the Monday Phenology podcast. If you are reading via email you can click here to listen.
The sun came up this morning at 5:44 AM and set at 8:35 PM. It was an incredibly beautiful day, all 14 hours, 50 minutes and 20 seconds of it. We're still gaining sunlight but slowing down to only about 2 minutes a day.
Here's Nature's Week in Review:
Monday I saw black cherry blooming and noted that Black-and-white Warblers were still around. I saw the a Black-and-white Warbler while on a walking brainstorming meeting at work. I didn't see than many other birds but there was a fantastic White-crowned Sparrow that teed up right in front of me. I've seen them multiple times in Arizona but this was my first time seeing one in MN so that goes on the state list as well as the year list. I haven't seen them yet but Orchard Orioles and Canada Warblers have both been reported in the area.
Tuesday I had the day off from work and I took full advantage of the birding opportunity. I started my day at Gray Cloud Dunes SNA in Cottage Grove. I had been there once before and wasn't that impressed. The previous visit I had entered from the north entrance but this time I came in from he southern entrance and had a better sense of the lay of the land before I came in. I was very pleasantly surprised by this site and will go back for sure. It was wonderful. I was there for two and a half hours before the rain came in. By that time I had tallied fourth-one species of birds. Not a bad morning. There were Grasshopper Sparrows everywhere, a Lark Sparrow, many Brown Thrashers, a Yellow-throated Vireo and a Blue-headed Vireo, and dozens of other species. I saw my first of the year Eastern Kingbird, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Gray Catbirds, Magnolia Warbler, and Vesper Sparrows as well. I'm sure if I had stuck around longer I would have seen more. I spent the afternoon dodging more rain storms and explored Pine Point Regional Park in northern Washington county. It isn't listed as a hot spot on e-bird but it perhaps should be. There is a good variety of habitat and I saw good birds. I saw 36 species of birds in a little over and hour in less than ideal weather. I was pleased to find a number of new birds for the year. There was a beautiful Chestnut-sided Warbler, a Northern Waterthrush, and and many Common Yellowthroats. I picked up a Red-breasted Nuthatch to boot. That was nice as we just don't have the pines to bring them in at work.
Wednesday Beth in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul wrote in to tell me that she's seeing lots of red admiral and sulfur butterflies at her house. I've noticed an uptick in butterflies this week as well. She also reported seeing the first June Bug last week. I'll have to check out by my back porch light! Kids taking the Reptiles and Amphibians class found a blue spotted salamander in the woods.
Thursday reports were coming in of nighthawks and hummingbirds. Time to watch for both.
Friday I spent the day teaching kids about raptors at O. H. Anderson Elementary in Mahtomedi, MN. I got to bring along our resident Red-tailed Hawk and the kids were excited to see him. I've been bringing the hawk and attending the school's trail day for a decade now. I can easily say this was the nicest, warmest trail day in the history of the event.
Saturday I taught canoeing all day. I know, rough life. There were quite a few Turkey Vultures around. I could hear blue-winged warblers and yellow warblers calling around the lake as we paddled. It was a nearly ideal day. An Eastern Phoebe was nesting inside of one of the canoes on the rack and the nest had eggs. I'm thinking this might be a second nesting of the season for them. Sandhill Cranes were present on the lake and I believe they are nesting as I have seen a pair in the same secluded site multiple times. A Trumpeter Swan pair was present too and I'm really hoping this is the year they successfully nest. I think they tried last summer but we never saw any cygnets. It is possible they were eaten by bald eagles. There is an active eagle nest about 300 feet from where the swans are nesting. I saw two eaglets in the nest on Saturday. They have outgrown their gray fluff and have nice dark brown feathers. They appear to be about the size of the adults now. Saturday was a big day for dragonfly and damselfly emergence too. While pointing out a large cloud of newly emerged Spiny Baskettail dragonflies along a trail, a Green Darner dragonfly flew into the middle of the group, snatched one of the smaller dragonflies and then rather conveniently perched on a shrub branch and started to eat the other dragonfly while we watched. It was a great teachable moment.
