Phenology - May 2012

By Kelly Amoth, Interpretive Naturalist

May is half over, and it's already been a busy month in terms of phenology. It's as if when the calendar flipped to May, it was time for the birds and butterflies to make their grand appearance and for the spring ephemerals to start shooting up. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy month out here in the woods.

• Turtles are already on the move, so try to keep a watchful eye out for them as you're passing roadside ponds and lakes. With the earlier than average ice off, warmer temperatures, and early spring rains, turtles are already more active. I stopped one afternoon earlier this month to cheer on a woman who had pulled over to help a painted turtle complete its journey across the road. If you are going to help a turtle, remember to always move the turtle in the direction it was travelling—even if that is not towards water. Be especially careful if you stop to help a snapping turtle. I'd advise moving snappers with a shovel, for they have incredibly long necks and can bite you if you are holding them on the sides of their shell.
• If you put the nectar out, the hummingbirds will come. At least that was my hope. I put the nectar feeder out when we started hearing reports of hummingbirds nearby, but we didn't see the first one here until May 11. These migrants are returning to Minnesota for the summer from their warm winter in Mexico and Panama. After crossing the Gulf of Mexico, hummingbirds will travel up to 20 miles a day as they follow the bloom of flowers along the way. While we have plenty of flowers with nectar for them to feed on here now, if they were to arrive early, hummingbirds will feed off the wells of sap created by yellow bellied sapsuckers or the insects that are attracted to them.
• Last year we tagged monarch butterflies before they left for the winter. While we haven't received any reports yet that our tagged monarchs were sighted, we're looking forward to seeing monarchs back in the prairie. The monarchs we will see here are the offspring of the females that migrated from Mexico a few months ago and laid their eggs in the south. Monarchs have sensory receptors on their feet that in addition to visual and chemical cues help them to identify milkweed plants, which are the only plants on which they lay their eggs.

The birds are singing; dragonflies are buzzing overhead; and there is over 15 hours of daylight right now. Make sure you get outside and enjoy the rest of spring!

We have a few spots left in our summer camps. Make sure to check out the catalog for availabilities.

What is phenology?

Phenology is the study and science of appearances and how they change over the seasons. The word itself is related to the word phenomenon. Think of phenology as recording and studying the natural phenomenon that occur around us every day.

Phenology can be as easy as recording what day you see birds returning to your feeders each year or when you see flowers blooming but make no mistake, phenology is serious science. By studying phenology we can better understand how the earth changes. Phenology records going back hundreds of years for the same location have even supported global warming research by showing that spring is arriving earlier than it used to historically.

At Warner Nature Center, groups help us fill out our phenology calendar each year and naturalists enter the data into a computer database.