Thursday, April 7, 2011
Invertebrates
Early this morning (April 7) on my daily walk it was cool (36ยบ) and rainy, but in spite of the cool weather, I saw the first large numbers of earthworms on the country lanes. In addition, I saw a 2" slug -- the first I have seen this year. These are not the prettiest of the signs of spring, but tell us the ground is completely thawed and we should soon see the serviceberry flowers on the mountainsides.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Phenology notes: Week 1 of April 2011
Coming to Bethlehem on Monday (April 4th) I noticed that the forsythias were in full bloom and that there were many more daffodil flowers this week. The star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) trees are blooming (the earliest of the magnolias to do so each year) and one type of the cherry trees by the public library off of Church Street are have some of their flowers open.
On campus today, I saw that the Scilla (of the hyacinth family) were blooming.
The weather is still fluctuating, we are getting a lot of precipitation (April showers) and it is still pretty dreary. The colorful blooms and the return of brightly colored birds can certainly cheer us up though!
The first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been reported in Pennsylvania this week. See their progression northward at http://hummingbirds.net/map.html.
On campus today, I saw that the Scilla (of the hyacinth family) were blooming.
The weather is still fluctuating, we are getting a lot of precipitation (April showers) and it is still pretty dreary. The colorful blooms and the return of brightly colored birds can certainly cheer us up though!
The first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been reported in Pennsylvania this week. See their progression northward at http://hummingbirds.net/map.html.
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| Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Photo by John Wasilosky) |
Monday, April 4, 2011
Dawn Chorus and Maple Flowers
Each morning my dogs get me out and about for a walk, usually starting while it remains dark and ending in daylight. Being out at dawn this time of year allows me to hear early morning bird songs, the "dawn chorus." Later in the season, the chorus gets pretty complicated, but this time of year there are only a few singers, so it is a good time to try to learn bird songs if you are new to that endeavor.
The most "cheerful" voice in the chorus this morning was the American Robin. Many were singing their melodic up and down the scale song. A few were also producing their whinnying call at times. As the walk continued, I heard Red-winged Blackbirds proclaiming their territories with their raspy "conk-la-ree." The final species I heard singing at dawn this morning was a Northern Cardinal and its piercing notes. I look forward to more songs being added to the chorus as spring progresses.
Later in the day at Lehigh Gap Nature Center, on the north side of the Kittatinny Ridge along our LNE Trail (southern Carbon County), I found one Red Maple with flower buds that had burst open in the warm temperatures today.
Red maple flowers, Photo by D. Kunkle
The most "cheerful" voice in the chorus this morning was the American Robin. Many were singing their melodic up and down the scale song. A few were also producing their whinnying call at times. As the walk continued, I heard Red-winged Blackbirds proclaiming their territories with their raspy "conk-la-ree." The final species I heard singing at dawn this morning was a Northern Cardinal and its piercing notes. I look forward to more songs being added to the chorus as spring progresses.
Later in the day at Lehigh Gap Nature Center, on the north side of the Kittatinny Ridge along our LNE Trail (southern Carbon County), I found one Red Maple with flower buds that had burst open in the warm temperatures today.
Red maple flowers, Photo by D. Kunkle
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Phenological notes from various project partners
From the folks at Nescopeck State Park
And more signs of spring:
March 5 – first few spotted salamanders seen migrating
March 12 – first heard woodcocks “peenting”
March 16 – first heard wood frogs vocalizing
March 17 – skunk cabbages blooms seen
March 27 – first phoebe heard vocalizing
Mike reports seeing the first flocks of common grackles in Lehigh Township
Here in Kunkletown, we have been hearing spring peepers around our property for a few weeks, but tonight heard them at our pond for the first time this year. Hopefully the ice stays off the pond for good now! For the first time ever, we also heard a wood frog vocalizing from our pond at dusk!
With all the frog noises, it was difficult to hear the woodcocks but they were fluttering around in the field. When we had the late snow (March 24th), the woodcocks were hanging out in the road instead of the field. Not good but I guess 4 or 5 inches of snow on the ground is not something they are fond of.
We saw a Mourning Cloak in the woods this afternoon and Dan from Lehighton saw his first Cabbage White of the season on a sunny south-facing slope.
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| Cabbage White (Photo by Corey Husic) - A picture from last summer, not today! |
Carolyn from Center Valley April 3, 2011 ).