Sunday I spent most of the day working in the garden and making multiple trips to the compost site and garden center. My best sighting of the day was while filling up on gas on Snelling Ave. I could hear chimney swifts circling overhead and soon saw them in the sky. I looked around for a suitable chimney and spotted one across the street. While I watched, two of the swifts flew over then chimney, tucked in their wings and dove in. It was very cool to see. I'm going to be sure to report the site of the chimney to Audubon Minnesota as they conduct surveys of existing roosting sites and even talk to owners to make sure we maintain nesting habitat. It is strange to think of brick chimneys as habitat but that's the case and sadly the habitat of chimney swifts is disappearing.
The week ahead:
Look for Eastern Wood Pewees, Cerulean Warblers, Red-eyed Vireo and Indigo Buntings to return this week. Next Saturday we will cross over into 15 hours of daylight.
Read More
The sun came up this morning at 5:44 AM and set at 8:35 PM. It was an incredibly beautiful day, all 14 hours, 50 minutes and 20 seconds of it. We're still gaining sunlight but slowing down to only about 2 minutes a day.
Here's Nature's Week in Review:
Monday I saw black cherry blooming and noted that Black-and-white Warblers were still around. I saw the a Black-and-white Warbler while on a walking brainstorming meeting at work. I didn't see than many other birds but there was a fantastic White-crowned Sparrow that teed up right in front of me. I've seen them multiple times in Arizona but this was my first time seeing one in MN so that goes on the state list as well as the year list. I haven't seen them yet but Orchard Orioles and Canada Warblers have both been reported in the area.
Tuesday I had the day off from work and I took full advantage of the birding opportunity. I started my day at Gray Cloud Dunes SNA in Cottage Grove. I had been there once before and wasn't that impressed. The previous visit I had entered from the north entrance but this time I came in from he southern entrance and had a better sense of the lay of the land before I came in. I was very pleasantly surprised by this site and will go back for sure. It was wonderful. I was there for two and a half hours before the rain came in. By that time I had tallied fourth-one species of birds. Not a bad morning. There were Grasshopper Sparrows everywhere, a Lark Sparrow, many Brown Thrashers, a Yellow-throated Vireo and a Blue-headed Vireo, and dozens of other species. I saw my first of the year Eastern Kingbird, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Gray Catbirds, Magnolia Warbler, and Vesper Sparrows as well. I'm sure if I had stuck around longer I would have seen more. I spent the afternoon dodging more rain storms and explored Pine Point Regional Park in northern Washington county. It isn't listed as a hot spot on e-bird but it perhaps should be. There is a good variety of habitat and I saw good birds. I saw 36 species of birds in a little over and hour in less than ideal weather. I was pleased to find a number of new birds for the year. There was a beautiful Chestnut-sided Warbler, a Northern Waterthrush, and and many Common Yellowthroats. I picked up a Red-breasted Nuthatch to boot. That was nice as we just don't have the pines to bring them in at work.
Wednesday Beth in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul wrote in to tell me that she's seeing lots of red admiral and sulfur butterflies at her house. I've noticed an uptick in butterflies this week as well. She also reported seeing the first June Bug last week. I'll have to check out by my back porch light! Kids taking the Reptiles and Amphibians class found a blue spotted salamander in the woods.
Thursday reports were coming in of nighthawks and hummingbirds. Time to watch for both.
Friday I spent the day teaching kids about raptors at O. H. Anderson Elementary in Mahtomedi, MN. I got to bring along our resident Red-tailed Hawk and the kids were excited to see him. I've been bringing the hawk and attending the school's trail day for a decade now. I can easily say this was the nicest, warmest trail day in the history of the event.
Saturday I taught canoeing all day. I know, rough life. There were quite a few Turkey Vultures around. I could hear blue-winged warblers and yellow warblers calling around the lake as we paddled. It was a nearly ideal day. An Eastern Phoebe was nesting inside of one of the canoes on the rack and the nest had eggs. I'm thinking this might be a second nesting of the season for them. Sandhill Cranes were present on the lake and I believe they are nesting as I have seen a pair in the same secluded site multiple times. A Trumpeter Swan pair was present too and I'm really hoping this is the year they successfully nest. I think they tried last summer but we never saw any cygnets. It is possible they were eaten by bald eagles. There is an active eagle nest about 300 feet from where the swans are nesting. I saw two eaglets in the nest on Saturday. They have outgrown their gray fluff and have nice dark brown feathers. They appear to be about the size of the adults now. Saturday was a big day for dragonfly and damselfly emergence too. While pointing out a large cloud of newly emerged Spiny Baskettail dragonflies along a trail, a Green Darner dragonfly flew into the middle of the group, snatched one of the smaller dragonflies and then rather conveniently perched on a shrub branch and started to eat the other dragonfly while we watched. It was a great teachable moment.
