4 Lakes 4 Seasons

Last day of fourth season

2009-12-20T21:18:00.001-06:00

I started this blog a year ago, but I am not finding the time to keep it up anymore. I will continue to scribble phenology notes in a notebook, but probably won't get around to writing about them online.

Here's wishing you a Happy Winter Solstice for tomorrow, and good times observing nature always!

Loons!

2009-10-19T10:36:00.002-05:00

Loons are back on Lake Monona! I think I saw them on Saturday, but I went again on Sunday with binoculars to makes sure.

Male red-winged blackbirds seem to be back in the neighborhood after being missing for two months. I see them everyday by Wingra Creek now. Are these are summer residents (back from hiding), visitors from further north taking a long break here, or a continuous stream of new migrants everyday stopping and taking a short break before flying even further south?

I saw my first White-Throated Sparrow of the fall in our backyard on Sunday, Oct 18.

Also on Sunday, where Rowell St meets Lakeside St, I saw a huge flock of birds on the power lines, making a lot of noise. They were a little smaller than robins, and had heavily streaked chests. Their bills were long, thin and sharp. From looking at the bird books, the only thing that I found that is similar to what I saw are female red-winged blackbirds. I'm not entirely convinced that my identification is correct though. (10/26/09 - In retrospect, these probably weren't female blackbirds at all. Maybe starlings?)

I also saw some kind of grebe on Monona Bay. I think it might have been horned grebes, but again, I'm not really sure. There were also shovellers, coots, gulls and lots of geese on Monona Bay. And also one heron! It is a fun time to look on the lakes. All kinds of visitors!

I have been noticing that there are still many trees with all green leaves! I had always thought that most trees had leaves that had at least started to turn, if not already turned and fallen by this time of year. But, I guess not! I'll have to observe this time of year next year and see if the middle of October is always this green, or whether this is an anomalous year.

First Frost

2009-10-12T13:03:00.000-05:00

We had our first frost and first freeze Friday night (Oct 9th). It fell to 27F. Then we had another night in the 20s Saturday night. We also had our first few snowflakes on Saturday, Oct 10th! It is cold. I hope we still have an Indian summer coming. My memory of last year is that it didn't happen. Once it got cold, I don't remember it getting warm again until April!

I have been seeing Robins now and then, and also Red-winged Blackbirds. Lots of birds moving around. I assume they are migrating, but maybe they are our local birds who are suddenly visible and audible again. I feel I am hearing and seeing lots of birds I don't know too, but I never get a close enough look to tell for sure.

I heard a Robin singing feebly today, and a woodpecker drumming! I've read that birds will occasionally confuse this time of year for spring (since it has the same amount of daylight). But maybe these birds were just practicing for next year.

I saw my first Junco of the fall on Saturday, Oct 10 in our yard, but I haven't seen another one since. I also saw what I think are grebes on Monona Bay on Saturday. I also saw lots of gulls and geese. I am trying to keep track and see if the gulls migrate, or if like the mallard ducks, they stick around for most of the winter. I haven't seen any loons yet. I am waiting eagerly for them to come through.

Happy Autumn Equinox! (one day late)

2009-09-23T21:07:00.001-05:00

This is the time of year I feel slow, so my posting for the Autumnal Equinox is a day late. My other excuse is that it rained record amounts for Sept 22 in Madison yesterday, so I couldn't really take any pictures. Of course, I don't care for my pictures from today that much either, so I'm just left with a late post with not so good pictures!

This is the season for asters. We found lots of different varieties of them at the Arboretum. I don't think I can name them, and it would take me more time than I have to figure them out.

Recently, I noticed this flower all over our backyard:

I had never noticed it before this year. I looked it up, and I think it is Devil's Beggar's Ticks (Bidens vulgata or Bidens frondosa). It produces some nasty burs in the fall, and I certainly have gotten lots of those on my clothes in the fall! I was glad to solve the mystery of those sticky seeds because every year I did wonder what plant produced them.

Reds

2009-09-20T21:01:00.000-05:00

The Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) in the neighborhood has been gorgeous for a week or two.

I saw this Northern Flicker in our backyard today. It is only the second time I have seen this bird, and only the first time I have gotten such a close look at it! It must be migrating somewhere. I love the spring and the fall for all the birds that stop by here that don't ordinarily come to our yard. A week ago I saw a hummingbird in our yard for the second time (the first time was in the spring).

I have been seeing lots of robins in our neighborhood for the past few days. I think these are ones that are migrating, not our usual resident ones. Here's wishing them a safe and good trip!

We are having the first rain of September right now! The plants will be happy.

Have the birds gone?

2009-09-10T20:41:00.000-05:00

We were in Montana from Aug 20 to Aug 27. Since we've been back, I haven't seen wrens or robins in our neighborhood. I saw lots of robins at Westmorland park today. I wonder if these were birds passing through, or robins are just gone from our neighborhood (and all the other places I regularly visit in Madison), but are still around in other parts of Madison.

There were a few barn swallows left at the end of August, but in a few days, they too disappeared from our neighborhood.

I had never noticed before how early the birds leave our neighborhood.

I am seeing more of the birds that stay -- chickadees, cardinals, woodpeckers and goldfinches. I even heard a chickadee singing as recently as 3 days ago. I am paying close attention to see if the chickadees ever do stop singing before I start noticing their singing again in December.

I was surprised to notice today that leaves are already turning color. Fall is just around the corner!

Bird Mysteries

2009-08-10T21:30:00.003-05:00

I hadn't realized that it has been almost a month since I last posted! Time flies, as do birds, of course. And it seems like some birds have flown, and I sure hope they are on course.

