February Flowers

In eastern Pennsylvania, February is not usually considered a month when many flowers begin to bloom. However, the unseasonably warm temperatures over the last week and a half have caused many early-blooming species to emerge. Many of these species are flowers that will begin to flower as soon as there is an extended period of warm weather, so the bloom time varies greatly from year to year.

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) - this species was blooming around this time last year as well. Warm weather usually causes the flowers to develop, although it takes several warm days for the flowers to actually open. Although the flowers are not yet open in the photograph, these flowers began to open on February 26.

Winter Aconite (Eranthis sp.) - With several days of sunlight, this flower is now in full bloom. This species began blooming last year around February 18, which is about the same time I first saw these flowers emerge in 2012.

Bird's-eye Speedwell (Veronica sp.) - This flower has actually been blooming through the entire winter. The flowers open in the sun, but close during nights and during colder days. This species grows very low to the ground and is easy to miss.

Primrose (Primula vulgaris) - This species is not quite ready to bloom, but a closed flower is visible amongst the basal leaves.

Bittercress (Cardamine sp.) - This flower could easy go unnoticed, as the small flowers grow very close to the ground in weedy areas. I found several hundred of these tiny plants blooming in my yard this week.

Crocus (Crocus sp.) - This is a very common early-blooming flower that can be found in a variety of colors, including yellow, orange, purple, pink, and white. Last year, crocuses did not start blooming in Kunkletown, PA until March 3. This year, the first flowers were seen on February 19.

Purple Dead-Nettle (Lamium purpureum) - This species is a common weed of gardens and lawns. This is the earliest I can remember seeing this species blooming. The flowers can sometimes be similar in color to the leaves, so if you find this plant, look carefully for flowers, as they may be hidden.

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) - Today (February 26) I found the first open flowers of this wetland plant in Kunkletown, Monroe County. The combination of red, yellow, and green on these unusual flowers make Skunk Cabbage and easy species to spot. (Photo from 2011)

Year two of the Eastern PA Phenology Project begins

I have been receiving reports of birds singing, new sightings of birds that were away for the "winter", and many have noted that it even now smells like spring.  I know what they mean, but cannot put that into words.

Today, a large flock (4000+) of snow geese and flocks of Canada geese were heading north over Kunkletown.  It has been a delight to see the snow geese for several months in the Lehigh Valley, but there numbers are decreasing and they seem to be more restless, perhaps preparing for the trek northward.

For comparison, here is what we posted last year on February 19th:  http://watchingtheseasons.blogspot.com/2011/02/it-cant-be-spring-already-can-it.html

Birds singing

This morning on my daily walk with my dogs at daybreak, I heard a Northern Cardinal singing. Yesterday, I heard a Mourning Dove. These are the first bird songs of the season that I have heard for these two species. They seem to be thinking spring.

The winter that hasn't been

So let’s start today’s post with some weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA for Allentown, PA comparing the average monthly temperature for fall and winter 2011/12 vs. the 1981-2010 averages for these months:

September '11:          67.3⁰F vs. 64.3⁰F
October '11:               53.8⁰F vs. 53.1⁰F
November '11:          46.6⁰F vs. 43.3⁰F
December '11:           38.4⁰F vs. 32.9⁰F
January '12:               33.3⁰F vs. 28.5⁰F

The annual average for the entire year of 2011 was 53.2⁰F vs. 51.7⁰F. 

This type of information can be found at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=phi

The last I heard from the WNEP meteorologists (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area), we are on track for having a winter with the least amount of snow in at least 60 years.  The freak snowstorm in October technically didn’t occur in “winter”.  There are deficits in snowfall around the country, but parts of Alaska and Europe are experiencing unusually heavy snowfalls compared to their norms (whatever that means any more).    A good source of information about weather patterns, changes, and extremes around the globe: http://classic.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html

Forsythias blooming -- at the end of November?
Wonder what the spring bloom will be like?
Photos by Judy Krasnicke

 

So what happens in nature when the temperatures have been unusually mild and the snowfall almost non-existent?  Going back to November, I had reports of the forsythias blooming from Saucon Valley up to Scranton.  Throughout the late fall, there were numerous reports of dandelions (even at the end of December) and flowers on Creeping Phlox (11/22 in Easton), ground ivy (end of December in Bethlehem), and Hellebores (Bethlehem).

