INature: Spring is on it's way

I included this little extra note in an announcement to one of my classes, and thought I would post it here:

On a geographically/ecologically related note: We have talked a lot about hours of daylight, angle of the sun, etc. Lots of plant and animal behavior (like migration) is driven not by temperature, but by photoperiod (day length). We have been hearing/spotting several spring birds around campus: Sandhill Cranes, Red-Winged Blackbirds, and Killdeer. These three have pretty distinctive calls, which you can learn at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. Cranes will migrate from the Gulf of Mexico thousands of miles up to the Arctic tundra, where they will nest. Pretty soon, the Spring Peepers (frogs) will be calling from the Arboretum property behind Randall. Skunk cabbagae is most likely already in bloom along the damp depressional areas. It can generate it's own heat and the flower will even melt its way up through the snow. Hopefully geography will give you some of the tools for understanding the many incredible phenomena of Creation all around you. Spring is on its way (days are getting longer). Be still, observe, and enjoy!

Here's a video about skunk cabbage.

Fall crane watching in NW Indiana. Too windy, and not very fruitful. But thousands present.

Tip out or tip pit from a fallen tree at Jasper-Pulaski wildlife area (NW Indiana). The depression will likely be visible for decades, and may provide a basin of water for reproducing herpitiles.