I saw very few Red-Winged Blackbirds starting 2 or 3 weeks ago, and I have not seen a single one since August 3. I don't know if they have started migrating yet, but they certainly aren't around Wingra Creek anymore. It seems strange that the birds would go at the peak of the Wisconsin summer abundance, but I'm sure they know what they are doing.

I have been thinking of Brown-headed Cowbirds a lot this summer. I saw more of them this spring than I ever have before, but then suddenly, sometime in June, I stopped seeing them. Since cowbirds don't build their own nests and lay their eggs in other birds' nests, I wonder what they do all summer.

I have been keeping my ears open for the song of chickadees. In the past couple of weeks, the frequency of their song has decreased, but I still hear them now and then. In fact, I heard one this morning. I want to see how long they stop singing for since they start singing again so early (December was when I first heard their fee-bee.) Or maybe they keep on singing through the year. I am trying to see if I can find out.

Olin Turville Woods

2009-07-12T20:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I went to Olin Turville woods after a long time. I saw my first Bergamot of the year.

I saw a plant which I think is Enchanter's Nightshade.

I saw another plant, which I remember seeing last year too. It makes red berries. I still can't figure out what it is. Any help would be appreciated!

I also saw a beautiful damselfly.

New Blooms and Wingra Creek Prairie

2009-07-12T19:22:00.010-05:00

The first Cup Plant flowers bloomed in our yard today.

Catnip is blooming.

Whorled Milkweed is blooming along Lake Monona.

I also found two other milkweeds growing along Wingra Creek. The first is Butterfly Weed:

And the second is Swamp Milkweed.

I also finally got around to taking pictures of some of the beautiful flowers in the prairie plantings that someone has done around Wingra Creek (thanks to whoever put in the effort!):

The Yellow Coneflowers have been blooming for quite a while now,

so have the Purple Coneflowers,

and so have the Black-eyed Susans.

I think this Hoary Vervain has only started blooming in the last week or so.

and I have no idea how long this beautiful Purple Prairie Clover has been blooming.

July Wildflowers

2009-07-08T12:35:00.006-05:00

Saw my first White Snakeroot of the year by Wingra creek.

There is a lot of this plant blooming by Wingra Creek. I think it is Common Sow-Thistle.

This one looks similar to the above, but I think it is Wild Lettuce.

Bull Thistle is also now blooming. This looks similar to Field Thistle, but is a little deeper purple color. Also, it is a biennial, and I usually find the lone plant by itself as opposed to Field Thistle which is a perennial, and spreads by root, so I usually find it in large clumps. The Field Thistles are now going to seed, and I see goldfinches on them a lot these days. I've read that they like the seed fluff for their nests, and in fact wait until late summer to make their nests so that they can use the Field Thistle fluff. I wonder what is so special about it that they won't make their nests without it.

I think this plant is Bouncing Bet, the roots of which contain saponin which was once used as soap. I pulled a plant and tried to see if the root was soapy. It was a little slippery, but I found it hard to see how it could be used as soap. Maybe I have the wrong plant, or maybe that's why people don't use it as soap anymore!

We found these on currant plants at Quann Community gardens. They looked like boxelder bugs to us, but I didn't know they were found on currants. Maybe they are something else?

Butterflies and Berries

2009-06-27T20:58:00.004-05:00

Our first butterflies of the year emerged from their chrysalises today!

We still have two more chrysalises. One of the caterpillars made its in a somewhat precarious place!

We saw a few ripe raspberries today. The first ones of the year! Not enough to eat yet, but in a week or so we should be loaded. We were able to gorge on Juneberries and Mulberries by Wingra Creek today though.

Elderberries are blooming. The kids like the berries in the fall. We'll have to remember to look for them.

I see the above flower every year by Wingra Creek. I think it is planted, and not a wildflower. Any ideas what it is?

More Blooms

2009-06-22T18:58:00.003-05:00

I saw the first Queen Anne's Lace flowers of the year by Monona Bay today.

Also by Monona Bay, I saw Linden trees blooming. I have been trying to catch them blooming for years since the flowers are edible. We finally got to eat them today! They were alright, not great, and not bad.

The Creeping Bellflowers in our yard bloomed today.

One Milkweed flower bloomed in our yard today.

I noticed Purslane in our garden today. A tasty treat!

Summer Solstice

2009-06-21T20:26:00.011-05:00

We went for a walk at the Arboretum to celebrate the Solstice. We saw lots and lots of flowers blooming. Here is a sampling, with my best guesses for what they are. Happy Summer Solstice!

Spiderwort

Prairie Smoke

Prairie Coreopsis

Some kind of sunflower

Phlox

June Grass

Downy Wood Mint

Compass Plant

Common Yarrow

Canada Anemone

Some kind of cactus

Butterfly-weed

Blue-eyed Grass

Wild Quinine

White Wild Indigo

Tall Beard-Tongue

We now have three chrysalises in our bedroom:

Colorful times

2009-06-21T06:11:00.006-05:00

I saw my first Chicory flower on Saturday. I love the bright blue color.

The first Daylily in our yard.

The first ripe Juneberries (which I ate.)

I think I solved the mystery of the above unknown plant that I first mentioned here. From what I've read, it is probably Narrow-leaved Plantain (which is in the same genus as Common Plantain that is found as a weed in yards.)

Another beautiful color that I found yesterday on the bike path by the tunnel under John Nolen Drive. I had never seen this plant before. From the wildflower identification books, it looks to me like the name of this flower is Four-o'clock.

