NEWS FROM THE NORTHERN OBSERVATION POSTS MARCH 1, 2005 Photo Sara Hepner Sara Hepner: Sterling, AK We've had a series of freeze/thaw cycles this winter, and only one major snowfall since December. The typical winter birds like redpolls and chickadees are around, but no robins here. The feeders in my yard had to come down again because they were attracting moose! It doesn't take long for a moose to empty a full feeder. Linda Hoffman: Creston, BC You can't mistake that lovely orange color - it was a robin I saw yesterday! The first one has arrived and others are sure to follow. It has been an unusually dry winter with no snow left on the ground. Unfortunately, the lack of snow may mean a drier than normal summer with more forest fires and water rationing. So, rain would be welcome to both the humans and the robins. Joy Hamilton: Shageluk, AK We're gearing up for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race which should be coming through our village around March 8 or so AND our students cover the race as it comes through our village.You can post our website information if you want so kids who are interested can read our interviews of the mushers, etc. We have about 38" of snow total for the winter which is not very deep. We have had very warm temps. We have a snow and ice study on a local lake measuring ice thickness. Too many wolves. I know that's probably too sensitive a topic for your "viewers" but it's real life to us. Mike Sterling: Anchorage, AK I thought I saw a robin sitting in the tippy-top of a spruce tree on Tuesday. Couldn't confirm it, though. A few robins overwinter here every year. They'd be more likely to make it this year than most. Anchorage has had a relatively mundane winter--not a lot of snow and relatively mild temperatures. Just 100 miles north, however, it is a completely different picture. Twelve or thirteen feet of snow have fallen at my cabin in Talkeetna. Talkeetna is the embarkation point for climbers bent on scaling Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. It's going to be a very interesting break-up this year! Dominique Cloutier: St. Sauveur des Monts, PQ This winter has been a little "strange." In early February, we had extremely mild days, to the point that squirrels started chasing each other in the trees. It even rained, as if Spring had arrived! It was only wishful thinking ;-) After a week, we were back to normal--even worse than normal, with very low temperatures and quite a bit of snow. I have been looking around and also asking about "wintering Robins," but not one around. Kris Owens: Homer, AK Our winter has been... hard to describe! It has been swinging back and forth between the extremes of winter and spring-like weather. Today it is sunny and the temperature is in the 40's. Not too many weeks ago we had an extreme cold snap with temperatures below zero. While we have had our share of snowstorms, rain has usually followed. When I asked students and co-workers at Fireweed Academy to describe our winter, it was compared to the swinging of a pendulum, back and forth from true winter to spring-like weather and everything in between. Stan White: Homer, AK Weather? Well, it's been warmer than usual, which means we have some thawing periods now and then, which means we have a lot of ice and crusted snow. About 30 robins have reportedly been seen in the "greater Homer area", but where we are, 20 miles away and 1000 feet up from there, we haven't seen any. I have trouble imagining how a group of robins that size can make it through the winter. There are some Mountain Ash trees with berries around town, some Chokecherry bushes here and there, and also High Bush Cranberries throughout the woods, but it seems very meager pickings and they are widely scattered. They must be surviving on a tight margin. No obvious signs of spring here yet except the lengthening days. It's now almost light on my walk to school at 7:30 and it is still light at 6:30 in the evening. Officially we have a little less than 10 hours of daylight (sunrise to sunset), but the long twilights at these latitudes makes a big difference. Wayne Dwornik: Lethbridge, AB Winter... oh what a winter!! In southern Alberta winter arrived very late, as usual. We had a brown Christmas again. But the New Year came in COLD and brought snow, a fair bit for us too. We get lots of Chinooks here, but this year January remained pretty cold right through. Through February we had a real roller-coaster ride with the weather. Cold Warm.... Chinook time. Not a lot of bird activity in my area this winter. But more than last few years. Our neighbourhood is maturing. Our house is now 15 years old; I planted 2 willow trees out back knowing they grow really fast. Fertilized them lots and now they're about 20 feet tall. So that has helped create more habitat for the birds. Ken Moore: Stirling, AB From January 17th through the 31st the high for the day everyday was above freezing ... with 11 of those days in double digits ... (50 plus Fahrenheit, with one of those days 65F). After a few days of above freezing temperatures the snow had disappeared for the most part. As for February ... only 6 times in 27 days did we fail to reach the freezing mark. On 3 of those occasions the high was just slightly below freezing (minus 2C or less) ... so it's been like living in the banana belt of the prairies. There's no snow and no wind for the most part either; just beautiful weather. Marc Landry: Beresford, NB No spring yet :-( The weather is still cold and snow is present for at least till early May. Lots of fruits trees are still holding on (crab apples and small berries) It must be all the wintering robins that are popping up. One robin was seen in a Sumac tree. Must be looking for food. Copyright 2005 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to jn-help@learner.org