One delightful, weird spring
Spring phenology is turned on its head this year with many record-breaking warm days this March. After a cold start, the warm-up began March 10th with a record-setting high of 63° F. Seven of the next 9 days were also record highs, with several days at or near 80° F and some overnight temps at or above 60° F. Temps fell the last week of March, but remained 10° F higher than average.
Many migratory birds arrived and many local plants and critters emerged one to four weeks before normal. Here are a few of our observations from the metro area:
3/10 | Red-shouldered hawks, Red-winged blackbird | |||
3/13 | Sandhill cranes | Garter snakes emerge from hibernacula | ||
3/16 | Hooded merganser | Chorus frogs, spring peepers (min. 1 week early) | ||
3/17 | Wood duck, Killdeer, Mallard, Fox, sparrow, Song sparrow, Brewers blackbird, Brown-headed cowbird | Mourning cloak butterfly, Comma butterfly | Wood frog (min. 1 week early) | |
3/18 | Green-winged teal, Northern flicker, Black-capped chickadees excavating a nest cavity | Elderberry leafing out, Quaking aspen catkins open, falling Red oak leaves from 2011 finally fall | ||
3/19 | Ice-out on area lakes (over 3 weeks early) | |||
3/21 | Winter wren, American woodcock | |||
3/23 | Hepatica in bloom, also bloodroot | |||
3/31 | Rue anemone | |||
3/29 | Red admiral butterfly | |||
4/1 | Hermit thrush, Golden-crowned kinglet | False rue anemone, Spring beauty | ||
4/2 | Snow trillium at Hastings SNA started several days prior. |