I found this on the bike path by Wingra Creek near the tunnel too. It sure looks like some kind of geranium, but I couldn't find one that seemed to exactly match in the books I have.

This was growing by our back door, and I've never seen it before either! It might be White Avens.

I found this by Wingra creek, near the bridge to Quann park. I've never seen it before. I haven't had a chance to look very hard, but so far, I have no idea what the above might be.

Middle of June

2009-06-18T08:02:00.004-05:00

We heard our first crickets of the year on Monday night! I saw my first fireflies on Wednesday, but Dan and Maynie said that they saw them at the Arboretum on June 7 on their full moon walk.

I found Motherwort blooming in our raspberry patch like I did last year. I never even knew that this plant existed before then.

One of the weeds that grew up in our garden while we were gone was this over 6 feet tall weed. It flowered on Monday. I looked it up, and it might be Poison Hemlock! I will remove it today!

On the bike path behind the pool, since Monday I've seen Common Saint Johnswort blooming.

I have also seen another plant there (you can see some of it in the picture above too). This plant I've never seen before this year. I think it is either Hairy Vetch or Cow Vetch. I will have to take a closer look. Here's a picture of the vetch just by itself:

I've seen another purple flower belonging to the pea family close to this one (on Rowell St.). I think it is alfalfa. I don't think I've ever noticed it before this year either!

The Field Thistles have looked ready to burst into flower for a while, but I saw my first open flower on Tuesday.

Still catching up -- June 12 and 13

2009-06-16T14:45:00.005-05:00

I came down with the flu on June 1, and was wiped out for quite a while. Friday, June 12 was the first day the kids and I got out for a bike ride by Wingra creek and Quann park.

We noticed that the Black Locust flowers were done blooming. A pity because they are tasty. We missed them this year because of our traveling and sickness!

We also saw lots of large fish thrashing around in Wingra Creek. That must have been the peak day, because I've seen a fish now and then thrashing around since then, but not very many. Anyone know what kind of fish that is? Was it laying eggs?

We also saw Cottonwood tree seeds everywhere. It looked like it was snowing!

We found our first monarch caterpillar of the season!

We also saw the following wildflowers:

Birds-foot Trefoil

Daisy fleabane

Crown Vetch

Bittersweet Nightshade

And this weed unknown to us (maybe thimbleweed?) (Please see here for my further thoughts on this.)

Saturday, June 13 was the first day I biked by Lake Monona. I saw Wild Parsnip, Common Yarrow, Hedge Bindweed, Field Bindweed, Sweet Yellow Clover, some kind of Cinquefoil (maybe Sulphur?)and Ox-Eye Daisies blooming.

Beginning of June

2009-06-15T14:49:00.004-05:00

When we returned from our trip on June 1, we were amazed how much of a jungle our yard and garden had become. Things grow fast here at the end of May! We also saw spittlebugs on all kinds of plants. I don't think I've ever seen so many spittlebugs before. Maybe an extra good year for them?

When we looked in our yard, we found raspberries blooming. We saw black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) trees in bloom on our ride back from the airport.

Also, blooming in and around our yard were:

White Clover

Black Medick

White Campion

Goat's Beard (Tragopogon dubius)

and Pineapple Weed (which for some reason the Blogger keeps rotating)

On June 3, we found ripe wild strawberries in our garden (Fragaria vesca). Our Rose bush bloomed in June 6.

London Trip

2009-06-15T11:07:00.006-05:00

We got the flu in London, but before we did, we managed to enjoy some green spaces in London. In the yard where we were, we found something that looked awfully like garlic mustard (which wouldn't be surprising considering it came from Europe). The kids ate it and it tasted the same too! My looking closely at plants these days finally paid off in some good nutritious food in a foreign country for the kids!

We found something that probably was Queen Anne's Lace (which is another European import). The interesting thing was that is was flowering. I don't think Queen Anne's Lace flowers here for a while. I think because of their milder climate in London, their whole spring is shifted earlier.

I also enjoyed all the daisies and buttercups that were growing in the grass instead of the dandelions here.

End of May

2009-05-19T15:50:00.003-05:00

We've never had the above in our garden before (not the Creeping Charlie, but the stuff in front). I think it's something in the mint family, but I couldn't be sure from the guidebooks what kind of mint it is.

Another new species in our garden! Maybe Early Meadow Rue?

We are going to be in London for the rest of May. Can't wait to see how many more surprises we will find in June in our by then even more untended garden and yard!

Please leave comments about what we're missing in the Madison growing season if you get a chance.

Dame's Rocket

2009-05-14T21:43:00.004-05:00

I saw the first Dame's Rocket (another dreadful invasive!) of the year in our backyard today,

dandelions are already going to seed,

our daffodils are done flowering,

and grass is already going to seed!

I saw goslings and ducklings today. The season is moving along fast!

May Happenings

2009-05-12T09:25:00.006-05:00

It seems like in the past week or so, everything has gotten very green. Most of the trees have leaves now.

I saw my first Baltimore Orioles on May 6, and the first Catbirds on May 11. I saw the last White-throated sparrows on May 7, and I have been seen larger numbers of White-crowned sparrows starting May 9.

In our yard, I found some milkweed yesterday:

I found the first honeysuckle blossoms in our yard today. All around town, I have been seeing honeysuckles starting to bloom over the past few days.

We went to the Arboretum yesterday, and we saw our first Wild Geraniums, Jacob's Ladder, Golden Alexanders and White Trillium of the year.

Wild Geranium

White Trillium

Jacob's Ladder

Golden Alexanders

Blossoms

2009-05-04T21:43:00.005-05:00

The wild plum tree in our backyard is blooming,

so are some of our strawberries,

and our peach tree,

also our juneberry bush,

and our sweet cherry tree. All of these plants are in the rose family, I think. The flowers do all have a similar look about them.

