Prairie Wetlands Learning Center
Midwest Region

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2005 Phenology

January 2005

January 3   3 white-tail deer west of Prairie Pothole
January 6   Bald eagle over Visitor Center
deer crossing on Mallard Marsh Bridge
January 12th   22 centimeters snow on grounds new snow falling!
January 14th   Today's high: -7 degrees; low -25 degrees
January 20   15 degrees and fresh snow
January 24   23 degrees, 5-6 inches of new snow in last 2 days
January 25   29 degrees, sunny!

February 2005

February 2   Sharp-shinned Hawk over Mallard Marsh killed rabbit on trail
February 4   Ring-necked Pheasant hen sighted
February 9   Snow Buntings and Redpolls by barn; new snow 12-sided stellar crystals seen!
February 11   Least Weasel crossed West Mallard Marsh; slush on East Mallard Marsh
February 15   Bald Eagle over Visitor Center; Horned Larks sighted

March 2005

March 6   54 degrees! Spring?
March 7   15 degrees! NW wind cold!
March 10   Wind gust 48 mph (NW), 27 degrees & snow at 10:30 a.m., Kestrel
March 11   19 degrees, NW wind, 12-37 mph Winter!
March 15   A murder of Crows visits PWLC - 20 strong
March 16   28 degrees at 3:11 p.m., 73% sunlight, 2.5 inches new snow overnight
March 17   Red-tailed Hawk over PWLC at 2:45 p.m.; 32 degrees, NE wind
March 21   Gull seen soaring, Male Red-winged Blackbirds return
March 22   Killdeer
March 25   Male & female Ring-necked Pheasant; male displaying for female.
March 26   Bald Eagles
March 29   Wood Frog in Center Pond!

April 2005

April 1   Great Horned Owl north of Tintah Slough; Mink seen on shore of Tintah Slough; Great Egret over Tungseth Lake
April 5   Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallows, House Finches, and Song Sparrow
April 6   Bald Eagle over Center, 19 Trumpeter Swans flying north
April 19   Female Red-winged Blackbirds return; First dragonflies spotted; Garter Snake by Butterfly Garden!
April 20   Two Meadowlarks on Center sign; Sora Rail calling in Mallard Marsh
April 27   Graupel snowfall
April 28   Snow flurries
April 29   Savannah Sparrow; Snow flurries

May 2005

May 3   Yellow-headed Blackbirds
May 5   Clay-colored Sparrows
May 8   Bobolinks, Sora Rail, Harris's Sparrow, Marsh Wren
May 16   Yellow-headed Blackbirds, White Pelicans, American Robins, Canada Geese, House Finches; also Clay-colored, Grasshopper, and Savannah Sparrows
May 17   Common Yellowthroat
May 18   Prairie Smoke and Pennsylvania Sedge blooming
May 23   Heartleaf alexanders blooming; Hoary puccoon under deck
May 24   Yellow Warblers; Canada Anemone blooming; Ring-necked Pheasant calling

June 2005

June 1   Loon flew over, calling loudly!
June 2   Black-crowned Night Heron spotted over Aspen Pothole
June 3   Monarch Butterflies are back!
June 8   Red Admirals, Painted Ladies, Cloudless Sulphurs, Monarchs all in butterfly garden
June 9   Large Beards-tongue blooming; Sedge Wren calling
June 10   Bedstraw and Yarrow blooming
June 14   Blanket Flower, Wild Rose blooming
June 15   False sunflower blooming; baby Painted Turtles in Mallard Marsh; baby Tree Swallows in nest boxes
June 17   Black Terns
June 18   Prairie Phlox, Thimbleweed, Blue Flag Iris
June 20   Major Storm, 70 plus mph winds, tornadoes nearby
June 29   Prairie Lily, Cup Plant, Dogbane, Thunderstorms, .93 inches of rain
June 30   Virginia Ctenucha Moth with orange head, metallic blue body

