The cicadas are singing away, summer is nearly at an end. The weather has been fantastic. Monday Phenology is on a brief break this week but will return around Labor Day. Enjoy the daylight and in the mean time. Enjoy this video on how bats use echo location to recognize water.
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Monday, August 29, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
What if everyone could tell you'd had sex? Ask a dragonfly.
Posted by Kirk 2 Comments
So what about it?
Would you want everyone to know that you'd had sex? Some dragonflies like this male 12 spotted skimmer dragonfly don't seem to mind everyone knowing. I took the photo back on July 28th. When these dragonflies are young, their tails look much like the female's tails which are black and yellow.
As the males mature, the tails take on a pale blue wash. I had assumed this color change was a change to the actual color of the tail itself but this is not the case. Enter pruinosity. Pruinosity or Pruinescence derives its name from the chalky pale blue coloring on the outside of prunes. Some male dragonflies (notably the skimmers) develop a coating on their abdomen as they mature. It is a kind of waxy coating. The coating reflects ultraviolet light and may aid in attracting a mate.
What is interesting about the Pruinescence however is that it can be removed. If you look at the dragonfly in the photo at the top, you can see two darker marks, one on each side of the abdomen.These marks are where the pruinescence has been rubbed off by the legs of the female dragonfly during mating. If you look closely you can see smaller rubbed off spots from the other legs further up. By looking for these marks, you can tell if the dragonfly has mated or not. One would imagine the other dragonflies can tell as well.
I'm pretty glad we humans haven't evolved mating markers based on pruinescence. Human culture is complex enough as is.
~Kirk
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Identifying a loose bird feather
Posted by Kirk in: Birds Books
The feather needed further inspection so we brought it back to the building. It first glance it looks pretty plain. It is 5 1/2 inches long and brown. Look closer though, and there is more to learn. The feather is clearly from a wing as it is asymmetrical. This is thus a flight feather. Moreover it is from the right wing of the bird as the smaller (anterior) side of the feather is almost always the leading edge.
Look at the end of the feather, see how it is slightly pointed? This is called the distil tip of the feather. It isn't extremely pointed but it is something to note. I was assuming by the fairly narrow leading edge and the slight point of the distal tip that this was a primary flight feather (those further out on the wing) rather than a secondary flight feather (which are closer to the body). Judging by the fact that it wasn't very pointed, I was guessing that it wasn't one of the outermost primaries. Those tend to have the greatest points at the end.
Another thing to note is the coloration at the tip. It is subtle but there is a bluish hue just at the tip.
Time to head to Drawer 5e. "Assorted duck wings"
There are actually two drawers of duck wings at work, this is just one of them. You can see the great variety of wing shapes and colors a bit in this photo.
A little digging and it was clear which wing was a match.
Here's the feather placed on top in the correct position. This is the 7th primary feather from the right wing of a Wood Duck.
I was able to go though this process with the kids in my camp and have them help discover the identity of the feather's previous owner. It was a good example of why we have a natural history collection of everything from study skins to skulls. What if you don't have a natural history collection to call on?
I was able to find the same information in the book Bird Tracks & Sign : A Guide to North American Species. While it does not cover every species of bird you might encounter, it has a good section on feathers and the wood duck feather in question was easily identified from the book alone. You can click on the photo for a larger version but you an see it is the second feather on the right. This book not only has feathers but extensive text and photos on the tracks birds make on the ground. It is a very interesting resource for all you naturalists out there. 
If you are very interested in identifying the flight feathers you find outdoors you might also want to pick up the book Bird Feathers: A Guide to North American Species. Though it focuses only on flight feathers, it has many more species of birds than the book above. It is okay to give into your book lust. You know you want them both. Both books are easily available online and are invaluable tools on the naturalist's shelf.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday Phenology: August 22, 2011
Posted by Kirk in: Phenology
Maybe it is the days getting shorter, maybe it is the lack of sleep I got last night, maybe it is a latent case of Lymes Disease, maybe all three but I can barely keep my eyes open as I type this. Let's make it short and sweet shall we? The sun rose this morning at 6:22 AM and set at 8:08 PM giving those of us in the Twin Cities 13 hours 45 minutes and 24 seconds of daylight.
