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Jan. 31, Feb. 14, 28, Mar. 13, 27, Apr. 10, 24,
May 8, 22
Journey North News
- FINAL Signs
of Spring: May 22, 2000
New life is appearing across the Northern Hemisphere! Springtime births are no coincidence, but a brilliant part of nature. As you celebrate spring's renewal of life, check out our resources for human population growth. . . and go forward with resolve to protect Earth's habitats and species. Until next year, Happy Spring! - Signs of Spring:
May 8, 2000
Orioles and other colorful migrants are streaming through the continent right now. As if inspired by greening trees and colorful flowers, their feathers seem to be growing in brilliance too. Have you ever wondered what gives their feathers such bright colors? Oddly, there is absolutely NO pigment to make feathers blue. So how can we possibly have such vivid blue birds as Indigo Buntings, Blue Jays, and bluebirds? - Signs of Spring:
April 24, 2000
American Robins have reached Anchorage! Find out the Early Bird Contest results! Then put on your virtual parkas to visit JN's four remaining Official Ice-Out Observations Posts for updates. How would you complete this sentence? According to our ice-out observers on Hudson Bay, the ice melts there in the beginning of ____. - Signs of Spring:
April 10, 2000
Winter is over in many parts of North America, and frogs are starting to sing. What's all the singing about? Learn about the strategy behind the call. Can you name that "peeper" tune? But why isn't life just a song for the frogs? - Signs of Spring:
March 27, 2000
Spring has officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere! Wrap up winter and greet Spring with Journey North artist Mary Hosier. She leads you through an art-meets-science project that captures leaf-out and creates a marvelous memento of Spring 2000. Send us your predictions for CQ #10 as our Ice-Out 2000 contest continues. - News Flash:
Ice-Out at Lake Minnetonka
Saturday, March 18 is the official ice-out date for Lake Minnetonka! This is the earliest date in the 113 years of Journey North's records. Only four other times has the ice gone out in March! What's your next prediction for Ice-Out on the Neana River in Nenana, Alaska? - Signs of Spring
Update: March 13, 2000
Why do people in San Juan Capistrano, California have their eyes on the skies each year on March 19? What's unusual about a cliff swallow's nest? Which swallow flies 600 miles a day just looking for insects to eat? Which kind of swallow can survive the coldest temperatures? - News Flash:
Ice-Out at Thoreau's Walden Pond
March 9 is the official ice-out date for 2000. This latest news reveals a three-way tie! Congratulations to two classrooms in Minnesota and one in New York for their nearly precise Pond Predictions! Why do you think the average ice-out date has changed since famous naturalist Henry David Thoreau kept records in the mid-1800s? What's your prediction for ice-out at the next observation post? - Red-Winged Blackbirds
Back On Territory!
Male Red-winged Blackbirds are arriving in northern marshes, with some of the earliest sightings in recent memory! What's bringing them north so soon? Why do they return right as ice is melting? Move over Jesse Ventura--make a redwing action figure and see what happens! - Signs of Spring:
February 28, 2000
Sandhill Cranes are heading north with food and romance on their minds! Where have they come from and where are they going? How do they know it's time to go? What makes Nebraska's Platte River a favorite rest stop during the journey north? And why do these magnificent birds mate for life? - Signs of Spring:
February 14, 2000
Journey North's 6th Annual Ice-Out Contest is now underway! How will this year's ice-out date compare to the records Thoreau kept in the mid-1800s? Read the latest news from Walden Pond. Predict when the ice will melt this spring and place your guess! -
Signs of Spring: January 31, 2000Great Horned Owl
Photo courtesy of Marshall Iliff.
Whooooo's finding romance in the cold of winter? Few North American birds are thinking about the birds and the bees right now. They're too caught up trying to survive the winter. But one group of birds finds February the most romantic month of all--owls. Why do owls lay eggs in February? And how do the eggs stay warm when its so cold outside?
- Follow Spring's Journey North
Rather than track each individual migration, you may choose to follow the wave of spring itself. - Spring Phenology Data Exchange
Collect signs of spring and exchange them with another class. Using Nature's clues, can you find your partner? - Challenge Questions
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