Leaf-Out
How
do trees know it's spring? What happens if leaves come out
too early? How do my leaves fit into the food chain? Is it true
that some songbirds arrive from the Tropics just as the leaves
emerge on my trees? Explore these and other questions by reporting when
leaves emerge on your trees. |
|
Sugar
Maple |
Report when leaves are the size of a U.S. quarter.
|
Flowering
Dogwood |
Redbud
|
Quaking
Aspen |
Steps:
- Adopt a local
tree of one of the species above.
- Visit your adopted
tree on a regular basis. Sketch the buds on the same small branch
each time you visit.
- Watch the bud
open, the tree bloom, and the leaves emerge.
- Report to Journey
North when your tree's leaves are the size of a U.S. (or Canadian)
quarter—our definition of "leaf-out."
- Using
Leaf-out data reported by others, map spring's progress across the
hemisphere:
|