Here's what I saw in said daylight:
Monday I noted that the leafcutter bees are still active in my yard making trips in and out of the hole they made in the rotted wood of my deck railing. This time of year they are no longer bringing back leaves for nesting. Large amounts of Monotropa uniflora or Ghost Plant is still flowering in the woods but it won't be around long. Last year I made a video of the amazing abundance of this peculiar flower in our woods. There are almost as many this year as well.
Tuesday I noticed that very few berries remained on the dogwood bushes at work. I did some averaging, there seemed to be around 50 or so berries per bunch and about 2-3 remained per bunch. When I averaged it out over several bunches there appeared to be about 3 to 4% of the dogwood berry crop remaining. Many of these have been eaten by cedar waxwings and other fruit loving birds. With resources dwindling, many birds are thinking about migration. I noticed the first lighter colored White Oak leaves today. Their green color is starting to fade. On the forest floor, Hog Peanut is turning distinctly yellow.
Wednesday was our last day of the year with 14 full hours of daylight. Many of the summer dragonflies are no longer around. White-faced meadow hawks are an exception. They can still be found in good numbers. I even saw one in my yard in St. Paul. Green Darners are now hatching soon to be followed by saddlebag dragonflies. These are the migrating populations that will be heading south next month.
Thursday I remembered to write down that the Amur Maples are showing a lot of color compared to other trees. They are planted as wind-breaks along my commute to work. They showed hints of color earlier in the week and are progressing nicely.
Friday it was clear that fall continues to march on. Honey Locust trees are sporting bright yellow leaflets, especially on the outermost leaves. The mix of green and yellow is beautiful.
Saturday I took some kids out canoeing and noted that a lot of the aquatic plants such as northern water milfoil are turning brown. It won't be too much longer before some of these plants start to sink to the bottom of the lake. Lilypads are turning red as well. I didn't see migratory shorebirds as I was accompanied by a noisy group of kid but I am seeing increasing reports of shorebirds migration ramping up around the state.
Sunday I worked in the garden and noticed for the first time there were hints of red welling up in the leaves of the euonymus a.k.a. burning bush in my yard. Bring on the Anthocyanins!
What to expect this week:
Watch for increasing fall colors. As leaves are cut off from the trees and bushes, the green chlorophyll dies off exposing the yellow carotenoids of the leaves. Any sugar left in the leaves is chemically changed into red and purple anthocyanins. Watch for pretty much every deciduous tree species to show at least a few changing leaves by the end of the week. Some maples turn earlier than others and you should be able to find some maples displaying lots of red by the end of week as well. Migratory shorebird number will steadily increase this week and it will be a good time to get out and identify them.
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Here's what I saw in said daylight:
Monday I noted that the leafcutter bees are still active in my yard making trips in and out of the hole they made in the rotted wood of my deck railing. This time of year they are no longer bringing back leaves for nesting. Large amounts of Monotropa uniflora or Ghost Plant is still flowering in the woods but it won't be around long. Last year I made a video of the amazing abundance of this peculiar flower in our woods. There are almost as many this year as well.
Tuesday I noticed that very few berries remained on the dogwood bushes at work. I did some averaging, there seemed to be around 50 or so berries per bunch and about 2-3 remained per bunch. When I averaged it out over several bunches there appeared to be about 3 to 4% of the dogwood berry crop remaining. Many of these have been eaten by cedar waxwings and other fruit loving birds. With resources dwindling, many birds are thinking about migration. I noticed the first lighter colored White Oak leaves today. Their green color is starting to fade. On the forest floor, Hog Peanut is turning distinctly yellow.
