The forecast is for temperatures above freezing day and night for at least the next ten days. That may defeat chances for this being the longest winter in Minnesota history. 
Herring gullThe newspaper here says that if there is an inch of snow left in this (Tower) area on May 5, it will beat the old record and make some of us wonder where global warming went. It will be the longest period of continuous snow cover on record. Today, snow on the south-facing shore across Woods Lake was gone and the ice around the beaver lodge was black and beginning to melt. I’m watching a big patch of snow in a shaded area in the yard and seeing ground opening up in it 6 days to go for the record.
Crow cawingIt felt good to be among such great and supportive people at The Mystic Lake Casino Gathering yesterday. The first such gathering was in 2010 to celebrate Lily and Hope. Now it’s about the mission.
Today, I saw the first baby woodchuck out nibbling tiny green blades of grass today in the 60s (F). Woodchucks mate as soon as they emerge from hibernation. They give birth 31-33 days later. I saw one here in the yard on March 8 but don’t know how long it had been up.
Raven with chicken legOn the other side of the WRI cabin the male woodchuck that lives under the living room window was out. He saw me in the window but didn’t care. He hears me tromping around above him every day. Later, he was up on the 2nd floor deck looking for sunflower seeds but none were in reach. I opened the door. He stood up and watched unconcerned as I poured some on the deck floor, which he then ate (photo).
In the yard, I put out 10 pounds of chicken legs and watched ravens, crows, gulls, turkey vultures, and an eagle materialize from nowhere. I watched two turkey vultures come gliding in upwind to join 4 that were already circling (photo). They’ve been here the rest of the day.
 Woodchuck male |
 Beaver lodge with black ice |
 Turkey vulture |
Each leg and thigh weighs about a pound (10 per 10-pound bag)—about the weight of a crow according to Sibley’s 2014 edition. That’s too heavy for a crow to carry, so they ate them in place, flying off when a raven flew in. Ravens weigh 2.6 pounds, according to Sibley, and were able to fly off carrying a chicken leg (photo). If the weights are right, the ravens were each carrying 38 percent of their body weight. Herring gulls (Sibley says they weigh 2.5 pounds although males are much bigger than females) don’t seem to be so much into carrying food that they can’t get into their crop (throat pouch), so they also ate the legs in place. With a flock of gulls competing for the legs, lone ravens were shy and would land and bounce up with chicken legs that were left off to the side by the gulls.
Mystic Lake Gathering 4/28/18
Crows were cawing a lot with all the excitement—this one closing its nictitating membrane at the top of each head pump (photo).
Deer eating grassBears have been here unseen at night. But one just appeared this minute, saw me, and ran fast and far. Probably not a bear I know. Looked like an adolescent, probably a dispersing male passing through. We’ll see what he does.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center