July 2005

July 1   Showy Tick Trefoil, Pale Purple Coneflower, Prairie Lily, False Sunflower, Prairie Coneflower, Purple Prairie Clover, Common Milkweed, Monarch Caterpillars, Tube Beard Tongue
July 2   Butterfly Weed and Prairie Phlox blooming, Red-tailed Hawk, baby House Finches
July 6   Mink with 13-lined Ground Squirrel in mouth on Tatanka Trail; Rosinweed: green milkweed, narrow leaved form; Compass Plant blooming; Sunny 78 degrees, light winds; Tortoise Shell Beetle larva
July 8   Sunny, 83 degrees
July 9   Humid, sunny, 87 degrees; Cliff Swallows feeding heavily in front of Visitor Center
July 12   Swamp Milkweed blooming
July 18   White Prairie Clover blooming; Tiger salamander & vole on trail
July 19   Blazing Star blooming; Winds 20-25 mph
July 20   8 Black-crowned Night Herons on Tintah Slough
July 22   Common Garter Snake with full grown Tiger Salamander in mouth, left track on trail near amphitheater!
July 23   Morning thunderstorm
July 25   Morning thunderstorm and heavy rains
July 26   65 degree high temperature; muskrat seen from Mallard Marsh bridge
July 27   Great Blue Heron on Mallard Marsh; 6 baby mink spotted on trail
July 31   Monarch caterpillar on milkweed in middle of 1-mile trail

August 2005

August 2   89 degree high and humid; Indian Breadroot (Prairie Turnip) seeded out on native prairie
August 4   76 degree high and beautiful
August 10   Big Poplar Sphinx (Hawk) Moth by barn
August 13   Cecropia caterpillar at barn
August 16   Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars on Common Milkweed
August 18   Common Green Darner
August 19   Carrion Bug; Viceroy butterfly; Closed Gentian blooming below deck
August 24   90 Monarch butterflies tagged today
August 25   63 Monarch butterflies tagged today; Acrea Moth caterpillar on thistle patch
August 26   32 Monarch butterflies tagged today, 325 tagged to date
August 30   Sunny; Garter snake in bird spa; Blue Vervain, Showy and Canada Goldenrod, Heath and New England Aster blooming

September 2005

September 1   350 Monarch butterflies tagged to ; wind speed up to 39 mph
September 12   Variable Darner fragonfly,interrupted form in loading dock area
September 16   Blue-Winged Teal, mallards, wood ducks at Adams Pond; Killdeer, Ring-Billed Gulls, and Double-Crested Cormorant flying overhead; American Coots on Mallard Marsh
September 19   Acrea moth Caterpillar; White Pelicans fly by
September 27   Project Bluestem Educator workshop participants tagged a Monarch butterfly
September 28   Red-bellied snakes on the move!
September 29   Sparrows have arrived Harris's, Lincolns, White-throated; Red-bellied snakes; Muskrat; Monarch and Wooly Bear caterpillars; Muskrat

October 2005

October 3   Muskrat, fox, and mink scat; deer tracks; treefrogs; crickets
October 4   Rainy and cool; muskrat; 3 White-tailed deer; 2 Wood Frogs; 2 Tiger Salamanders; Bald Eagle; Marsh Wren; Dark-eyed Junco; Cooper's Hawk
October 6   Graupel (snow pellets) all day; Ruby-crowned Kinglets in Oak Savanna; Harris's Sparrow; American Goldfinches; High winds in a.m.; Muskrat waddling through parking lot in morning
October 7   Red-bellied snake on trail sun is out! Red-tailed Hawk; False Morel; garter snake; Wooly Bear caterpillars; Northern Harrier
October 12   Eastern Bluebirds (15+) near barn/nest boxes
October 13   Monarch butterfly; Tiger Salamander
October 14   Western Chorus Frog on trail to Mallard Marsh bridge
October 18   Pileated Woodpecker (male) on tree by amphitheater (calling)

November 2005

November 7   New England and Heath Asters still blooming; grasshoppers hopping; Painted Ladies on Heath Asters, Goldenrods, and Maximillian Sunflower
November 15   First snow!
November 16   Snow, NW wind with gusts to 46 mph; W. Mallard Marsh frozen
November 28   Winter storm (rain/sleet/ice/snow, 3-5 inches); winds to 40 mph

December 2005

December 2   6 white-tailed deer at Aspen Pothole; mink at west end of Tintah Slough; red fox at Tungseth Lake
December 5   –13 degrees at 8:30 am; -6 degrees at 1:30 pm COLD!
December 14   2.5 inches snow overnight
December 30   7 inches snow!



 

Last updated: December 3, 2008