Wednesday was our last day of the year with 14 full hours of daylight. Many of the summer dragonflies are no longer around. White-faced meadow hawks are an exception. They can still be found in good numbers. I even saw one in my yard in St. Paul. Green Darners are now hatching soon to be followed by saddlebag dragonflies. These are the migrating populations that will be heading south next month.
Thursday I remembered to write down that the Amur Maples are showing a lot of color compared to other trees. They are planted as wind-breaks along my commute to work. They showed hints of color earlier in the week and are progressing nicely.
Friday it was clear that fall continues to march on. Honey Locust trees are sporting bright yellow leaflets, especially on the outermost leaves. The mix of green and yellow is beautiful.
Saturday I took some kids out canoeing and noted that a lot of the aquatic plants such as northern water milfoil are turning brown. It won't be too much longer before some of these plants start to sink to the bottom of the lake. Lilypads are turning red as well. I didn't see migratory shorebirds as I was accompanied by a noisy group of kid but I am seeing increasing reports of shorebirds migration ramping up around the state.
Sunday I worked in the garden and noticed for the first time there were hints of red welling up in the leaves of the euonymus a.k.a. burning bush in my yard. Bring on the Anthocyanins!
What to expect this week:
Watch for increasing fall colors. As leaves are cut off from the trees and bushes, the green chlorophyll dies off exposing the yellow carotenoids of the leaves. Any sugar left in the leaves is chemically changed into red and purple anthocyanins. Watch for pretty much every deciduous tree species to show at least a few changing leaves by the end of the week. Some maples turn earlier than others and you should be able to find some maples displaying lots of red by the end of week as well. Migratory shorebird number will steadily increase this week and it will be a good time to get out and identify them.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Bird Banding Pays Off
Posted by Kirk in: Birds
Bird banders catch and release huge numbers of migratory birds each year in a hope that someday one of them will be recovered and add to our knowledge of science. Little metal rings with tracking numbers on them are added to the birds legs before they are released and if someone recaptures the bird or finds it dead the number on the leg will tell researchers where and when it was originally captured. On average, about 1.1 million bird bands are placed onto the legs of birds. Only about 65,000 are recovered which is about six percent. Keep in mind though that this includes all of the banded game birds which have a much higher recovery rate. About 600,000 non-game birds are banded each year and only one percent of those bands are ever recovered. We recently received word that one of our bird bands from work was sent into the banding office in Washington DC. The band had been placed on a White-throated Sparrow on September 25th, 2009. White-throated sparrows actually nest north of our location so we were catching this bird on the way back down south.
The data we received back tells us that the bird band was recovered on March 14th, 2011 in Yellville, Arkansas. My co-worker Paul who runs our banding program was immediately struck by the same thing I was. This bird was recovered almost exactly due south from the nature center. It is generally in the area we'd call the Mississippi Flyway but it is pretty far from the river. I find it fascinating that it would stay at essentially the same longitude. Coincidence? We'd need a lot more recovered white-throated sparrows to answer that question. The bird in question was recovered dead. There was no information as to how it died. What long term studies such as banding have taught us is that a two year lifespan is not unusual for a small bird like this. They can live longer but most of them don't.
If you happen to find a dead bird look carefully for a leg band. If you find one you can help contribute to science and our understanding of birds.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Teaching Kingbirds to Hunt
Posted by Kirk in: Birds
I took this series of photos back in the summer and never got around to publishing them. Back on July 26th I took my digital nature photography summer campers to our bog to get photos of pitcher plants and sundew. I could hear constant calling from the trees and looked up to find four birds very high up in a dead tree. I wasn't sure what they were at first as they were so far away. The answer was soon clear though.
Down on the bog, a pair of Eastern Kindbirds were catching insects. It was fun to watch their expert flying and catching skills. They would sit on a perch, then fly low across the bog until they came to the spot where they'd seen an insect. They would briefly hover in mid air before diving down into the moss and catching the insect.
Once caught, they brought the insect up to the top of the tree where the young birds had been watching.
