Astronomy

During the first week of March in the evening look in the west after sunset for the bright planet Venus and the Moon. Below them you may see another “star”, but it isn’t really a star – it’s the planet Mercury!

In the evening on Wednesday the 5th look for the planet Jupiter near the Moon, and below them the bright orangish-colored star Aldeberan. It’s one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky, and is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus the Bull, which also includes the star Elnath and the star cluster called the Pleiades, sometimes called the Seven Sisters. There are seven main stars in the Pleiades, though you need to have a dark night sky to see them all. Elnath is one of the 50 brightest stars in the night sky.

And believe it or not, but by the first week of March we’ve gained about two and a half hours of daylight in the Twin Cities and at Afton since the solstice last December.

Birds

Flocks of Cedar Waxwings have been moving through the forests all winter, searching for berries and conifer seeds. You can recognize them by their black masks and the yellow band at the end of their tails.

Cardinals and Chickadees continue to sing their spring songs, but they are not the only birds with spring songs! Listen for the whi-whi-whi song of the White-breasted Nuthatch, the “pump handle” song of the Bluejay . . .which gets is name because it sounds like a creaky pump handle, and the whistling “what cheer cheer cheer” song of the Northern Cardinal.

Red-breasted Nuthatches make a low almost quacking sound, almost like a quiet duck with a stuffy nose. They sometimes come as far south as Afton in the winter, in years when the trees of the northern forest where the Nuthatches spend their summers do not produce a lot of seeds. These are called low-mast years. Dark-eyed Juncos spend the summers in those same northern forests, but they come south every year in the winter. For Juncos “south” includes Afton! Soon flocks of Juncos will begin flying farther north. There have been a lot of sightings of Long-eared Owls at Afton this winter. Walk quietly through the woods and look for them perched on branches. They communicate with each other by raising and lowering their ear tufts, and roost in groups during the winter. You are not likely to see a Great Gray Owl at Afton, but this year they have come much farther south than in typical years and you might see one if you travel to the North Shore or Arrowhead Region. When lots of owls come farther south than usual it’s called an “irruption”.

Horned Larks may still be moving through our area on their way north. Look for them along roadsides. Overhead look for the first Sandhill Cranes flying north. You may hear them before you see them; they make a distinctive rattling call. The first flocks of Canada Geese arrive about now. And look and listen for the first male Red-winged Blackbirds to return. They arrive a week or two before the females and get right to work claiming territories, singing “Ko-Ka-Ree”.

Mammals

As the sun climbs higher in the sky and the days begin to warm up, mid-sized mammals become more active. On mild days in early March you may encounter Skunks, Raccoons, and Opossums. None of these animals are true hibernators. Since all three of these animals are mostly nocturnal, or active at night, look for them around dawn or dusk.

During the cold days of winter Raccoons and Skunks retreat into a burrow or den. Raccoons often den alone, although a mother Raccoon may share a den with that year’s kits. Skunks are more likely to share burrows and thus also get to share body warmth. During the cold days of winter Skunks and Raccoons go into a state called “torpor” in which their body temperature drops and their metabolism slows, allowing them to use less of the energy they stored as fat in the summer and fall. But on mild days Skunks and Raccoons wake up for a few hours in their dens or burrows, or venture out to look for food. Skunks and Raccoons pay a price for staying warm in their dens and burrows, however, often losing half of their body weight before spring arrives. Skunks leave their burrows to mate in late February and early March, often when there is still snow on the ground.

Opossums may spend most of the day in a den lined with leaves, but they must continue to eat throughout the winter, and you may see them foraging under bird feeders. The opossum in the photo below was under the bird feeder at the Visitor Center at Afton in February 2008.

Fungi

Fungi are not animals, and are not plants, either. In the classification of life on earth, the Fungi have their very own kingdom! Late winter is a good time of year to look for old shelf fungi in the woods. Look for them growing on dead and downed trees, which the fungi break down and digest. The shelf fungi come in many colors and are easy to spot before trees leaf out and the understory plants sprout.

You might also see Black Knot Fungus, which lives on wild and domestic plum and cherry trees. It has a two-year life cycle; in the summer the black fungus that encircles a branch or twig of the tree will split open and shed spores, which carry on the wind. Some land on other host trees. Some trees tolerate the fungus, while in others the affected branches die.

Photo/Image credits

All photos copyright Nina Manzi, except:

• Travis Bonovsky, MN Conservation Volunteer: Bluejay
• Dianne and Rick Dropik: Long-eared Owl
• Dan Fuller: Great Gray Owl
• Michael Furtman, MN Conservation Volunteer: Dark-eyed junco
• Keith Henjum: Raccoon
• Dean Lokken: Horned Lark, White-breasted Nuthatch
• Bill Marchel, MN Conservation Volunteer: Red-winged Blackbird, Striped Skunk
• Gary Sater: Cardinal, Cedar Waxwing, Sandhill Cranes

Weather observations

Here are some weather observations from the Afton State Park area from past years.

Friday, February 28	2024: cold and clear, high in the 20s; 2022: sunny and in the 40s; 2021: rain in the morning changing over to snow, and melted by afternoon; 2016: blustery, with rain and snow through morning
Saturday, March 1	2024: sunny and breezy, 59° high ties record set in 1990; 2007: record snowfall of 9”; An old saying for March weather is “In like a lion, out like a lamb; in like a lamb, out like a lion”. Will March of 2025 come in like a lamb or a lion? March of 2024 came in gentle like a lamb, sunny and breezy with a high close to 60°
Sunday, March 2	2024: sunny with wind from the east, record high 63°; 2022: a dusting of snow in the morning that melts by afternoon; 2021: breezy and in the 40s; 2016: high in the teens;
Monday, March 3	2024: sunny with strong east wind, record high 73° and big wildfire near Waseca; 2021: sunny and in the 40s; 2019: tied record low of minus 13°, set in 1873 2021: sunny and in the 40s; 2000: tied record high of 61°
Tuesday, March 4	2021: sunny and in the 40s; 2019: tied record low of minus 13°, set in 1873 2021: sunny and in the 40s; 2000: tied record high of 61°
Wednesday, March 5	2022: ice storm overnight changing to rain by afternoon with thunder, record rainfall of 0.8 inches; 2013: 4” of snow overnight; 2000: record high of 72°, open water on St. Croix River
Thursday, March 6	2024: sunny with strong east wind, record high 73° and big wildfire near Waseca;