Garlic mustard is also blooming.

Arboretum Trip

2009-04-29T20:57:00.009-05:00

We went to the Arboretum today and saw lots of neat spring wildflowers. Also check out this to see pictures from a friend's Arboretum walk yesterday. She saw some things we didn't.

Here are our pictures:

Mayapple leaves:

False Rue-anemone:

Bloodroot (white flower by the log):

An anthill:

Rue-Anemone:

Yellow trout-lily (not all the way open yet):

Virginia Bluebells:

Wild Ginger (note the inconspicuous red flowers resting on the ground):

Twinleaf (with some toothwort leaves and flowers scattered in the picture too):

Carpets of Toothwort:

Spring Beauty (among Wild Geranium leaves):

Prairie Trillium (Not flowering yet):

Prairie Smoke:

Neighborhood Weeds

2009-04-29T20:15:00.002-05:00

Two mustard family (4 petals, 6 stamens - 4 long, 2 short) weeds are flowering in Quann park. I think the first one is Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) and the second one is Winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris).

This third weed I first saw at my in-laws' farm in the woods. I thought it was some woodland wildflower coming up. Then I saw the same leaves at the Arboretum. Then I started noticing the leaves everywhere, including in our backyard! So it must be some common weed. But I am really curious now what it is. Any ideas what it is? Maybe I just have to wait until it puts out a flower.

Birds

2009-04-29T19:41:00.009-05:00

The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks stayed two days, but they were gone today.

Last week, at a friend's house, we saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet flitting about in the trees. I've never seen one up so close. It seemed completely unafraid of us. She sent me a great picture of it:

There is a Peregrine Falcon nest box up on a platform between the MGE smokestacks by the bike-path parallel to Willy St. I haven't been there yet, but I hope to get there. Friends of ours had even better luck than seeing the falcon on its nest. They had one come by their street and catch a grackle! Go here to see their pictures.

We are still seeing and hearing White-throated sparrows in our yard. Here is a better picture than last time:
You can really see the white on its throat, and maybe even the yellow between its eyes.

I was getting overconfident in my bird identification, and just calling all the birds with white stripes on their heads white-throated sparrows until I took a closer look at another bird and found this:
This is a white-crowned sparrow. It has no white on its throat and no yellow between its eyes. I wonder how many days this kind has been around?

Today we were at the Arboretum, and I saw two birds in Longnecker gardens that I'd never seen before. One was tan brown on top, and gray underneath, and the size of a Robin. Maybe a Veery? If not that, I think it was some other thrush-like bird. The second bird had a dark, crested head, and yellow belly, and was about the size of a cardinal. My guess is a Great-crested Flycatcher. If not that, some other kind of flycatcher. Anybody know if these birds would be around in Longnecker gardens?

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Tulips

2009-04-27T21:10:00.005-05:00

I've seen Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks out in the country before, but never in the city. So I was thrilled to see three in our front yard today! I even managed to photograph one. This is about the time of year they return, so they must be the first ones of the year! I hope they decide to stay in our yard, but I have a feeling that they will be gone tomorrow. I only saw males today. The females return a few days later. I hope some of the females will grace our yard with a visit too! The white-throated sparrows are still around. I see and hear several everyday.

Our neighbors' tulips have been blooming for a week or so now, but our first tulips bloomed today.

A Wren and Lots of Leaves

2009-04-25T17:16:00.002-05:00

We saw our first wren of the year in our backyard yesterday. I have also been hearing white-throated sparrows and seeing them now and then too. This is the first year I've seen them more than once during the spring! I also saw two pine siskins in our yard today. I saw them passing through one day in the winter, so it was nice to see these infrequent visitors again. They are probably on their way back home.

A lot of different trees seem to be leafing out now. I'm not sure what all of them are. Some of them seem like crabapple trees. When it stops raining (which may not be for a day or two!), I will go and take a closer look at some of them. The cherry tree we planted in our yard showed its first leaves yesterday. It was hot yesterday (over 80F), and it is back to cool today, and gray and rainy. I don't mind the cool so much, but the gray and rainy is not my favorite, though it is definitely spring weather!

Barn Swallows, Tree blossoms and Invasive species

2009-04-22T20:56:00.010-05:00

The Barn Swallows are back! I saw two by Wingra creek this morning. I also saw a Chipping Sparrow today. They also come back around this time of year. The only other common backyard bird (or at least common in our backyard!) that isn't back yet is the Wren.

I think the above are boxelder (Acer negundo) blossoms. Once I noticed one tree, I noticed tons of box elders everywhere blossoming! I didn't know that there were so many boxelder trees in the neighborhood. I read that boxelders produce male and female flowers on separate trees. I will have to take a closer look and see if I can tell the difference. Boxelders are a kind of Maple (Acer genus). Two other kinds of maples -- silver and red also bloom early. In fact, I think they bloom in late March and early April. I looked at the silver maple by her house today, and it has seeds starting to form. I am always glad when I see that because I am allergic to silver maple pollen! Though this year I hardly got any allergies. Either my allergies or better, or the trees didn't produce much pollen this year.

The above is a picture of male catkins on a cottonwood tree (Populus deltoides). Apparently, the male and female flowers of cottonwood trees are on separate trees. The female catkins are green. I will have to look and see if I find any of those.

The apricot tree in our yard has had blossoms for a few days now. The tree is four years old, but still hasn't produced any fruit. Maybe it's because it blooms too early?