Confused plants -- note the dates
Photos by Judy Krasnicke

In mid-November, there were reports of skunk cabbage emerging in the Lehigh Valley.  Such early reports have continued with reports of blooms on January 1^st from the PPL Riverlands and Bottomlands along the Susquehanna River to plants emerging in Sciota (Monroe County, north of the Kittatinny Ridge) on February 3^rd.

Emerging Skunk Cabbage
Photo by Corey Husic

Today (February 5^th), the buds of the aconite and snowdrops were almost open.  Last year, they opened on February 18^th and that was early for north of the Ridge.  Snowdrops have been blooming in Bethlehem for over a month.  Several people have reported that the daffodil plants have emerged by several inches.  The tiny-flowers of the creeping speedwell (a Veronica) have been blooming throughout our yard since December.

Aconite

Bald Eagles will stay around as long as there is open water for them.  They have been reported in Wyoming County into early January and again this past week.  Last weekend we saw them flying along the north edge of the Kittatinny Ridge.  The snow geese have stayed at Green Pond and the surrounding flooded fields since that area hasn’t frozen over.  The swirling flocks in early morning and late in the day are quite an awesome sight, especially when the sunlight hits them just right.  It is worth the drive to see the shimmering rows of pearls rising and twirling over the fields or flying in large flocks overhead.  The forty year Pennsylvania winter population of snow geese has increased almost 270,000 % according to data from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count (a thank you to Greg Butcher from Audubon for this information).  This rate of increase is significantly higher than the continental trend.

I have had several reports of Black Vultures north of the Kittatinny Ridge from Monroe to Luzerne Counties.  Over the past forty years, the winter population of this species has increased in the state by about 83,000%, again rising at a rate higher than the continental trend.  We have also been seeing Turkey Vultures north of the Ridge over the past two weeks.  While it is not unusual to see vultures in the Lehigh Valley and southward over the winter, it is quite unusual north of the mountain.

According to the PA Birds List Serve and eBird, there have been reports of American Woodcocks (January 4, 2012 in southern Chester County; January 7, 2012 in Berks County, January 8, 2012 in Schuylkill County; and January 31^st in Pottsville).  We expected to hear them hear when the temperatures hit the 60’s this past week, but didn’t perhaps because we got home from school and work too late in the day.  Be on the lookout for Woodcocks and let us know when and where you see (or more likely hear) these.

On January 31^st, a Gray Catbird was reported in Wilkes-Barre.  And yesterday, at the Eureka Road Pond near Snydersville, a pair of mute swans was observed, with the male going through some mating ritual behaviors.

Yesterday, my retriever brought me something in his mouth.  It turned out to be a frog (probably a wood frog)!  We suspect it came out when the temps reached the 60’s earlier in the week, but didn’t survive the cold night.  Very strange.

Last year, we planned to launch the Eastern PA Phenology Project around March 1^st.  We had mild weather in February, and soon realized that events of nature often associated with spring were already happening.  With the even milder winter weather this year, there should be all sorts of seasonal changes to report on.  We invite you to participate in the project.

Fall 2011 - an odd autumn

O.K. Is it just me or has this been a weird fall?  First, record rains, a hurricane, and then a tropical storm parks itself over Pennsylvania.  Then a freak snowstorm in October dumping 14” of snow at my house, knocking down tree limbs and trees and causing havoc for many who didn’t have power, phone, or internet for up to 15 days!

Since then, November has been unusually mild.  Today is November 20^th and it hit 68° degrees north of the Kittatinny Ridge (Appalachian Mountain) today.  I heard spring peers (honest) and saw Sulphurs (butterflies) today.  Very odd.

A Rufous Hummingbird has been hanging around in a local state park for at least a week.  This is a Western species.  And rare bird sightings have been popping up around the country.  For instance see the recent report by Nate Swick for the American Birding Association (http://blog.aba.org/2011/11/rare-bird-alert-november-18-2011.html).

Saw the usual cast of winter bird characters today, but also saw two Great Blue Herons, a Bufflehead Duck, lots of Bluebirds, Robins, Redtails, Turkey Vultures (but not north of the Kittatinny), and Mockingbirds.

The leaves are completely off the trees north of the Ridge.  Usually the oaks hang on to theirs quite late, but the snowstorm took care of that.  The Japanese Barberry (invasive) has stunning orange leaves making it easy to see just how pervasive this plant is on the lower north slopes of the Kittatinny Ridge and along stream banks.  If you see anything with green leaves (besides evergreens) around here it is either one of the invasive olives or honeysuckles or coltsfoot.  These plants are the first to get their leaves in the spring and the last to have them in the fall.  Yet another competitive advantage they have.