Judy reports from Center Valley
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| Early spring ephemerals (Photo by Judy Krasnicke) |
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Still awaiting spring 2011!
Well, it has been a rather cool week. Our pond, which had been free of ice, had a new layer on it this morning, although the warmth of the sun melted it by the afternoon. I came across a great statement today:
On Monday of this week, I saw daffodils blooming (despite the weather) on College Hill in Easton. Then I noticed them on Heckman Road and other places in Bethlehem. In Point Philip (farther north but still south of the Kittatinny Ridge), the yellow daffodil buds were evident, but not yet open. And north of the mountain in Kunkletown, our daffodil buds are forming but there is no color in them yet.
The cherry trees in Bethlehem have a few flowers open, but it is as if they have been suspended in time with the return of cold and snowy weather.
The flocks of robins are more evident now and in the mornings, there are more birds singing. A few weeks ago, the pileated woodpeckers were paired up and quite noisy, but the are now relatively quiet. I wonder if they have created their nests yet. Over the past few days, I have seen downy woodpeckers paired up as well. There are phoebes around, but I haven't heard their characteristic song yet. I wonder if the birds are also becoming impatient waiting for spring weather to arrive.
While bluebirds are here throughout the winter, I noticed that in the past few days, the males are looking intensely blue -- breeding plummage perhaps.
The first reported Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season was reported in central New Jersey this week so be looking for these in the very near future. Check out their progression northwards at eitherhttp://hummingbirds.net/map.html or
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/humm_ruby_spring2011.html. You can go backwards in time by week and see the rate of migration. One different sign of spring: the 2011 trout fishing season opened in the Lehigh Valley today.
Climate is what is predicted. Weather is what you get.
On Monday of this week, I saw daffodils blooming (despite the weather) on College Hill in Easton. Then I noticed them on Heckman Road and other places in Bethlehem. In Point Philip (farther north but still south of the Kittatinny Ridge), the yellow daffodil buds were evident, but not yet open. And north of the mountain in Kunkletown, our daffodil buds are forming but there is no color in them yet.
The cherry trees in Bethlehem have a few flowers open, but it is as if they have been suspended in time with the return of cold and snowy weather.
The flocks of robins are more evident now and in the mornings, there are more birds singing. A few weeks ago, the pileated woodpeckers were paired up and quite noisy, but the are now relatively quiet. I wonder if they have created their nests yet. Over the past few days, I have seen downy woodpeckers paired up as well. There are phoebes around, but I haven't heard their characteristic song yet. I wonder if the birds are also becoming impatient waiting for spring weather to arrive.
While bluebirds are here throughout the winter, I noticed that in the past few days, the males are looking intensely blue -- breeding plummage perhaps.
Eastern Bluebird (Photo by H. David Husic)
The first reported Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season was reported in central New Jersey this week so be looking for these in the very near future. Check out their progression northwards at either
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Some phenology notes for the end of March 2011
Well, for 2011, March is ending by "going out like a lion" as the saying goes, with the return of snowy cold weather over the past week. Daily, I had been watching for the final small patches of snow to disappear on the top of the Kittatinny Ridge's north face, but when we ended up getting snow a few times last week, there is now still a significant amount left. There is also snow in the forecast for this week.
So the onset of signs of spring has slowed, but I have noticed the higher abundance of robins on lawns (and some in flocks in the woods with an occasional phoebe mixed in which is kind of odd), the slow greening of the grass, my cats are beginning to shed, downy woodpeckers are pairing up, and the serviceberry all of a sudden has enlarged flower buds.
The ornamental cherry trees are blooming in Washington D.C., but in southern Monroe County (PA) we have a ways to go. The buds on my weeping cherry are definitely more prominent and if I brought some branch cuttings into the house in a vase, they would likely open quite quickly. (Add some forsythia branches and you have a lovely spring bouquet.) I mentioned previously the gift of cherry trees from Japan to the city of Bethlehem, and, of course, the trees in D.C. have links to Japan as well. The earliest ones planted were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912 to promote continued good relationships between the two countries. It turns out the cherry blossom time in Japan is also an important seasonal attraction (see http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/seasonal/sakura2010/).
While skimming through a book entitled Phenological Research: Methods for Environmental and Climate Change Analysis last night (Hudson and Keatley, editors, 2010, Springer), I learned that there are records of the dates of cherry tree flowerings in Kyoto, Japan going back to the 9th century! An interesting (and much less technical) article entitled Climate Change and Cherry Tree Blossom Festivals in Japan can be found at http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1893.pdf.
