Afton State Park phenology, Dec. 9 to 22

From the park

Join the naturalist on a Learning to snowshoe walk (snow conditions permitting) on Saturday Dec 17 at 10 -11:30a.m. No experience is necessary, but registration is required as snowshoe availability is limited. Please email or call to reserve a pair of snowshoes or bring your own. Jan 1 is the annual Christmas Bird Count for the Afton Area 9a.m.-3p.m. or morning or afternoon if you can only count for half a day.

Astronomy

The Geminid meteor shower is on December 13th and 14th, and while many of the shooting stars will be washed out by the late of the waning gibbous moon, you may still be able to see some. Look in the northeastern sky all night long. And Wednesday, December 21st is the Winter Solstice. This is shortest day of the year, and the first day of astronomical winter. There will only be eight hours and 46 minutes of daylight. Up until the 21st, the sunrise and sunset from our vantage point will be a little bit farther south on the horizon each day, and after the 21st the sunrise and sunset will begin to creep back north along the horizon.

Birds

As long as there is open water on the St. Croix River, look for flocks of geese overhead in the morning and the late afternoon, and mallard ducks, mergansers, grebes, and other waterbirds on or near the water. In 2014 there were reports of over 500 mergansers on the St. Croix – that’s a lot of mergansers!

Mammals

People used to think that when coyotes moved into an area they would kill any resident foxes in order to reduce competition for food. But recent studies have shown that to be true in rural areas, but not in urban areas. That’s because urban areas generally have an overabundance of prey – large populations of rabbits, mice, and the like due in part to humans providing a landscape with lots of forage. Urban areas also have lots of scavenging opportunities provided by roadkill, human garbage, and compost piles, which add up to more than enough food for both coyotes and foxes. So with regard to coyotes and foxes, is Afton more rural or more urban? Which of the two species have YOU seen?

Trees

Another conifer that lives at Afton is the Eastern White Pine. Its needles are about three to five inches long and in bundles of five. The cones are four to eight inches long and slightly curved, with white at the tip of each scale. The bark of young trees is smooth, but that of older trees breaks into plates separated by furrows. Eastern White Pines grow to be 70 to 100 feet tall, and can live for 200 to 250 years! They are the largest conifers in Minnesota, and a favorite place for bald eagles to build their nests.

Weather observations

Here are some weather observations from past years

Friday, December 9	2012: record snowfall of 10.5”; 2020: 52° and sunny
Saturday, December 10	2021: record snowfall of 11.0”, eclipsing old record of 1.8” set in 2013
Sunday, December 11	2010: record snowfall of 16.3 inches
Monday, December 12	2012: mild and sunny, with the high in the 40s
Tuesday, December 13	2014: high of 51° and foggy
Wednesday, December 14	2010: single digits below zero
Thursday, December 15	2014: record high of 51°; third consecutive day with highs above 50°
Friday, December 16	2000: record snowfall of 7.0 inches
Saturday, December 17	2011: cloudy, high in 30s
Sunday, December 18	2000: record snowfall of 6.5 inches
Monday, December 19	1983: record low of 29 below zero
Tuesday, December 20	2010: record snowfall of 4.6 inches
Wednesday, December 21	1996: record low of 24 below zero
Thursday, December 22	1983: record low of 20 below zero