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Journey North News will be posted on Fridays: Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28, Mar. 7, 14, 21, 28, Apr. 4, 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16 Journey North News to be Posted... January 31: Frozen Dinners Spring's around the corner, but birds wintering in the frozen north can't yet dig for worms. So where will they get protein? One of the best sources is insects, but where are the insects? And what's to drink? List five sources of drinking water--and one big danger! Dig into Frozen Dinners and see what wintering birds eat and drink. January 31: Join the 10th Annual Ice-out Contest! Winter's icy grip is big news in some of our Official Ice-out Observation Posts--but it's been unseasonably warm at others. What's up? Read about each ice-out post, then work out your answers to this COOL question: What's your prediction for ice-out dates in each of Journey North's six Official Observation Posts? Contest deadline: February 14. February 7: A New Challenge?West Nile Virus Daffodils poking through the ground in Oolitic, Indiana; Cardinals singing in Lewistown, Missouri; and bluebirds seen in Vincennes, Indiana. Your field reports are sharing welcome spring news. But this year people are dreading the appearance of one sign of spring: mosquitoes. Find out why, and what you can do about it. The week also brought news of an exciting discovery: the oldest Gray Jay ever recorded! How old? It's all in this week's report! February 14: Owls Hooting Lots of owls are "getting romantic" in February, so Valentine's Day is a perfect time to listen for owl calls. Our new Owl Dictionary helps you identify who gives a hoot. We?ve got "how-to" tips for your own owling adventure, plus inspiration with our BRAND NEW Reading and Writing Connections to go with Jane Yolen?s Owl Moon. REMINDER: Have you sent your Ice-Out Contest predictions? February 21: Red-winged Blackbirds Have you heard the "Okalee!" of Red-winged Blackbirds yet? Their arrival is one of the most reliable and fun signs of spring. Practice listening and looking for them with the help of our photos and songs, but that's just the start of the fun. Check out our redwing field studies and projects. Learn the difference between bird specialists and generalists with "A Peek at Some Beaks" and compare your answers with our expert's! February 28: Bluebirds and Nest Cams One of the most popular harbingers of spring is the bluebird. Find out how to attract bluebirds and make the boxes they nest in. Then spy on the nestlings right from your computer! How? Our Nestcam list lets you peek into the nests of bluebirds, robins, owls, or even rare Resplendent Quetzals from Costa Rica. Looking and listening aren't the only senses that help us detect signs of spring; find out what JN students are sensing about the change of seasons. March 7: Neotropical Migrants and Orioles One of the beautiful birds feeding on fruit in the sunny tropics right now is our good old Baltimore Oriole. No one knows exactly why, but a few Baltimore Orioles spend the winter in the north. Most are in Costa Rica, along with more than 800 other species of birds. More different kinds of birds live in tiny Costa Rica than in the entire continental U.S. and Canada combined! Whether they are in the tropics or the north, orioles must eat to get the energy they need to stay alive. So what?s in an oriole food chain? March 14: Looking for Loons Loons are showing up in a few places, but if you?re still waiting, there?s a good reason why. Once they?re here, how do loons pick a territory? Judge territories from a loon's point of view, then decide which of four lakes would make the best loon territory. Today?s yodel quizzers by scientist Jay Magers are something you?ll hoot about. Take off with a loon through Dr. Walter Piper?s video camera, and see what other signs of spring you?ve reported this week! March 21: Frogs and Toads Ribbit! Where are frogs already singing? See a slow-motion frog tongue live in video! Frogs and toads both start life as eggs laid in water, and both hatch as tadpoles. After that, some big differences develop. What are they? Imagine making a tiny toad house in your backyard that toads actually move into, or mapping a toad's home range. Don?t miss these "toadally terrific" activities, and the enchanting story of Miranda Toad. March 28: Swallows Right on time, the swallows are back at the Mission at San Juan Capistrano?-and plenty of other places! To build their muddy gourd-shaped nests, Cliff Swallows pick up chunks of mud in their wide mouths. So what does a colony of 50 new ceramic nests have to do with the swallows that made the mission famous? Like most early migrants, swallows follow bodies of water because they eat flying insects. What?s the connection? April 4: Get Ready for Wrens One of the most cheerful signs of spring weighs less than two nickels: a house wren! Hear their song and see them in video clips that answer these questions: How much of a wren?s body is involved when he sings? Why is the baby?s mouth so big? What prey items do parents feed the babies? What?s in that tiny sac the parent is carrying away? April 11: Lesser Long-nosed Bats They?re not birds, but they fly with wings. They?re not blind, but they "see" with sounds. They?re not vicious, but some are vampires. What are they? Bats. If bats have a bad rep, today?s report will fix that! Expert Katy Hinman shares incredible video clips and introduces us to Leptos: lesser long-nosed bats. These migratory pollinators follow a nectar trail of blooming cacti northward through the Sonoran Desert each spring and help many plants reproduce. April 18: Earth Day Message Happy Earth Day, Happy Birthday! Explore spring reproductive cycles that maximize survival chances. Delve into population and ecosystems of the natural world. Ask yourself how many days it takes for a million people to be added to the human population. And listen and distinguish between the calls of the Eastern phoebe and the Black-capped chickadee. April 25: Insects on the Menu: Orioles The return of birds that eat insects is one of the surest signs of spring. Find out why! Swallows, bluebirds, warblers, and a host of other birds have flooded in from the tropics the past week, and orioles are just starting to appear. These birds eat lots and lots of insects. Why do you think intestines must be longer to digest plant matter than to digest insects and other animals? May 2: Warblers Hooray, it?s May?-the month when warblers flood through North America! Flocks of these tiny feathered jewels pass through almost every backyard during spring migration. But unless you?re paying attention, warblers are hard to notice. Why? For fun and games, don't miss our new Warbler and Habitat Cards. And see directions to make a mobile with field guide art. These great new lessons show how to use a field guide and recognize species in a fun way! May 9: Welcome Back Loons These magnificent goose-sized birds have surged north to their finish line and a new nesting season! Each pair of loons lays only two eggs, and they're lucky if both babies reach adulthood. Loon chicks aren't "nestlings" for more than a few hours. Once they leave the nest, they're out of there for good! What things do the chicks know instinctively? Find out you can help keep loon babies safe. May 16: Fireflies! Hello, fireflies! These graceful little stars put on a flashy show that would make even Tinkerbell jealous! But what's really going on out there in the dark? What do all the blinking lights mean? And how do fireflies generate the light we see? Discover these answers and more, including how fireflies' bioluminescent glow has played a role in "glow in the dark" toys. Enjoy this sparkling finale to our Signs of Spring, 2003!                           Copyright 2003 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form