Harbingers of Snow
What do you do in the winter?
Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center may be closed for the season, but there’s still plenty going on in the woods around the museum this time of year.
The snow definitely isn’t here to stay yet at the end of the Gunflint Trail, but a few mornings this last week dawned especially frosty. Many sources have predicted a snowy winter for northern Minnesota. While it doesn’t appear that the Gunflint Trail will have an especially early winter in 2010, there are plenty signs that winter’s well on its way.
One indicator of winter are the snow buntings. Anyone driving down the Gunflint Trail these days is sure to stir up flocks and flocks of snow buntings. These ground dwelling arctic birds migrate south every autumn. We might not have seen a lot of snow yet this year, but a flock of snow buntings taking to the air is certainly reminiscent of a blizzard!
Another winter bird has arrived. The beautifully colored pine grosbeaks seem to appear just as we’re losing the last of our autumn leaves. They’re a lovely splash of color in the otherwise bleak time before the snow falls.
The days are growing short and darkness is setting in. In these last fleeting autumn days, it’s time to put up the bird feeders and wait for the snow and cold to come in earnest. We know it’s coming.