They would excitedly squeak and open their mouths just like baby birds still in the nest whenever the adults would arrive. In the photo below you can see the adult on the far right and three of he young birds begging with their mouths open.
This was clearly a pair of adults feeding their very recently fledged young. What I wonder is how much of this was simply feeding and how much teaching. Were the young watching to see how their parents hunted so they could soon try it on their own?
Either way it was a fun thing to witness.
~Kirk
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Down on the bog, a pair of Eastern Kindbirds were catching insects. It was fun to watch their expert flying and catching skills. They would sit on a perch, then fly low across the bog until they came to the spot where they'd seen an insect. They would briefly hover in mid air before diving down into the moss and catching the insect.
They would excitedly squeak and open their mouths just like baby birds still in the nest whenever the adults would arrive. In the photo below you can see the adult on the far right and three of he young birds begging with their mouths open.
This was clearly a pair of adults feeding their very recently fledged young. What I wonder is how much of this was simply feeding and how much teaching. Were the young watching to see how their parents hunted so they could soon try it on their own?
Either way it was a fun thing to witness.
~Kirk
Monday, August 15, 2011
Monday Phenology, August 15, 2011
Posted by Kirk in: Birds Dragonfly Phenology
The sun rose this morning at 6:14 am. We've got a sunny day ahead and we'll see that sun set at 8:19 PM. We're losing a little less than 3 minutes of sunlight per day. Today we'll get 14 hours, 5 minutes and 17 seconds of daylight.
The Phenology Week in Review:
Monday: Believe it or not, some Staghorn Sumac is already starting to change over into fall colors. I'm not ready for this, not quite yet.
Tuesday: According to Birdchick, Red-winged blackbirds are starting to stage along farm fields south of the cities. It was nice and cool out today as well. It didn't even reach 70°. As much as I am not yet ready for summer to be over I do love cool fall days. It is a bittersweet thing. I'm not a huge fan of winter but I love the coolness of fall. I look forward to fall but also dread that it will come because it means winter is close behind. On my commute home via hwy 36 I noticed they had just put up the new highway streetlights on the entrance ramp at Rice street. The Red-tailed Hawks almost immediately began to use them as hunting perches.
Wednesday, a Red-breasted Nuthatch showed up around the bird feeders at work. This may not seem like phenology but we don't usually see red-breasted nuthatches. They tend to prefer pine trees and we are in an oak-maple forest. Yet, looking at our yearly bird phenology log I can see that a single red-breasted nuthatch shows up around the feeders every year at the end of the summer. Very intriguing.
Thursday I taught kayaking as part of the last week of summer camp. I watched a Bald Eagle fly almost right overhead carrying an enormous fish. It headed straight to the nest where there was a lot of noise from the young eagles.
Friday I was planning on doing a class on dragonflies. We'd watched dragonflies earlier in the week as they hunted for insects. We headed out to the prairie only to discover a distinct lack of dragonflies. With 12 kids armed with nets we scoured far and came up with a few Calico Pennants, Halloween Pennants, and a lone Green Darner. The most numerous dragonflies at this time seems to be the White-faced Meadowhawks but even they are dwindling in numbers.
Saturday I spent a glorious day at Valleyfair riding on roller coasters and generally not paying attention to phenology and nature. Well, I did make note of the cicadas, the growing cumulonimbus clouds, the blooming flowers and the bees trying to get my soda. That evening I noticed large numbers of Canada Geese staging at the State Fair grounds parking lots and the U of M corn fields.
Sunday I noticed a lot of soft yellows creeping into the tree canopy. Yes, that's right, trees are already s trees changing color.
This week:
The numbers of Canada Geese staging will increase steadily as the week goes on. Hints of fall colors will become more obvious and some trees will be clearly showing colors by the end of the week. On Wednesday we'll lose 2 minutes, 48 seconds of sunlight and we'll drop below the 14 hours of daylight mark. Wednesday will only have 13 hours, 59 minutes and 41 seconds of sunlight.