It is hard to see in the above picture, but the shrub in it has leaves coming out. I think this shrub is Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). This shrub is also everywhere! It is one of the only things I can see leafing out right now. It is an invasive, and greens early, and stays green late in the season. At least it is not wind-pollinated, so it probably doesn't cause allergies.

Talking of invasives, creeping charlie or ground ivy(Glechoma hederacea) has been blooming for a few days now. I also saw my first dandelion bloom at Quann community gardens today. Then later I saw one at our house, and then later lots more along the roadside!

White-throated Sparrow

2009-04-21T13:26:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I thought I heard the bird song that sounds like "O Sweet Canada Canada Canada" in the distance from our back door. Today, I saw a white-throated sparrow (whose song this is) in our backyard feeding on the ground. Very pleasing! I see white-throated sparrows about once a year too, just like brown-headed cowbirds. Unlike the cowbirds that do stay here all summer (just not in our backyard), I think the white-throated sparrows are just migrating through. I'm glad that they migrate through our yard, and I hope they continue to do so!

Here's a hazy picture of the sparrow (along with some other bird in the background that I was unable to identify) that I caught through our kitchen window:

Cowbirds and Violets

2009-04-15T20:58:00.005-05:00

About once every spring I usually see brown-headed cowbirds in our yard. I think we usually see them around the time they come back. We must be on their migration path! I even managed to get a picture of them -- one male and one female -- through the kitchen window today!

I also saw Cedar Waxwings two days ago. A flock of them appears randomly now and then in our yard. I usually also see them about once a year, though sometimes it is in the fall, sometimes in the winter and sometimes in the spring.

I think the juncos have gone north. I saw one on Monday, and none today or yesterday. Before that, I was seeing two to four a day.

Our first violets bloomed today! We also saw some asparagus just starting to poke out!

Garlic Mustard

2009-04-14T21:48:00.006-05:00

I was wondering whether garlic mustard is up yet, so today we went to look in Quann park where there is usually plenty. Sure enough, it's coming up everywhere! It is a nasty invasive, but my kids like eating it, so they helped remove it by eating some today.

One of the many mints that grow in our garden is up! I think the kind below is peppermint.

We also found a grape hyacinth in our front yard today:

The robin in the picture below was sitting so close to us that we had to attempt photographing it. In the background, you may be able to see tiny leaves coming out on a tree. These are the first new tree leaves I've seen this year. I don't know what they are yet. I will have to try to identify the tree later in the season.

It was a beautiful day today, and temperature in the 60s is in the forecast for the next three days! We intend to enjoy it!

Spring Flowers and other happenings

2009-04-10T17:22:00.011-05:00

We found a crocus blooming in the middle of our yard yesterday. It came up the same place last year. We never planted it. Thanks to the squirrel who did! Thanks also to Jen Lynch who identified it for us!

I found the above today in our yard, and I think it is a Siberian Squill. Again, a volunteer in our yard. I think they are considered an invasive species at the Arboretum, but I have to say I do quite like the occasional one in our yard.

Look at how bright yellow the male goldfinches are now!

The juncos are still around. They leave sometime in April so I am trying to check everyday if they are still around.

Yesterday we went to the Arboretum, and we didn't see any spring wildflowers. We did see a Forsythia in bloom though (I love those tags on the trees in Longnecker gardens!):

We also saw a turtle, heard spring peepers and saw a tree swallow (which a person there told us have been back about a week). We also heard an owl (my best guess is a horned owl) hooting at around 1pm in the afternoon! That was quite a surprise.

Three days ago, we went to the Arboretum at twilight (around 7:30pm) and saw woodcocks dancing by the visitor center. It was quite a show. I don't know how many more days they will do it, but we all highly recommend going and watching them!

It doesn't seem that warm, but it was such a beautiful 50 degree day today that I planted some seeds in the garden. Let's see if they germinate!

Mystery solved!

2009-04-03T17:28:00.013-05:00

Thanks to Jen Lynch for solving the mystery of the flowers! They are snowdrops. They are not a wildflower from around here, that's why I couldn't find it in my wildflower books. We didn't plant it though, so we must have a squirrel to thank for planting these bulbs from somewhere! We also found some more snowdrops behind our shed. They are amazing flowers because when we had a few inches of snow on Saturday, I assumed they would not survive it, but no, they were still there when the snow melted! Here is a picture of the ones behind our shed:

Today our daffodils bloomed!

Even though we haven't had much warmth, there are lots of green things poking out here and there, many of which I can't identify. Notable for our family among the greens I can identify are violet leaves (full of vitamin C and enjoyed by my daughters) and catnip leaves (enjoyed by cats, and also my daughters. Luckily, they don't cause intoxication in humans!)

Here are the violets:

Here is the catnip:

Also up are daylily leaves. The shoots and tubers are edible in spring. However, we've tried them, and are not particularly fond of them.

I saw lots of loons on lake Monona today while biking by it. I don't think I've ever seen so many loons. I even heard the loons calling - not their haunting sound, but what my Backyard Birdsong Guide calls the male's yodel song. I also saw some loons doing the loon dance to chase away other birds. I also saw a couple of loons with fish in their beaks. I've seen loons over the last 4 or 5 years on Lake Monona every year, but I've never seen so many of them doing so many different things before! It was quite a treat.

Here is what I usually catch the loons doing:

I saw large numbers of another bird on Lake Monona. These birds swam in large groups, unlike the loons who seem to keep their distance from each other. They also dove down quite a bit like the loons. I have never seen this kind of bird before, and I was having trouble identifying it. I looked around on the internet and found that someone saw Red-breasted Mergansers on Lake Monona yesterday. My best guess is that I saw the same bird this person did, but I have to say that I'm not completely convinced. Here are some pictures of them. They're not great pictures, but let me know if you have an opinion of what they might be.