 So look around and see if you are noticing anything unusual this fall!

Late Fall Birds

As Dan Kunkle mentioned in his previous post, fall bird phenology can be difficult, as it is often difficult to determine when a bird species leaves. Although this may be difficult, the best way to determine a "last date" is by regularly birding the same area to get a day-by-day analysis of which species are still around and which species are gone. While many birds are leaving, there are also several species that are still appearing or will appear very shortly. For example, several of the winter sparrow species are just beginning to arrive. Many observers spotted their first Dark-eyed Juncos for the season this past week. Fox Sparrows have also started to show up around the state. This large sparrow often overwinters, but regularly migrates through during the month of November (and then again in March). American Tree Sparrows, which are also winter visitors, should also be arriving in Pennsylvania in the next few weeks.

 

Fox Sparrow

At this point in the season, most of the warbler species have left the region. Even most of the late-season species including Palm and Tennessee left earlier in October. The only warblers that are still around are the Yellow-rumped Warblers. This species is extremely common this time of year and can be found near almost any woodland edge habitat.

Yellow-rumped Warbler with Poison Ivy berries

November is also the season to find migrating flocks of blackbirds. The common species, Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle, can be found in tremendous numbers, but November is also the best month to find the rarer Rusty Blackbird, a declining species who's boreal habitat is very sensitive to changes in the climate. If you come across a blackbird flock, be sure to double check for any different birds, as blackbirds tend to mix together this time of year.

mixed blackbird flock

Raptors are also on the move. Although the hawk flight tends to be slower in November than earlier in the season, it is the time when Red-tailed Hawks really start migrating and species like Golden Eagles and Northern Goshawks begin to pass through. Keep an eye out for any migrating raptors, as these are important signs of late fall.

migrating Red-tailed Hawk

Red Maples

I find Autumn phenological observations a bit more difficult than spring phenology. The first Tree Swallow is the first Tree Swallow. It is a little harder to observe when the last Tree Swallow departed. Even for autumn arriving birds, things seem a little more complicated.

I saw the first Dark-eyed Junco at our feeder at the Osprey House at Lehigh Gap (northern Lehigh County) on 27 September, but it was only one or two at a time and was likely juncos visiting our feeders from high up on the ridge where they seem to be breeding in very small numbers. I didn’t see any juncos at my feeder near Lehighton in Carbon County until 24 October and saw large numbers of juncos at Lehigh Gap on the same date.

Then there are the Red Maples. (By the way, maples that are red all summer are not native Red Maples, Acer rubrum. Those are either Japanese Red Maples or a variety of Norway Maple called Crimson King.) I started seeing a few red/orange/yellow leaves on Red Maples at my home in early September, but most of the leaves on most of the trees were still green.

There is a great deal of variation in Red Maple colors and phenology – some turn early, some late. Some turn yellow, others orange, still others bright red. Some are almost bare while others retain most of their leaves with some still green. So I decided to select two Red Maples and photograph them every few days throughout their color change. I did not know what was going to happen.

The two trees, both in my back yard, and are from different genetic stock. One was planted as a sapling after a friend received it in the mail in return for a donation he made. The other grew up naturally from seed. We will call the imported sapling tree “A” and the local tree “B.” A is on the left of the photos where both are shown, B is on the right.

Here is what both trees looked like on 30 September. Both trees are still very green, but the local Red Maple B (on the right) is beginning to show some autumn color.

By 10 October, B is showing lots of red leaves, while A is still green.

Meanwhile there were other local trees that had lost most of their leaves already, including this one near my yard that had turned yellow. (10 October)

By 17 October, tree B was nearly completely colored while A was still nearly all green.

In just three days, tree A had turned yellow, while tree B was orange (20 October).

By 23 October, B was past its color peak and tending toward brown, while A was still at its peak of yellow.

Here are two other Red Maples in my yard on 23 October – one almost bare and the other bright orange. And here is another specimen that was still partly green on that same date.

One week later, a freak early blizzard hit us and that was the end of the leaves on both tree A and B. Here they are on 30 October, the beautiful sunny morning after the Nor’easter.

(That's snow all over the ground!)

A discussion with Diane and Corey Husic on Saturday led to an investigation we will pursue next year. Red Maple flowers have similar color variation in spring as the leaves do in autumn. We wonder if trees with red blossoms have red leaves, and those with yellow blossoms have yellow leaves in fall. Stay tuned -- or do the investigation yourself and let us know what you find.