ELOISE BUTLER WILDFLOWER GARDEN AND BIRD SANCTUARY

WEEKLY GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS Phenology notes for the week of October 5th – 11th

It’s been a relatively warm week here in Minneapolis, with daytime highs ranging from the mid-60s the low 80s. It’s been dry too; scant a drop of rain fell over the past week. The comfortable weather was pristine for viewing the Garden’s fantastic fall foliage.

Having achieved peak color, the Garden showed shades of amber, auburn, beige, blond, brick, bronze, brown, buff, burgundy, canary, carob, castor, celadon, cherry, cinnabar, claret, clay, copper, coral, cream, crimson, ecru, filemont, fuchsia, gamboge, garnet, gold, greige, khaki, lavender, lilac, lime, magenta, maroon, mauve, meline, ochre, orange, peach, periwinkle, pewter, pink, plum, primrose, puce, purple, red, rose, roseate, rouge, rubious, ruby, ruddy, rufous, russet, rust, saffron, salmon, scarlet, sepia, tangerine, taup, tawny, terra-cotta, titian, umber, violet, yellow, and xanthic, to name a few.

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the northern two thirds of the state reached peak color earlier in 2020 than it did in both 2019 and 2018, likely due to a relatively cool and dry September.

Many garter snakes have been seen slithering through the Garden’s boundless leaf litter. Particularly active this time of year, snakes must carefully prepare for winter. Not only do the serpents need to locate an adequate hibernaculum to pass the winter, but they must also make sure they’ve eaten just the right amount of food. Should they eat too little, they won’t have enough energy to make it through the winter. However, if they eat too much, they risk having undigested food rot inside their stomach during dormancy. The Garden’s garters are busy making sure their fall feasting stays right on schedule with the changing temperatures!

While the fall migration is still underway, the main “warbler wave” may have subsided. However, much avian activity in the Garden continues, with song sparrows, blue jays, ruby-crowned kinglets, and legions of robins flitting and fluttering about the ground and trees. Downy, hairy, red-bellied, and pileated woodpeckers made plenty of racket, while barred owls hooted in the evening hours. Black-capped chickadees have been a thrill to observe in the upland, joyfully plucking seeds from the towering seed heads of prairie dock. While the Garden may be closing to human visitors in a manner of weeks, it will remain a wide-open haven for those hungry, plucky chickadees all winter long.

-Will, Garden Naturalist

Phenology: The study of periodic biological phenomena such as flowering, breeding and migration especially as related to climate.