And last but not least, I finally photographed our resident groundhog today. He hibernated under our shed, and was first seen on March 21st. Here he/she is:

Loons, Buffleheads and Mystery Flower and Mystery Birds

2009-03-26T22:52:00.005-05:00

Dan saw loons on Monona Bay on the Equinox, but today was the first time I saw the loons on Lake Monona while biking on the bike path by John Nolen Drive. The contrast provided by the busy road on one side and the wild loons on the other never ceases to amaze me. I love to see the loons, and was glad to see them back! They will leave soon to go further north, so I intend to enjoy them while they are here. We couldn't get any pictures of them since they are quite shy, and dive underwater quite often when noticed (I can relate to that!) It's a pity because in the spring they are quite beautiful. In the fall, they have their drab winter coats on, or they are juveniles who haven't gotten the adult plumage yet. However, in the spring, only the breeding birds return. The juveniles stay by the ocean for three years until they are mature. The fact that the loons can live in salty oceanwater and freshwater at different times of the year seems another amazing thing about these endlessly fascinating birds.

Later, I took the girls to Olin Park with some binoculars, and we got to see the loons close up. We also ended up seeing some buffleheads on the lake through the binoculars.

Today was also the day we found the first flower in our yard. We have no idea what it is. So, if you have any ideas, let us know!

I also saw two birds that I've never seen before at Quann Park today. I couldn't see them very clearly, but my not too much better than random guesses are they were a ruby-crowned kinglet and an eastern phoebe. The kinglet was in the trees as it was supposed to be, and the phoebe was in the grass like it was supposed to be. The birds were about the size they were supposed to be too.

Happy Spring Equinox!

2009-03-20T20:53:00.003-05:00

We went for a walk in the Arboretum today to celebrate the first day of spring. It was very cold (with temperatures right around freezing), and we couldn't find anything green. Not very spring-like, but not atypical of Wisconsin! We found some Magnolia buds that were the next best things to something green. Though I have some vague memory that these buds look this way in December too. I'll have to check next winter!

Two turkeys and lots of robins were other companions we found on our cold walk!

Ring-Billed Gulls

2009-03-19T21:59:00.004-05:00

We saw lots of Ring-Billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) on Monona bay today. I looked up in the Birds of Wisconsin book and found that these gulls go away for the winter. So maybe they are just coming back. Or maybe they were just enjoying the first of the open water on Lake Monona after quite some time. I'll have to pay closer attention to my first sighting of a gull next year.

I also finally saw some grackles close enough today to say they are back. In the past few days, I feel I have heard them, and maybe seen them in the distance, but today was my first definitive viewing of them.

Killdeer and Chives

2009-03-16T16:53:00.006-05:00

A beautiful day with highs in the 60s! Today was the first day I heard the kill-dee kill-dee call of the killdeer (Charadrius vociferus). They must be back! I also heard a couple of other bird calls that I couldn't identify. So other birds are back too! I'm not very good at identifying bird calls. I need to get help from my daughter who has good musical abilities.

Chives are up in our garden!

Also, this weed is up. Anyone know what it is?

And unfortunately for those of us allergic to maple pollen, the silver maple buds in the picture above look about ready to burst open.

Daffodil Shoots

2009-03-07T21:41:00.002-06:00

We saw daffodil shoots poking through in our front yard today!

Robins at Olbrich Gardens

2009-03-05T21:52:00.003-06:00

We saw five or six robins this afternoon at Olbrich Gardens. A sure sign of spring!

I also saw a robin by our house in the morning, and one in Quann park in the evening, but that may have been the same robin that I saw about three weeks ago, that either migrated early, or has been spending the winter here. We will have to look in our neighborhood over the next few days to see if we can find more than one robin.

Last year, we also saw robins at Olbrich Gardens before they came to our neighborhood. This made Maynie speculate today that maybe Olbrich Gardens is one of many gathering places for robins. Maybe the robins show up first at the gathering places, and then everywhere else. We'll have to go to Olbrich Gardens again next spring to see if they show up first there again. Olbrich Gardens is north of here, so they should get to our neighborhood first since the robins come from the south. So we'll have to see if and why they show up further north first. Write in your robin observations to help confirm or reject our theories!

Red-Winged Blackbirds are back!

2009-03-04T20:13:00.004-06:00

I saw my first red-winged blackbirds of the year today by Wingra Creek! They were with a flock of either other red-winged blackbirds, or some other black colored birds (maybe grackles?). I couldn't get close enough to see.

I heard and saw a whole bunch of Canada Geese too. There seem to be a lot of those moving around these days. I heard a bird call that may have been a killdeer today. But I don't know my bird calls very well, so I may have been wrong.

I haven't seen any robins yet. I find that surprising because my memory is that the blackbirds usually come after the robins. So, let me know if you see any robins. Maybe they will come with the warm weather that is coming in the next few days.

Squirrels, Redpolls and Record Warmth

2009-02-10T14:58:00.000-06:00

The past few days I have been seeing squirrels chasing each other. I remember seeing that happen in January in past years. Maybe they wait to mate during a warmer spell, and we didn't really get much warm weather in January this year. Talking of warm weather, the temperature reached 54F today! This broke the previous record high for this day of 53F in 1876.

Yesterday, I saw redpolls at our birdfeeder. This is the first time I've ever seen (or at least noticed) this bird. So I was pretty excited! They weren't there today, so they must have just been passing through.