There are still debates as to the scientific rigor of phenology but the rise in the number of peer-reviewed scientific publications in this area over the past few years is extraordinary and represents the growing acceptance of the importance of this field, especially with respect to understanding the impacts of climate change. Personally, I hope that the field doesn’t lose the connection to natural history and culture—aspects that are really appealing to me and hopefully to many of the public volunteers working on phenological research projects!
The public significance of paying attention to seasonal changes was reinforced last night when I noticed on the Weather Channel online (www.weather.com) the first spring warnings for fire risk in the southeastern PA counties and the first notice of a high pollen count (from trees) for the state!
So the onset of signs of spring has slowed, but I have noticed the higher abundance of robins on lawns (and some in flocks in the woods with an occasional phoebe mixed in which is kind of odd), the slow greening of the grass, my cats are beginning to shed, downy woodpeckers are pairing up, and the serviceberry all of a sudden has enlarged flower buds.
The ornamental cherry trees are blooming in Washington D.C., but in southern Monroe County (PA) we have a ways to go. The buds on my weeping cherry are definitely more prominent and if I brought some branch cuttings into the house in a vase, they would likely open quite quickly. (Add some forsythia branches and you have a lovely spring bouquet.) I mentioned previously the gift of cherry trees from Japan to the city of Bethlehem, and, of course, the trees in D.C. have links to Japan as well. The earliest ones planted were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912 to promote continued good relationships between the two countries. It turns out the cherry blossom time in Japan is also an important seasonal attraction (see http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/seasonal/sakura2010/).
While skimming through a book entitled Phenological Research: Methods for Environmental and Climate Change Analysis last night (Hudson and Keatley, editors, 2010, Springer), I learned that there are records of the dates of cherry tree flowerings in Kyoto, Japan going back to the 9th century! An interesting (and much less technical) article entitled Climate Change and Cherry Tree Blossom Festivals in Japan can be found at http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1893.pdf.
There are still debates as to the scientific rigor of phenology but the rise in the number of peer-reviewed scientific publications in this area over the past few years is extraordinary and represents the growing acceptance of the importance of this field, especially with respect to understanding the impacts of climate change. Personally, I hope that the field doesn’t lose the connection to natural history and culture—aspects that are really appealing to me and hopefully to many of the public volunteers working on phenological research projects!
The public significance of paying attention to seasonal changes was reinforced last night when I noticed on the Weather Channel online (www.weather.com) the first spring warnings for fire risk in the southeastern PA counties and the first notice of a high pollen count (from trees) for the state!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Phenology Note: March 27, 2011
Over the past few days, several bird species have arrived in this region or are beginning to move through. Between now and the beginning of June, thousands of birds will arrive in this region, either searching for a breeding location or passing through on a journey northward to the summer breeding locations.
Eastern Phoebes are the first flycatchers to arrive in the spring. Although scarce this early in the season, phoebes will become very common by summer.
Like the phoebes, Tree Swallows have been popping up across the region in the last week. This male was the first to arrive in Kunkletown, Monroe County this year. Early "scouts" like this bird, often males, search for potential breeding locations before the majority of the swallows return.
Sure signs of spring are the large flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles that form in early March. A few weeks after the large flocks, groups of blackbirds such as Rusty Blackbirds (like the one pictured above) begin to form small groups and migrate north.
Rusty Blackbird in flight
American Robins are often said to be a "sign of spring." Contrary to this common belief, robins are found all year long in most parts of Pennsylvania. A more accurate sign of spring might be when the robins begin to group up and fly over at night and around dawn. After sunrise, these flocks often rest and feed in lawns, wet fields, and other open environments.
While many plants such as Skunk Cabbage and Coltsfoot have had flowers for weeks, until this week, these plants seemed to be "stuck" in this phase. However, several plant species are now starting to grow once again and produce leaves and flowers.
Previous posts in this blog have showed the enlarging buds of Red Maple trees. Today, the first buds "burst" and parts of the flower can now be seen.
The odd flowers of Skunk Cabbage (left) are beginning to die, but the leaves (right) are starting to emerge from the damp ground.
The early leaves of this woodland violet can be seen poking through the wet ground near a wooded spring.
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