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The Phenology Week in Review:
Monday: Believe it or not, some Staghorn Sumac is already starting to change over into fall colors. I'm not ready for this, not quite yet.
Tuesday: According to Birdchick, Red-winged blackbirds are starting to stage along farm fields south of the cities. It was nice and cool out today as well. It didn't even reach 70°. As much as I am not yet ready for summer to be over I do love cool fall days. It is a bittersweet thing. I'm not a huge fan of winter but I love the coolness of fall. I look forward to fall but also dread that it will come because it means winter is close behind. On my commute home via hwy 36 I noticed they had just put up the new highway streetlights on the entrance ramp at Rice street. The Red-tailed Hawks almost immediately began to use them as hunting perches.
Wednesday, a Red-breasted Nuthatch showed up around the bird feeders at work. This may not seem like phenology but we don't usually see red-breasted nuthatches. They tend to prefer pine trees and we are in an oak-maple forest. Yet, looking at our yearly bird phenology log I can see that a single red-breasted nuthatch shows up around the feeders every year at the end of the summer. Very intriguing.
Thursday I taught kayaking as part of the last week of summer camp. I watched a Bald Eagle fly almost right overhead carrying an enormous fish. It headed straight to the nest where there was a lot of noise from the young eagles.
Friday I was planning on doing a class on dragonflies. We'd watched dragonflies earlier in the week as they hunted for insects. We headed out to the prairie only to discover a distinct lack of dragonflies. With 12 kids armed with nets we scoured far and came up with a few Calico Pennants, Halloween Pennants, and a lone Green Darner. The most numerous dragonflies at this time seems to be the White-faced Meadowhawks but even they are dwindling in numbers.
Saturday I spent a glorious day at Valleyfair riding on roller coasters and generally not paying attention to phenology and nature. Well, I did make note of the cicadas, the growing cumulonimbus clouds, the blooming flowers and the bees trying to get my soda. That evening I noticed large numbers of Canada Geese staging at the State Fair grounds parking lots and the U of M corn fields.
Sunday I noticed a lot of soft yellows creeping into the tree canopy. Yes, that's right, trees are already s trees changing color.
This week:
The numbers of Canada Geese staging will increase steadily as the week goes on. Hints of fall colors will become more obvious and some trees will be clearly showing colors by the end of the week. On Wednesday we'll lose 2 minutes, 48 seconds of sunlight and we'll drop below the 14 hours of daylight mark. Wednesday will only have 13 hours, 59 minutes and 41 seconds of sunlight.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Scarlet Tanager Bathing in a Stream (video)
Posted by Kirk in: BirdsThis male Scarlet Tanager has been taunting me all summer. It shows up a couple of times each week while I am teaching summer camp at work. He comes to take a bath in the stream that runs just outside the window. I actually figure he probably shows up every day but since I'm not glued to the window I one see him now and then. It is pretty spectacular to have this beautiful neotropic migrant showing up with some regularity out my classroom window. I'm a lucky man.
I've been trying to get a photo or even some video but either I don't have my camera or all the kids rushing to the window scare him away each time. Today was different. I just happened to have a camera within reach and he landed right behind me out the window while I taught. All the kids gasped and a couple even nailed the ID right away which I found impressive. I immediately dropped my lesson mid sentence and we all crept to the window.
I finally had my video.
~Kirk
Monday, August 8, 2011
Monday Phenology: August 8, 2011
Posted by Kirk in: Phenology
This is the first full week where were into the six o'clock hour for our sunrise times. Last week we still had Monday and Tuesday in the 5:00 hour but that all went out the window on Wednesday. The sun rose this Monday morning at 6:06 AM. By next Monday it will be rising at 6:14 AM. When you take later sunrise and earlier sunset into account we lost over 17 minutes of sunlight last week. Keep your chin up. Sunset tonight is at 8:30 PM.