On Sunday and today, we saw a robin sitting in a tree near our house in the afternoon! This one must have decided not to migrate, or decided to come back a few weeks early.

We didn't manage to get any pictures of the robin, the redpolls, or the chasing squirrels. They were all too fast for us!

Cardinals are singing!

2009-02-06T20:41:00.001-06:00

I heard many cardinals singing today. It was fun to hear them! A friend said that she has always observed cardinal's singing on sunny days. Today was certainly sunny. I am curious if birds at this time of year tend to sing more on sunny days. I have been noting when I hear chickadees, and the two times I've paid attention, they were singing on a sunny day. So let me know if what you observe confirms or rejects this hypothesis of birds preferring to sing on sunny days.

Around the end of February or beginning of March, the phenology calendars start getting a lot denser. So even if spring isn't right around the corner, a lot of animal and plant activity is! We didn't get a January thaw like Aldo Leopold talks about in his Sand County Almanac, but we are getting a February thaw. A friend said that he was in his car to Watertown and saw huge numbers of hawks, presumably getting ready to hunt all those rodents that have been hiding under the snow!

Snow Fleas (Collembola)

2009-02-01T19:21:00.000-06:00

According to EEK (Environmental Education for kids):
On a warm, sunny winter day, take a look at the base of a tree where the snow may have melted down to expose some leaves, or where the snow is shallow or hollowed out just a bit. There you'll find a sprinkling of what looks like "pepper" or "ashes" on the surface of the snow. Each speck you see is a snow flea. Once you find them, watch closely and see what they're up to.

It was a warm, sunny winter day today, so we decided to go and look for snow fleas. We looked around many, many trees, and were rewarded by three snow fleas that we found around the base of one tree! We tried to take a picture, but our camera wasn't good enough to capture the image of such a small thing.

Here is some more interesting stuff about snow fleas from the EEK website:

Snow fleas are actually tiny insects which come out on warm, sunny days to eat decayed plant material or sap oozing from the tree. They hop around acting like fleas and that's where they get their name, snow "fleas." They're not fleas though, but actually an arthropod called Collembola (kol-LEM-bo-la) or commonly called springtails which measure about 1/8 inch (2mm) long.

These are not just winter critters. You can find them any time of year in the forest living in the leaf litter stuck to the underside of leaves or on the surface of the soil, chomping on bits of rotting vegetation. They also live on the surface of ponds. You'd have to look very closely to see them here because they blend in well and are so tiny.

More neat stuff about snow-fleas from Wikipedia:

Research at Queen's University indicated that the anti-freeze-like protein that allows snow fleas to operate in sub-zero environments may be useful for storing transplant organs and for producing better ice cream.^[1] By preventing the formation of ice crystals in tissues, organs could be stored at lower temperatures, increasing their lifespan outside a living body. Unlike proteins with similar functions in other species, the protein found in snow fleas breaks down easily at higher temperatures.^[2]

We had fun seeing such a tiny critter moving in the snow today. We saw that anti-freeze in action!

Opossum in the daytime

2009-01-19T20:44:00.000-06:00

At around 2pm this afternoon, we saw an opossum in our yard. It seems to be living under our shed. We were surprised to see it out and about in the daytime because we thought they are nocturnal. However, from Stan Tekiela's book, "Mammals of Wisconsin: Field Guide," we found that they are nocturnal, but "can be seen during the day in the coldest part of winter." Stan Tekiela also says, "This is the only marsupial found north of Mexico," and "it does not hibernate." We enjoyed watching it in our yard today. Seeing opossums in the daytime is a nice treat this time of year!

Coldest day in 10 years!

2009-01-15T16:45:00.000-06:00

A friend let me know today that it is the coldest day in Madison since our kids were born (mine in 1999 and 2004, hers in 2000)!

Despite the cold, Dan heard a chickadee sing "fee-bee" on his way to work at 9am! It has been really cold the past few days too, and I also finally heard a chickadee sing "fee-bee" on Jan 13th (at 9am also!). I had been listening for them, but I didn't hear a chickadee sing that song from Dec 27th to Jan 13th. Maybe they only call at 9am? I will have to listen for them at that time more often. Please let me know if you are hearing them sing these days.

What I want to know is why do chickadees singing their spring courtship song so early? What about today could possibly make them think of spring! My research on the internet revealed that chickadees will infrequently produce their courtship song at other times of the year too. So to make this a meaningful phenological data point, I probably need to record how often I hear their song during all the months of the year, and see if around Jan 17th (the date on the Aldo Leopold Foundation phenology calendar) is when the frequency of their singing increases. They don't nest until May, so January seems rather early to be singing. Maybe they are just practicing, or maybe they are getting a headstart on establishing their territory, or maybe it's not a courtship song at all. Whatever their reason, I do like to hear them sing, so I am glad they do so in January!

Goldenrod Galls

2009-01-13T14:49:00.000-06:00

We went out in our yard yesterday to look for goldenrods. Unfortunately, I cut most of the dried stalks this fall in an uncharacteristic bout of brush clearing. I will stay in character next year to have a greater variety of galls to look at!

We did find a few stalks that I overlooked in my brush-cutting bout:

And we found a gall on the stem of one:

My daughter Maynie (who is the official Blog Photographer) brought the stem in. Here she is with her little sister Meera posing with our find:

We opened up the gall, and here is what we found:

It's hard to tell from the picture what we saw, but it looked like the skin of a pupa. After doing some research on the internet, I found out that this is the empty pupal case of a Goldenrod Gall Moth (Gnorimoschema gallaesolidaginis). This kind of moth comes out of its pupa in the fall.