Sunday I spent most of the day working in the garden and making multiple trips to the compost site and garden center. My best sighting of the day was while filling up on gas on Snelling Ave. I could hear chimney swifts circling overhead and soon saw them in the sky. I looked around for a suitable chimney and spotted one across the street. While I watched, two of the swifts flew over then chimney, tucked in their wings and dove in. It was very cool to see. I'm going to be sure to report the site of the chimney to Audubon Minnesota as they conduct surveys of existing roosting sites and even talk to owners to make sure we maintain nesting habitat. It is strange to think of brick chimneys as habitat but that's the case and sadly the habitat of chimney swifts is disappearing.
The week ahead:
Look for Eastern Wood Pewees, Cerulean Warblers, Red-eyed Vireo and Indigo Buntings to return this week. Next Saturday we will cross over into 15 hours of daylight.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Monday Phenology: May 7, 2012
Posted by Kirk
This is a transcript of the Monday Phenology podcast. If you are reading via email you can click here to listen.
The sun came up this morning at 5:53 AM and set again at 8:26 PM. The sun is now coming up in the 5:00 hour and we'll stay here until the solstice. The earliest sunrise in the twin cities is 5:25 am so not much further to go. Today was 14 hours, 33 minutes and 25 seconds long and we're still gaining 2 and a half minutes per day.
Nature's Week in Review:
Monday morning there was 0.1 inches of rain in the rain gauge. Blue-grey gnatcatchers and Clay-colored Sparrows showed up at work in the morning but I managed to miss both. On the way home I heard a Sora but didn't manage to see it in the little time I had. A Black Bear showed up at work and tore into our seed storage area, ripping open a locked garbage can. There are photos on the website.
Tuesday I saw the Blue-grey Gnatcatchers when I arrived at work and it only took a quick walk to the prairie to spot the Clay-colored Sparrows as well. Winds steadily picked up throughout the day.
By Wednesday morning we had .83 inches of rain. It got into the 80s by the afternoon. We had many new first of the year birds at work. Brown Thrasher, Blue-winged warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Western Palm Warbler. Of those, I only personally saw the Palm Warbler. Our cameras revealed the bear came back Tuesday night. We captured it on video this time. Sunrise was at 6:00 am on Wednesday which was the last sunrise in the 6:00 hour. The sun won't rise this late again until August 2.
Thursday was a great day for birds. I stepped out for a short lunchtime hike and was rewarded by Nashville Warbers, a Baltimore Oriole, Black-and-white Warber, Blue-winged Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Add to that a Rose-breasted Grosbeak I saw out the window from my desk. At the end of the day I also saw a Yellow Warbler, Least Flycatcher and an Eastern Towhee. That was eight new species for the year in one day! American Toads were hitting their full stride today and singing like mad. It sounded great.
Friday morning there was .77 inches of rain in the rain gauge from all the rain we had on Thursday. I went out on a hike to help the bird banders Friday morning and I picked up a number of new birds for the year. Warbling Vireo, Tennessee Warbler, Brown Thrasher, American Redstart. I also heard Wood Thrush and Great Crested Flycatcher. The black and white warblers and ruby-crowned kinglets were making themselves seen too.
Saturday morning we had .3 inches of rain in the gauge. When the rain came down Friday night it was heavy but didn't last long. During the day Saturday, I was at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis for the annual Great Strides walk to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. My focus was on family so I didn't notice many birds aside from a loon, some coots and a mallard. The mallard had ducklings which reminds me I saw the first goslings of the year earlier this week.
Sunday morning we had 1.14 inches of rain in the gauge. Everything else was a wet blur.
The week ahead:
This next week will be all about warblers. Watch for Canada Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, Northern Parula, etc. I think we'll have all of the warblers by the end of the week. This will also be a good week to look for mushrooms what with all the rain. If you're into fungus get out there and explore.
Read More
Nature's Week in Review:
Monday morning there was 0.1 inches of rain in the rain gauge. Blue-grey gnatcatchers and Clay-colored Sparrows showed up at work in the morning but I managed to miss both. On the way home I heard a Sora but didn't manage to see it in the little time I had. A Black Bear showed up at work and tore into our seed storage area, ripping open a locked garbage can. There are photos on the website.