The week in review:
Monday
I was stuck in the office all day which was just as well as it rained with thunder and lightening all day.
Tuesday I headed out in search of a cerulean warbler and found buckets of rain instead. I was completely unprepared and I would have stayed dryer had I jumped into a pool. There was lightening, thunder, torrential rains and falling branches. There was also an Acadian Flycatcher calling away nearby but I could barely see a few feet in front of me let alone an elusive bird. I climbed out of the ravine I was searching and made it back to my car looking like a drowned rat. I immediately broke out in laughter. I'll try again tomorrow. At work my co-worker Paul and I spotted newly fledged American Redstart out the window.
Wednesday
was the first morning we broke into the 6:00 hour for sunrises. The sun rose at exactly 6:00 in the Twin Cities. The big blue stem in our prairie continues to grow and is now over 6 feet tall. This didn't surprise me as much as the goldenrod. I found several spots where the goldenrod was close to 5 feet tall! There seemed to be lots of Giant Swallowtails out and about. I wish I had my camera. I'm seeing large numbers of them this year. They seem to have exploded in number overnight. I did see one Tiger Swallowtail as well in the prairie.
Thursday I headed out into the woods to set up a new Geocache course and things were pretty quiet except for the mosquitoes.
Friday I mowed the lawn expecting to be gone all weekend. With a newly sharpened blade I clipped along right over the top of yet another rabbit nest. That's the second time this summer. None were harmed. Soon the baby bunnies wil leave the nest and the parents will take them around the corner and the followong converstation wil take place.
"This my children is thegarden of plenty. Here grow soybeans, green beans and many other tasty plants."
"But mommy, the best parts of the plants are already eaten! There are only stems!"
"Yes, your older brothers and sisters have eaten all the good parts. Go ahead and finish them off though. Next year there will be a fence around this garden."
I packed up the car and headed down to La Crosse, WI. There were many opportunities long the way to stop for sweet corn, picked fresh from the field. Fresh corn on the roadside is one of the best phenology sightings of the year.
Saturday we went to Black River Beach and I immediately noticed the Cicadas when we stepped out of the car. I noticed them because they were distinctly different sounding than those we have up in the twin cities. The sound I tend to associate with cicadas sounds like this clip from a University of Michigan cicada site. This is the "dog day" cicada, Tibicen canicularis. The cicadas at the river were similar but with a slow pulse to them. I can't come up with an ID but it sure was interesting.
Sunday I spent much of the day driving home from La Crosse. We came up the river route and I only spotted a handful of Bald Eagles. I did see a nice kettle of about a dozen Turkey Vultures.
What to watch for this week:
If we get clear skies this week it will be nice for some stargazing. The sun is starting to set a little earlier, it looks like it won't be too hot and there are still lots of summer stars out. If you've never taken the time to look for the summer triangle get out there to find it. You'll discover Vega, the brightest star in the summer sky, Altair a yellow star like our own sun and Denib, a personal favorite of mine and part of the constellation Cygnus the swan. These stars are a gateway to their respective summer constellations. Denib, as mentioned is in Cygnus, Altair is in Aquila the Eagle and Vega is in Lyra the lyre. Fun factoid, the term "Summer Triangle" was coined by H.A. Rey, the author of the Curious George books. He also wrote books on astronomy. Google "summer triangle" for maps showing the positions of the stars if you need to. They are the three brightest stars in the summer sky.
As noted above, the second crop of cottontail rabbits will likely emerge from the next the end of this week or perhaps early next week.
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The week in review:
Monday
I was stuck in the office all day which was just as well as it rained with thunder and lightening all day.
Tuesday I headed out in search of a cerulean warbler and found buckets of rain instead. I was completely unprepared and I would have stayed dryer had I jumped into a pool. There was lightening, thunder, torrential rains and falling branches. There was also an Acadian Flycatcher calling away nearby but I could barely see a few feet in front of me let alone an elusive bird. I climbed out of the ravine I was searching and made it back to my car looking like a drowned rat. I immediately broke out in laughter. I'll try again tomorrow. At work my co-worker Paul and I spotted newly fledged American Redstart out the window.