From what I read on the internet, there are three types of goldenrod galls, all caused by different insects. Our gall was an elliptical one. The round ones have a larva that overwinters by having antifreeze in its body fluids. I would like to find that one next year. It would also be fun to try to see all the different insects that live in goldenrod galls at all stages of their life cycle. Maybe something to attempt starting in the summer when our goldenrods grow back again.

Here are links to the three websites where I got most of my information on goldenrod galls:
They’ve got some gall
ALL GALLS ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS (At Least In Goldenrod )
NNZ-Goldenrod Gall Fly

What happens in January?

2009-01-10T20:28:00.001-06:00

We have two Wisconsin phenology calendars, one from the Aldo Leopold Foundation in Baraboo, and one from the Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy in Middleton. They are both great calendars.

Here is the Pheasant Branch's list of what to look and listen for in January:

Crows in large flocks
Squirrels mating (note chasing games)
Goldenrod galls
Jelly fungi on wet logs
Snow fleas
Great horned owls calling

The ALF calendar's January list:

Black bear cubs being born
Black-capped chickadees begin spring courtship song
Red foxes, wolves, beavers, Canada lynx and Fox and Gray Squirrels begin mating
Great horned owls begin courtship activities

The Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold talks about a January thaw and skunks taking a break from their hibernation during it.

We will be looking for these things over the next few weeks and plan to write about what we find. We would also love to hear about what you find.

Birds and Plants

2009-01-10T14:25:00.000-06:00

I still have no phenological events to report, so I thought I would try to remember why it was that I wanted to do this!

My interest in birds and their behavior started at Dan's grandma's birdfeeder. She would comment on all the different birds there, and I was fascinated by how many different types of birds were there, and impressed that she knew what kinds they all were. She lives in the country, so I assumed that the variety was because of that. But then I started looking in the city, and was amazed by how many different birds there are here too.

I love the country but don't like to drive, which means we have to live in the city. So discovering that such diversity and abundance of wildlife exists in Madison in the form of birds really enhanced the joy of the city for me. The return of the birds that migrate south in the fall in the spring feels like greeting an old friend. I also find new kinds of birds every year that I've never noticed before, and feel greatly enriched by this too.

My interest in plants originated from more practical reasons. I am a lazy gardener and am always delighted to find wild plants that are edible and that require no work. Then I found that my older daughter Maynie, who is the pickiest eater I have ever met, actually is not as picky when it comes to wild edibles. She turns into an adventurous eater, and even enjoys food when she is out foraging! So learning about wild edibles became an obsession for me to provide nutrition for her. This led to a lot of learning about all plants in general because that is what one has to do to learn about the edible ones. A knowledge of phenology is incredibly important for wild edibles because the seasons can be short, and one can miss an entire year's eagerly awaited treat by not knowing when to look for it.

I am still learning, and always look at unidentified plants with the hope that they might be another tasty treat! The other pleasure I've found with plants is the discovery of the incredible diversity of them even in the city (especially in our overgrown backyard!)

I have inconsistently recorded a phenological event here and there for the past two or three years. Through this blog, I hope to record more and also put the data in a database. I am also hoping to get my daughters to take pictures to post so that every year I don't have to look through all the identification books again to try to remember what I already figured out the previous year. Let's see how well I am going to be able to keep up with recording with the onslaught of phenological data come spring!

Chickadee

2008-12-27T19:07:00.000-06:00

Today we heard a chickadee sing fee-bee for the first time this season. Yesterday, Lake Monona looked frozen for as far as I could see. Today was over 40F though, so the lake may not stay frozen long!

This is a picture of a junco under our bird feeder. Juncos should be here until sometime in April, when they go further north for the summer.

Happy Winter Solstice!

2008-12-21T21:26:00.000-06:00

It is the winter solstice today. The first day of winter! It seems like a good day to start our blog about phenology. On this blog, we are going to attempt to document some phenology in the Madison area. We hope that people will add to our attempts by making comments about their observations. We are amateurs with no special training, so we are also hoping that any readers will correct our misstatements, and maybe even answer our questions!

This blog is dedicated to Dan’s grandma without whom we wouldn’t even know what phenology means. Many thanks to her for enriching our lives with observations about nature, and in countless other ways too.

If you are wondering what phenology is, here is the Wikipedia definition:

“Phenology is the study of the times of recurring natural phenomena. The word is derived from the Greek phainomai (φαινομαι)- to appear, come into view, and indicates that phenology has been principally concerned with the dates of first occurrence of natural events in their annual cycle. Examples include the date of emergence of leaves and flowers, the first flight of butterflies and the first appearance of migratory birds, the date of leaf colouring and fall in deciduous trees, the dates of egg-laying of birds and amphibia, or the timing of the developmental cycles of temperate-zone honey bee colonies. In the scientific literature on ecology, the term is used more generally to indicate the time frame for any seasonal phenomena, including the dates of last appearance (e.g., the seasonal phenology of a species may be from April through September).”

We are homebodies and homeschoolers, so many of the observations will be within walking distance of our home. Our backyard, Quann park, Wingra creek and Lake Monona are places that are close by.

Symbolically, this seems like a good day to start a phenology blog, but in Wisconsin, the first day of winter is not the time to find many phenological events to record! The big event to look for would be to see if the lakes have completely frozen. They were not a week ago. With a morning temperature of -12F, and more cold in the forecast, the lakes should be frozen over soon, if this has not already happened.

Sometime soon, we should also start hearing the chickadees spring courtship song (fee-bee) in addition to its usual chicka-dee-dee-dee. We haven’t heard it yet. Have you?