Tracking Natures' Calendar

During this unsettling time, I find that I want to hold on to something that is constant.  In the midst of the Covid-19 news, home schooling my kids, working out of my new home office, preparing three meals a day, and so much more cleaning, I find comfort in seeing the American robin arrive in my backyard.  I am soothed by the wood frogs chorus, seeing the buds on the maple trees, and watching the blue bead lily push through the dirt.  In spite of everything, nature is still happening all around us.  Spring is an extraordinary time to observe, learn about, and enjoy nature.  It may be nature’s busiest time of year.

Wood frog. (image Ruth Forsgren)

Eastern bluebirds. (image Ruth Forsgren)

Have you ever noticed these types of natural events in your own backyard?  The owls begin hooting in February, Eastern bluebirds return in March, fireflies light up in June, and the       leaves begin to change in September.  This timing of events in nature is called phenology.  The word phenology comes from the Greek words phaino (to show or appear) and logos (to study).  Phenology means “the science of appearance”,  so it is the study of the timing of biological events.  These events include hibernation, migration, flowering, reproduction, and emergence. Scientist who study phenology look at the timing of biological events in relation to changes in season and climate.  Simply, phenology is nature’s own calendar of events.

Eastern bluebird arrival at my parent's house.

I grew up in southern Wisconsin on 15 acres of woods where my father introduced me to phenology.  He kept records in his bird book, noting the yearly date that birds arrived in the yard.  Although a bird book, my Dad’s records went beyond birds.  He included when the chipmunks began running through the yard (March 16), when the spring peepers began calling (March 24), when the mourning cloak fluttered by (April 8), or when we had to take care not to step on the shooting stars blooming on the path (May 15).

Front cover of my Dad's bird book.

My Dad used to say, “Let’s check the pond…the wood ducks should be here” (April 4) or “Come on, we have to clean out the wren boxes…they’re coming,” (April 25) and “We need to make the hummingbird food” (May 5).  I would think, “What is wrong with my Dad? The pond still has ice, there is snow on the ground, what hummingbirds?”  We would visit the pond, clean out those houses and make the food, and just like my Dad said, the birds would be there.

Male wood duck on pond. (image by Ruth Forsgren)

My Dad's hummingbird records.

As I grew up and had a better understanding of phenology, I loved visiting my parents’ land to watch the change of the seasons.  Our phenological activities changed a little through the years.  My parents would still clean out the nest boxes and make the hummingbird food, but now Dad would say to me, “Let’s go pick black raspberries for ice cream” (July 4) and possibly my favorite “Grab a bottle of wine, the bats are going to come out” (April 15).

Black raspberry perfect for picking. (image Ruth Forsgren)

     

Male red-headed woodpecker.
 (image Ruth Forsgren)

More than just the phenology, other changes in nature can be observed from keeping track of natural events.  Looking through my Dad’s book, I see the red-headed woodpeckers were a common visitor in the yard throughout the 80’s and 90’s.  The last sighting recorded in 2003 tells me how the habitat near my childhood home has changed: the savannahs are gone and the European starlings have moved in.  My parents’ records also note the exciting rarities that showed up.  A pileated woodpecker visited their yard in 1974.  Much to my parents’ delight, another pileated spent the winter of 2014-2015 eating away at my Mom’s homemade suet.


I love seeking out these seasonal changes in nature.  I now have a phenology calendar that I watch throughout the year, making observations in my own backyard.  Spring may be nature’s busiest time of year, so I check the calendar every day, anticipating what will be happening next.  Spring beauties begin to bloom April 27.  Sure enough, when I take my kids for a hike in our woods, they race to see who can be first to find the spring beauty--and they find it.  The long trill of the American toad can be heard in the evening on May 3.  I step outside, enjoying the warming spring nights and hear the chorus of the toads.  Observing a phenology calendar and keeping my own records connects me with nature.  It creates a more intimate relationship between me and the woods I call my home.  It helps me teach my kids to be aware of their surroundings, to notice, to be observant.  It gives me something to look forward to and it gives me sense that even in troubled times, nature is still a constant.

Spring beauty. (image Ruth Forsgren)

Phenology is not a new practice; in fact, there are records dating back thousands of years.  It is believed that the Chinese kept the first written phenology records, while the Japanese have over 1,000 years of records showing the peak of cherry blossoms.  Carolus Linnaeus, who is known for developing binomial nomenclature-- our modern system for the two-part naming of living organisms -- kept track of flowering times across Sweden.  Linnaeus’s work helped create our understanding of modern plant phenology.  Closer to home, Aldo Leopold, Wisconsin’s much loved naturalist and founder of the field of wildlife management, kept phenological records from his beloved “shack.”  His records helped form a better understanding of the world around him and are shared in his book A Sand County Almanac. Leopold wrote, “Keeping records enhances the pleasure of the search and the chance of finding order and meaning in these events.”

Sparrow arrival from my Dad's notes.

Now when many of us are home is a perfect time to begin observing the phenology unfolding in your own backyard.  If you have a Beaver Creek Reserve calendar, check the phenological events listed in there.  You can also search online for a Wisconsin phenology calendar or start your own with a simple notepad and a pen.  I challenge you to start recording the daily observation in nature that you view in your backyard.  Simply write down what you observe and the date.  Keep your notebook and your binoculars handy.  Next year, do the same.  I promise you: you will anxiously await the changes of the seasons, adding to your own phenological calendar every year.  Now go outside and get ready, the grosbeaks are coming!

My Dad's rose-breasted grosbeak records.