January 1999

     Happenings in and around Linnaeus Arboretum

January averages out as the coldest of all months of the year here in Minnesota, and yet if a person is very observant, signs of spring can be noticed.

Listed below are a few observations from a year ago in the Linnaeus Arboretum area, and out of the area when indicated. These events can be used to anticipate upcoming winter happenings and will help to compare this year with last.

l - Lake Waconia ice up to 11 inches thick. Crappies, sunfish and northerns biting. Flock of about 20 wild turkeys seen near Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Male varied thrush comes to a feeding station in Maple Grove.

2 - Birds such as chickadees and cardinals very active at feeders on this snowy day. Mature bald eagle seen over Victoria. Leopard frogs lie buried at the bottoms of lakes and ponds.

3 - Heard first "whi,whi,whi ......"  If spring song of the white-breasted nuthatch. In forested areas the snow cover reveals deer tracks, trails and beds.

4 - Sundogs visible all day and solar halo much of the time. Flying squirrels visit many feeding stations at night. They relish corn and sunflower seeds.

5 - The Christmas cactus continues blooming indoors. Only small open water spots in ice cover of Minnesota River, between St. Peter and Belle Plaine. American tree sparrows feed on seeds of prairie and meadow plants in Faribault area.

6 - About 200 horned larks along road between Cologne and Gotha. A dozen common goldeneyes in open water below Coon Rapids Dam. Two male golden-crowned kinglets at Chisago City area suet feeder.

7 - Black-capped chickadee heard calling "fee-bee" spring song. Deer are browsing twigs from sugar maple, basswood, ironwood, red cedar, red-osier dogwood and more. About 6 to 8 pounds of twigs are eaten daily by healthy deer.

8 - Fresh snow on spruce and pine boughs is a beautiful sight today. American tree sparrows seen feeding with juncos and mourning doves at ground feeders.

9 - Close to 100 wintering-over American robins in one Wayzata neighborhood. Fifty bald eagles perch in trees of Colville Park at Red Wing.

10 - Beautiful frost patterns on some windows this cold day. Two dozen American robins eating crabapple fruit on University of Minnesota Campus. Near Grygla, in northwestern Minnesota, blue jays, black-capped chickadees, downy and hairy woodpeckers, and snow buntings are busy at a feeding station.

11 - Cooper's hawk comes to Chisago City area feeding station and takes starlings as prey. Over 300 horned larks along road between Cologne and Belle Plaine.

12 - Beavers are quite safe in their lodges; they feed on the bark of tree branches stored under water. Hundreds of common goldeneyes in open water area of ice covered Mississippi River at Red Wing.

13 - About 4:45 p.m., 20 northern cardinals at one feeding station in Wayzata. Porcupines are seen high up in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin trees, feeding on bark. Porcupines are active all winter.

14 - Sharp-shinned hawk visits feeding station looking for prey. Four eastern bluebirds come to heated birdbath near Annandale. Wolves travel on the wind-packed snow of northern lakes.

15 - Red squirrels feed on Amur maple seeds at ends of branches. White-tailed deer bucks dropping antlers. Screech owls sometimes roost in wood duck houses. Wild turkeys, near Le Sueur, feeding on sumac berries.

16 - Honey bees out on cleansing flights during the thaw. Blue jays in small noisy flocks. Northern cardinal heard singing "what-cheer, cheer, cheer..........." spring song in Brooklyn Park. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources counted 750 bald eagles in the Mississippi River Valley between St. Paul and Iowa border.

17 - Heard first blue jay "pumphandle" spring song. A wintering flock of about 35 American robins on northwestern side of Lake Waconia, 76 mourning doves at a Brooklyn Park feeding station, and 21 coming for seeds put out in one Hastings backyard.

18 - Horned lark spring migration begins in Faribault area with scattered flocks seen. Small flock of American robins in New London area. Lake Superior, as seen from Duluth to Silver Bay, is wide open.

19 - Short-eared owl seen near Frontenac. 21 bald eagles seen at Reads Landing. At Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, near Finland, red-breasted nuthatches, black-capped chickadees, and both pine and evening grosbeaks are among birdfeeder birds.

20 - The ice thickness is 20 inches at Wolf Lake near Finland, Minnesota. This area has a snow cover of 24 inches and its easy to find deer, coyote, fox, red squirrel and ruffed grouse tracks,

21 - Woodpeckers heard drumming. Both hairy and downy woodpeckers can be heard drumming on resonant tree branches or other "signal posts" in January. They do this to announce territories and establish pair bonds.

22 - First striped skunk out and about. North Shore of Lake Superior streams are frozen over, with water running underneath. Lake Superior wide open, but beautiful ice patterns show on rocks hit by wave spray.

23 - Wintering robins feeding on hackberry fruit and crabapples. Ring-necked pheasants are busy picking up gravel along country roads. The gravel goes into the gizzard and is used in the first stages of food digestion.

24 - Eastern chipmunk up in 'Red Splendor' crabapple tree foraging on the fruit. Now is a good time to get out and prune your apple trees. Oak trees can also be trimmed successfully during the winter.

25 - Brown colored leaves of the red oak have begun falling; a very subtle spring sign. Duet hooting by pairs of great horned owls tells us that this species is setting up nesting territories. They are the earliest nesting bird in this part of the country.

26 - Northern cardinal singing "what-cheer, cheer, cheer.........." territorial song. American goldfinches are starting to show some bright yellow feathers; another subtle spring sign.

27 - White-breasted nuthatches continue calling their spring "whi,whi,whi .........." song over and over. Black colored phase of the gray squirrel seen at Dodge Nature Center in West St. Paul.

28 - Some European starlings have begun showing yellow on their bills. Starlings' bills change from black to yellow as the nesting season approaches. About a dozen mourning doves at Minnesota Zoo feeding station. Cooper's hawk came to birdbath in Waconia to drink.

29 - Animal tracking and snowshoeing conditions continue to be quite good over much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Dozens of American robins wintering in Faribault and area.

30 - The black-capped chickadees call "love-you" (or "fee-bee"), the territorial signal over and over. Another way of saying this is that the optimistic chickadees continue their two-noted "spring-soon" calls.

31 - Opossum spotted at a feeding station in Apple Valley, and one in Bloomington too. Now is the time black bear cubs are born in northern Minnesota.