Tuesday I saw the Blue-grey Gnatcatchers when I arrived at work and it only took a quick walk to the prairie to spot the Clay-colored Sparrows as well. Winds steadily picked up throughout the day.
By Wednesday morning we had .83 inches of rain. It got into the 80s by the afternoon. We had many new first of the year birds at work. Brown Thrasher, Blue-winged warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Western Palm Warbler. Of those, I only personally saw the Palm Warbler. Our cameras revealed the bear came back Tuesday night. We captured it on video this time. Sunrise was at 6:00 am on Wednesday which was the last sunrise in the 6:00 hour. The sun won't rise this late again until August 2.
Thursday was a great day for birds. I stepped out for a short lunchtime hike and was rewarded by Nashville Warbers, a Baltimore Oriole, Black-and-white Warber, Blue-winged Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Add to that a Rose-breasted Grosbeak I saw out the window from my desk. At the end of the day I also saw a Yellow Warbler, Least Flycatcher and an Eastern Towhee. That was eight new species for the year in one day! American Toads were hitting their full stride today and singing like mad. It sounded great.
Friday morning there was .77 inches of rain in the rain gauge from all the rain we had on Thursday. I went out on a hike to help the bird banders Friday morning and I picked up a number of new birds for the year. Warbling Vireo, Tennessee Warbler, Brown Thrasher, American Redstart. I also heard Wood Thrush and Great Crested Flycatcher. The black and white warblers and ruby-crowned kinglets were making themselves seen too.
Saturday morning we had .3 inches of rain in the gauge. When the rain came down Friday night it was heavy but didn't last long. During the day Saturday, I was at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis for the annual Great Strides walk to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. My focus was on family so I didn't notice many birds aside from a loon, some coots and a mallard. The mallard had ducklings which reminds me I saw the first goslings of the year earlier this week.
Sunday morning we had 1.14 inches of rain in the gauge. Everything else was a wet blur.
The week ahead:
This next week will be all about warblers. Watch for Canada Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, Northern Parula, etc. I think we'll have all of the warblers by the end of the week. This will also be a good week to look for mushrooms what with all the rain. If you're into fungus get out there and explore.
Friday, May 4, 2012
A bear raid at the seed stash
Posted by Kirk 2 Comments
We had an interesting visitor to the nature center this week. On Monday night a Black Bear decided to swing by. Tuesday morning we found the feeder pole outside the preschool room completely flattened.
About 10 feet down the sidewalk is our back staircase. We store the bird seed under the stairs in custom designed garbage cans with locking tops. Something had chewed on the large stair beam.
More than that though, something had simply walked though the decorative lattice work. We were clearly dealing with a bear.
The most impressive thing was still under the stairs. The bear had opened the top of the trash can like it was made of paper.
Tuesday night we set out a motion activated camera and sure enough the bear came back. This adult bear likely weighs 300 pounds.
We completely removed all seed from the area as we didn't want to habituate the bear to coming to the nature center for food. We set up the motion activated camera again on Wednesday night and set it to video. Here's what we captured. Be sure to make the video full screen as it is nighttime and a little dark.
Hopefully with no more food around he will stop coming. They sure are impressive animals.
~Kirk
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| Preschool feeder pole flattened |
About 10 feet down the sidewalk is our back staircase. We store the bird seed under the stairs in custom designed garbage cans with locking tops. Something had chewed on the large stair beam.
 |
| Chewing on the stairs post. |
 |
| New bear entrance. |
The most impressive thing was still under the stairs. The bear had opened the top of the trash can like it was made of paper.
 |
| Nothing here to stop a bear. |
Tuesday night we set out a motion activated camera and sure enough the bear came back. This adult bear likely weighs 300 pounds.
 |
| The bear came back for more Tuesday night. |
 |
| You can see the bear behind the lattice work. |
We completely removed all seed from the area as we didn't want to habituate the bear to coming to the nature center for food. We set up the motion activated camera again on Wednesday night and set it to video. Here's what we captured. Be sure to make the video full screen as it is nighttime and a little dark.
Hopefully with no more food around he will stop coming. They sure are impressive animals.
~Kirk