Wednesday
was the first morning we broke into the 6:00 hour for sunrises. The sun rose at exactly 6:00 in the Twin Cities. The big blue stem in our prairie continues to grow and is now over 6 feet tall. This didn't surprise me as much as the goldenrod. I found several spots where the goldenrod was close to 5 feet tall! There seemed to be lots of Giant Swallowtails out and about. I wish I had my camera. I'm seeing large numbers of them this year. They seem to have exploded in number overnight. I did see one Tiger Swallowtail as well in the prairie.
Thursday I headed out into the woods to set up a new Geocache course and things were pretty quiet except for the mosquitoes.
Friday I mowed the lawn expecting to be gone all weekend. With a newly sharpened blade I clipped along right over the top of yet another rabbit nest. That's the second time this summer. None were harmed. Soon the baby bunnies wil leave the nest and the parents will take them around the corner and the followong converstation wil take place.
"This my children is thegarden of plenty. Here grow soybeans, green beans and many other tasty plants."
"But mommy, the best parts of the plants are already eaten! There are only stems!"
"Yes, your older brothers and sisters have eaten all the good parts. Go ahead and finish them off though. Next year there will be a fence around this garden."
I packed up the car and headed down to La Crosse, WI. There were many opportunities long the way to stop for sweet corn, picked fresh from the field. Fresh corn on the roadside is one of the best phenology sightings of the year.
Saturday we went to Black River Beach and I immediately noticed the Cicadas when we stepped out of the car. I noticed them because they were distinctly different sounding than those we have up in the twin cities. The sound I tend to associate with cicadas sounds like this clip from a University of Michigan cicada site. This is the "dog day" cicada, Tibicen canicularis. The cicadas at the river were similar but with a slow pulse to them. I can't come up with an ID but it sure was interesting.
Sunday I spent much of the day driving home from La Crosse. We came up the river route and I only spotted a handful of Bald Eagles. I did see a nice kettle of about a dozen Turkey Vultures.
What to watch for this week:
If we get clear skies this week it will be nice for some stargazing. The sun is starting to set a little earlier, it looks like it won't be too hot and there are still lots of summer stars out. If you've never taken the time to look for the summer triangle get out there to find it. You'll discover Vega, the brightest star in the summer sky, Altair a yellow star like our own sun and Denib, a personal favorite of mine and part of the constellation Cygnus the swan. These stars are a gateway to their respective summer constellations. Denib, as mentioned is in Cygnus, Altair is in Aquila the Eagle and Vega is in Lyra the lyre. Fun factoid, the term "Summer Triangle" was coined by H.A. Rey, the author of the Curious George books. He also wrote books on astronomy. Google "summer triangle" for maps showing the positions of the stars if you need to. They are the three brightest stars in the summer sky.
As noted above, the second crop of cottontail rabbits will likely emerge from the next the end of this week or perhaps early next week.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Monday Phenology: August 1, 2011
Posted by Kirk in: Birds Phenology
Let's do this. The sun rose this morning at 5:58 AM, we're still safely in the pre-kirk's-alarm-clock-zone but that will come to an end on August 20th. Let's do a fun comparison to what we have in store six months from now in February. Hopefully this will make everyone appreciate the sunshine more.
Sunrise
August 1: 5:58 AM
February 1: 7:33 AM
Sunset
August 1: 8:40 PM
February 1: 5:20 PM
Today we got 14 hours, 41 minutes and 46 seconds of daylight, on February 1st we will get only 9 hours 47minutes and 33 seconds. That's a difference of around 5 hours. Use those 5 hours well.
Last week's recap (as best I can remember.)
Monday
I took my advanced digital nature photography camp put and we noticed little American toads everywhere. The are very small and copious. In fact, the whole week turned out to be very froggy.
