Astronomy

Look outside after dark on Saturday the 12th to see the Full Moon. Some of the Native American names for this moon are the Pink Moon and the Maple Sap Boiling Moon. The name “Pink Moon” is an Algonquin name from the northeastern part of North America, and refers to a plant called Moss Pink, or Creeping Phlox, which blooms early in the spring. And while maple sap has stopped running in our area, it may still be running farther north where the Ojibwe pioneered the making of maple sugar and maple syrup in springtime sugar camps.

Birds

Chipping Sparrows and Song Sparrows are returning to our area and will be with us for the summer. Identify Chipping Sparrows by their red caps, and Song Sparrows by the dark blotch in the middle of their breasts. American Robins are building nests. This time of year, before the trees leaf out, is a good time to look for last year’s nests.

Don’t forget to look UP for birds. Flocks of Pelicans overhead are easy to identify – they are very large white birds with black on the ends of their wings. The black color comes from the pigment melanin, which makes the wingtips stronger than the rest of the feather. This is important because the wingtips experience more wear during flight. Whooping cranes have black wingtips, too, for strength, but you are much more likely to see pelicans.

Turkey Vultures are another large bird you might see overhead. About this time of year Turkey Vultures have returned to our part of Minnesota. Their wing feathers are darker toward the leading edge of the wing and lighter at the back. They hold their wings in a “V” shape as they glide and they wobble a lot (in contrast to Eagles and Hawks, which hold their wings straight out and glide smoothly). Sandhill Cranes pass by high overhead; you may hear their rattling call before you see them. They hold their necks out ahead of them as they fly, with their legs trailing behind them. This distinguishes them from Herons, which fly with their necks curled back toward their bodies. And Canada Geese and many kinds of Ducks fly overhead along the river.

Amphibians and Reptiles

By mid-April there may be FOUR species of frogs calling in the evening hours: Spring Peepers, with their high-pitched peeping, Chorus Frogs, with their trilling call that sounds like running your finger along a comb, Wood Frogs, which make a low chuckling call, and Northern Leopard Frogs, too, which make a low snoring call that ends in a croak or cluck.

Insects

The Monarchs are coming! The butterflies that overwintered in Mexico have left the Oyamel Pine forests of Mexico and begun their journey north. The ones who left here last fall won’t be the ones to return to Minnesota. After they emerged from their chrysalises they went into something called “reproductive diapause”, and didn’t fully mature right away. They came out of diapause earlier this year, and started their trek north. When they got as far as about Texas or Oklahoma they mated and laid eggs. Those caterpillars are now busy eating milkweed plants. After the Texas and Oklahoma caterpillars metamorphose into butterflies they will fly farther north before stopping to mate and lay eggs, and those eggs will lead to the generation of butterflies that will reach to Minnesota in May or June. Here in Minnesota the seed pods of last year’s milkweed plants have opened, and the seeds are blowing in the wind, dispersing over the landscape. Some of them will land in hospitable places and grow into milkweed plants, just in time for the great-grandchildren of the Monarchs who left last fall to arrive and lay eggs.

While we’re waiting for the Monarchs to return, keep a lookout for Spring Azures. Spring Azures are one of many kinds of butterflies that overwinter as pupae. Last fall the larvae finished eating and then hardened into chrysalises. The chrysalises rest until spring sunshine and longer days signal that it’s time to complete metamorphosis and emerge as butterflies. As the name suggests, Spring Azures are a vibrant blue on the top side of their wings. But they are rather pale on the underside of their wings, and when they land they almost always hold their wings closed. Sometimes people are reluctant to believe that the pale colored butterflies they see perched are the blue butterflies they just saw on the wing, but they are!

Plants

It’s spring ephemeral season! Hepatica, Bloodroot, Dutchman’s Breeches, Yellow Trout Lily, Large-flowered Bellwort, Wild Violets, and Wild Ginger are in bloom, and joining them about mid- month are Jacks-in-the-Pulpit, Spring Beauties, Cut-leaf Toothworts, and Little-leaf Buttercups. And on the prairie you might see blooming Prairie Smoke.

Jacks-in-the-Pulpit have a reddish-green or green club-like flower that is shaded by a sort of hood. The flower is called a “spadix”, while the hood is called a “spathe”. There are both male and female plants and both have flowers. The only difference is that the males have small holes at the base of the spathe, while the females do not. The hole makes it easy for pollinators that ventured in to visit the flower to escape and perhaps go on to visit a female flower. Since there is no hole at the bottom of the spathe in the female plants, the pollinators have to move around more to get out and are more likely to brush up against the flower and drop some of the pollen they collected at a male flower.

These early spring flowers are called “ephemerals” for a reason – they won’t be around long! Once the trees leaf out and block the sunshine from reaching the forest floor these beautiful little flowers die back for another year. So take the opportunity to hike through the woods and enjoy the ephemerals soon!

Weather observations

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

Friday, April 11	2024: clouds and sun through day with a shower in the afternoon; 2023: sunny and a high of 81°; 2019: rain and snow through night
Saturday, April 12	2024: sunny and pleasant, 61°; 2023: record high of 88°; 2022: thunder and lightning in evening; 2020: record snowfall of 6.6 inches; 2001: St. Croix flooded, and stairway at lower picnic area almost entirely underwater!
Sunday, April 13	2023: record high of 87°; 2021: rain and flurries through day; 2006: record high of 84°
Monday, April 14	2022: gusty wind and blowing snow through day; 2003: record high of 89°
Tuesday, April 15	2024: sun mixed with clouds, 60s; 2018: record snowfall of 3.5”; 2014: record low of 18°; 2002: record high of 91°
Wednesday, April 16	2024: record rainfall of 1.33 inches, blustery with some thunder; 2019: temperature in 60s; 2017: 3/8” rain
Thursday, April 18	2024: cloudy and breezy, 50s; 2023: Sunny, 50s; 2019: rain with thunder and lightning; 2016: high in 70s

Photo/Image credits

All photos/images copyright Nina Manzi, except:

• Dean Lokken: American Robin, Canada Geese, Northern Leopard Frog, Turkey Vulture
• Gary Sater: Song Sparrow, Sandhill Cranes
• Allen Blake Sheldon, MN Conservation Volunteer: Boreal Chorus Frog, Spring Peeper