Of course, you want to step out. March temperatures in northern Minnesota change day to day with highs popping up and down above and below freezing. H20 keeps changing from snow on the ground, ice over the water, and absence in the atmosphere to frozen crust in the forest, fogging high humidity, and current opening rivers.
From one month to the next and over the course of a couple of weeks, winter festivals, dogsled and ski races, and snow sculptures were replaced by spring breaks, film festivals, and field trips. And dark sky events. Snowshoes can be set aside. Cross-country ski, walk the dog, and explore a forest or wetland by walking on the potentially thickening crust of snow.
Owls, ravens, eagles and jays are all engaged in some stage of nesting. The last sightings of wintering redpolls, pine grosbeaks, snowy owls, pine siskins, northern shrikes and other birds make the feeding of winter birds less productive and potentially troublesome. Concerns already increased about intentionally feeding or because of certain forms of bird feeding. And with March leading towards Spring, there are reports of the first sightings of mammals.
As all the examples of these and many other forms of bird feeders get put away until the reports of hummingbirds occur, problems with raccoons, bears, deer, woodchucks, ground squirrels, small rodents, and other wildlife can be reduced.
Moving away from homesites, and after indoor winter and spring events have been absorbed, bring out your list of experiences planned for 2026. Northern Minnesota offers endless opportunities to experience repeatedly or for the very first time. This Saturday, March 7, from 9am to noon, we are going to use the resources from the Ely Field Naturalist Resource Center located above the NAPA Store at 41 East Chapman Street, and everyone can share in exploring and making plans for their favorite known or little-known interests.
You know what March means. This week, on March 5, it meant the first sighting of a trumpeter feeding, tail pointed upward, in the opening water on the Shagawa River. That means a month of swans and other waterfowl to watch before the ice goes off lakes and other nesting areas. Questions are being raised Soudan Underground Mine, Sax-Zim Bog, wildlife management areas, night hikes, geology, quarry and bog tours, Ely/Winter Historical Society Museum, Listening Point tours, Lucky Boy Ponds, eagle nests, summer jobs, volunteer opportunities, new businesses, and what will be in the Ely Summer Times calendar of events. What’s on your list? Don’t forget spring activities organized by Ely Community Resources for kids.
Join in sharing information and questions that will lead to exploring and making new discoveries. Start now. Explore, discover, report and share. Yesterday’s news reported a new Disney movie, Hoppers, that is about beavers. Maybe it will come to Ely’s theatre, and we can make some beaver dam and pond visits.
After NJ’s report of a whitecrowned sparrow at her feeder this week, does that mean it was here all winter, or is it the first report of species that wintered farther south migrating back through our area on its way farther north. Let’s see how many more March 1sts that can be observed and reported this spring.
A ruby-throated hummingbird was sighted on March 1 in Kentwood, Louisiana. Follow the March movements of hummingbirds and other wildlife on the Journey North website.
Future articles will have first reports from Northeastern Minnesota of 2026 phenological discoveries. Watch for icy patches and join in exploring March to the fullest.
