Astronomy

Don’t look for Venus in the west in the evening, but instead get up early and look for it in the east before sunrise! Because Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, it appears to us either in the west after sunset, or in the east before sunrise. Venus is never directly overhead, but is at most about 45 degrees from the horizon.

Birds

As days get longer and warmer, more and more species of birds make their way north to Afton for the summer. Watch for the first turkey vultures gliding high overhead. People sometimes mistake them for eagles or hawks. Turkey vultures have their wings bent when they glide, and wobble a lot from side to side. Eagles hold their wings straight out and don’t wobble. On the prairie look for meadowlarks, song sparrows, and bobolinks. The spring song of the meadowlark sounds like “spring of the year”. The Song Sparrow’s call sounds like “Maids maids maids put on your tea kettle-ettle-ettle- ettle-ettle”. And the Bobolink is named for its call, which sounds like “Bobolink bobolink spink spank spink.”

Many species of birds move north as the ice goes out on rivers and lakes. Loons are more likely to summer on lakes, but as they move north you may see them on the St. Croix River as they wait for the ice to go out farther north. Look for killdeer along the edges of Trout Brook near where it meets the St.Croix. And watch overhead for pelicans! The American White Pelican is one of the largest birds in North America, with a wingspan of up to nine feet. When you see flocks of pelicans overhead they are easy to identify – very large white birds with black on the ends of their wings. Watch them for a while and sometimes the flock will turn sideways and all the birds seem to disappear! The black on the wingtips comes from the pigment melanin, which makes the feathers stronger, and when you’re one of the biggest birds around you need strong feathers.

Amphibians and Reptiles

Snakes have spent the winter curled up together in their hibernaculae, and turtles have burrowed into the mud at the bottom of ponds and along riverbanks. As the weather warms up look for snakes and turtles basking in the sun. Some of the snakes you might see at Afton are Bullsnakes, Garter Snakes, Milk Snakes, and Smooth Green Snakes. Be aware that you might see Bullsnakes up in trees! Painted turtles are the most common turtle at Afton.

Plants

In the woods and along streams look for Skunk Cabbages. The shoots look rather like the shoots of hostas you might have in your garden. The flower consists of a dark maroon-red hood called a “spathe”, and inside the spathe is a ball-shaped “spadix” that is covered with tiny flowers. The spathe never opens completely, so you can only glimpse the spadix through an opening in the spathe. The Skunk Cabbage is one of only a few plants that generate their own heat, called “thermogenesis”. It’s the spadix that generates the heat, and inside the protective covering of the spathe the temperature can be up to 20° F warmer than outside! This warmth can melt overlying snow and ice, and allows for a constant even temperature inside the spathe which is optimal for the flowers on the spadix to mature and be pollinated. During the blooming stage they give off a skunky scent which attracts flies, and the flies pollinate the Skunk Cabbages. Once you see the leaves of Skunk Cabbages the plants have already bloomed and are forming seeds in a capsule in the center of the plant. Later, the big leaves of the skunk cabbage look very much like our garden cabbages.

Trees

Maples trees have usually bloomed by now, marking an end to maple syrup season. Once the buds open the chemical composition of the sap changes and it’s no longer sweet for syrup-making. Maple flowers are very small, about the size of a penny, and blow down in the wind and rain. Look for them on the ground. Maple trees drop their leaves in fall, but you may find some around the flowers on the ground. The bark on mature maple trees is kind of flaky and can help with winter identification.

Weather observations

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

Friday, March 21	2024: cloudy, in the low 30s, with snowfall starting in the evening; 2020: sunny and 20s in the morning; 2008: record snowfall of 3.9 inches
Saturday, March 22	2024: sunny, and much of the overnight snow melts; 2021: sunny and in the 60s; 2015: gray and 30s through day
Sunday, March 23	2023: sunny day in the 40s; 2021: rain overnight and again in afternoon
Monday, March 24	2024: 8.2 inches of heavy wet snow sets a record for the day; 2021: rain continues from the previous day, 1 ½ inches in all; 2002: open water on St. Croix River
Tuesday, March 25	2024: record rainfall 0.78 inches; 2015: Damp from snowmelt, temperature in the 30s; 2001: St. Croix River frozen over
Wednesday, March 26	2007: record high of 81°
Thursday, March 27	2024: about four inches of snow overnight, much of it melting during the day; 2023: partly clouds, 30s; 2021: Drizzle all day, ½” in total

Photo/Image credits

All photos/images copyright Nina Manzi, except:

• Dean Lokken: Kildeer, second Painted Turtles, Turkey Vulture
• Bill Marchel, MN Conservation Volunteer: Western Meadowlark
• Gary Sater: Common Loon, Song Sparrow
• Allen Blake Sheldon, MN Conservation Volunteer: Bobolink
• Pamela Sorrells: Bullsnake