Tuesday
I've been keeping a close eye on the bog the last few weeks. We've very fortunate to have this gem right out the back door at work. The plants of our bog are more typical of a northern Minnesota bog and it is found at the nature center due to an odd quirk of glacial geology in the St. Croix Valley. On Tuesday I noted that the Cottongrass has "bloomed" or more appropriately, gone to seed.
Wednesday
I headed down to the bog again in the morning with the kids and saw Eastern Kingbirds either catching food for their young or teaching them how to do it for themselves. Probably both. It was fun to watch either way. The young kingbirds have fledged from the nest and are fully capable of flight even though they are still getting meals from both mom and dad. I have some photos I'll try to post up this week.
Thursday
The phenology event of note was that a camper in another class found a late instar Polyphemus moth caterpillar. It was injured but fascinating none the less.
Friday I took the kids for a spin on our solar powered pontoon boat and I couldn't help but notice all the dragonflies mating above the water. Especially in certain parts of the lake (which I think correspond to deeper water) the Halloween Pennant dragonflies were mating in great numbers.
Saturday was a nice day though I curse the National Weather Service for their bogus Severe Thunderstorm Warning right at bed time. They threatened damaging winds and large hail. The city of St. Paul even turned on all the storm sirens. It was both impressive and creepy outside as I moved the cars into the garage while thunder boomed and multiple sirens wailed. Our son had just fallen to sleep and we had to carry him down to the basement. There never was much of any storm in St. Paul. Maybe some normal rain showers almost an hour after the sirens went off. It was a poor call that ruined my night.
The week ahead:
Keep your eyes open for early fall migrants heading south. Especially some shorebirds will increase in numbers around the Twin Cites as they start to move back south.
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Sunrise
August 1: 5:58 AM
February 1: 7:33 AM
Sunset
August 1: 8:40 PM
February 1: 5:20 PM
Today we got 14 hours, 41 minutes and 46 seconds of daylight, on February 1st we will get only 9 hours 47minutes and 33 seconds. That's a difference of around 5 hours. Use those 5 hours well.
Last week's recap (as best I can remember.)
Monday
I took my advanced digital nature photography camp put and we noticed little American toads everywhere. The are very small and copious. In fact, the whole week turned out to be very froggy.
Tuesday
I've been keeping a close eye on the bog the last few weeks. We've very fortunate to have this gem right out the back door at work. The plants of our bog are more typical of a northern Minnesota bog and it is found at the nature center due to an odd quirk of glacial geology in the St. Croix Valley. On Tuesday I noted that the Cottongrass has "bloomed" or more appropriately, gone to seed.
Wednesday
I headed down to the bog again in the morning with the kids and saw Eastern Kingbirds either catching food for their young or teaching them how to do it for themselves. Probably both. It was fun to watch either way. The young kingbirds have fledged from the nest and are fully capable of flight even though they are still getting meals from both mom and dad. I have some photos I'll try to post up this week.
Thursday
The phenology event of note was that a camper in another class found a late instar Polyphemus moth caterpillar. It was injured but fascinating none the less.
Friday I took the kids for a spin on our solar powered pontoon boat and I couldn't help but notice all the dragonflies mating above the water. Especially in certain parts of the lake (which I think correspond to deeper water) the Halloween Pennant dragonflies were mating in great numbers.
Saturday was a nice day though I curse the National Weather Service for their bogus Severe Thunderstorm Warning right at bed time. They threatened damaging winds and large hail. The city of St. Paul even turned on all the storm sirens. It was both impressive and creepy outside as I moved the cars into the garage while thunder boomed and multiple sirens wailed. Our son had just fallen to sleep and we had to carry him down to the basement. There never was much of any storm in St. Paul. Maybe some normal rain showers almost an hour after the sirens went off. It was a poor call that ruined my night.
The week ahead:
Keep your eyes open for early fall migrants heading south. Especially some shorebirds will increase in numbers around the Twin Cites as they start to move back south.