Birds
Anywhere you are at Afton look up to see Turkey Vultures soaring overhead. Look for Rufous-sided Towhees on Eastern Redcedar trees, and on the prairie look for Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Kingbirds, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Bobolinks. Turkey Vultures in our part of the country don’t go very far away in the winter, only to the southeastern U.S., which is part of the reason we see them return so early in the spring. Eastern Bluebirds spend the winter in the southeastern U.S. or Mexico. Eastern Meadowlarks go to the same areas as Bluebirds, though some go farther south into the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. Bobolinks go all the way the grasslands east of the Andes Mountains in Brazil, Paraguay, northern Argentina and Bolivia.
You may see Kildeer, Spotted Sandpipers, and Pied-Bill Grebes along Trout Brook or the edges of the St. Croix. Kildeer build their nests on their ground, and the parent birds will pretend to have a broken wing and flutter away from the nest to trick predators into following them. Spotted sandpipers practice sexual role reversal. The females have large territories and mate with several males, each of whom has a smaller territory within the female’s territory. The males care for the eggs and young birds. And Pied-bill Grebes get their name from an old meaning of the world “Pied”, which is “having two or more colors”. You can see in the photo that the grebe clearly has two colors on its bill!
Keep watching for colorful warblers — you’re most likely to see them in the woods, busy catching insects. Some may stay in our area all summer while others go farther north into Canada to breed (and eat insects that hatch in the summer). Common Yellowthroats spent the winter in the southeastern U.S., the Caribbean, and Central America, Chestnut-sided Warblers in Central America, Yellow-rumped Warblers in Mexico and Central America, and some American Redstarts went as far as northern South America.
Insects
The Monarchs may be here! Mid-May is when we usually start seeing Monarchs in Minnesota. The Monarchs that arrive at Afton are the grandchildren or even the great-grandchildren of those who left last fall to fly south to Mexico. In the winter of 2023-2024 the colony was the second smallest ever, only occupying 2.2 acres, possibly due to drought in the Midwest in the summer of 2023. The size of the overwintering colony doubled to about 4.4 acres in the winter of 2024-2025. A U.S. football field is about 1.3 acres, so last year all the Monarchs from the middle part of North America overwintered in an area a little smaller than four football fields.
Monarchs are a member of a family of butterflies called the “brush-footed butterflies”. When you see one perched, it may look like it only has four legs! That’s because the front pair of legs are very short. Those short front legs are covered with little bristles, which is what gives them the name of “brushfoots”. Other Brushfoots you might spot at Afton in the springtime include the Mourning Cloak and Eastern Comma, both of which overwinter as adults, and the Painted Lady and Red Admiral, both of which migrated to the southern U.S. last fall. In the spring broods of Painted Ladies and Red Admirals successively work their way farther and farther north. In the photo of the perched Red Admiral, you can see that it appears to only have four legs. The small brushfooted front legs aren’t visible.
Reptiles
Two large snakes you might see at Afton are the Bullsnake, sometimes called the Gopher Snake, and the Western Fox Snake. The Bullsnake and Fox Snake look very much alike. Both have black or brown blotches across the length of their bodies. The Bullsnake has a more yellowish background color, while the Fox Snake has a more reddish background color. And the Fox Snake has a solid brown or reddish-brown colored head with a rounded nose, while the Bullsnake’s head is yellow with dark markings and a pointed nose. Bullsnakes can reach six feet in length, making them the longest snake in Minnesota, while Fox Snakes are typically a little shorter, up to around five feet. Both Fox Snakes and Bullsnakes are constrictors, killing their prey by wrapping around it and squeezing. If threatened, both species may shake their tails and pretend to be rattlesnakes. And both species may on occasion climb trees!
Two smaller snakes you might see at Afton are Garter Snakes and Smooth Green Snakes. They are much smaller than Fox and Bullsnakes. Garter snakes are generally about three feet long or less, and they have longitudinal yellow stripes, not blotches. Garter Snakes are not constrictors, but instead can use a mild venom to immobilize their prey (small mammals, insects, frogs and earthworms). Smooth Green Snakes are the only snakes in Minnesota that are completely green. They are smaller than garter snakes, usually one to two feet long, and they are the only Minnesota snake that feeds almost exclusively on insects. They are sometimes called Grass Snakes, because they like grassy areas. Keep an eye out for snakes when you are hiking or biking at Afton; none of them are dangerous to humans and they play an important role in the ecosystem.
Plants
In the woods look for Canada Anemones, Wild Geranium, Virginia Waterleaf, and Wild Blue Phlox.
You may still see Yellow Trout Lily, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and both Downy Yellow and purple Wild Violets.
On the prairie you might see Prairie Phlox, Golden Alexanders, Blue-eyed Grass, and Puccoons. Blue- eyed grass is not really a grass, but is a member of the Iris family.
Weather observations
Here are some weather observations from past years.
| Friday, May 16 | 2024: clouds and cool through mid-afternoon, then sunny and into 70s; 2023: sunny, in low 80s; 2021: fog and clouds early, then sunny with a high in the 70s |
| Saturday, May 17 | 2024: hot with a thunderstorm in the evening; 2023: haze from Canadian wildfires; 2020: rain through the day, for a record of 2.47 inches |
| Sunday, May 18 | 2024: sunny and near 80°; 2018: earliest day to reach 100° in the Twin Cities; 2013: rain and thunder in the morning; 2012: record high of 93° |
| Monday, May 19 | 2024: mostly cloudy, 70s; 2022: Hailstorm in late afternoon; 2015: 30s in the morning, rising into the 50s; 2014: record rainfall of 2.25 inches; 2009: record high of 97° |
| Tuesday, May 20 | 2024: partly sunny, high 70s; 2023: beautiful sunny day in the 70s; 2021: rain off and on through day; 2017: record rainfall of 1.47 inches; 2009: record high of 94° |
| Wednesday, May 21 | 2024: dark clouds and thunderstorm late afternoon; 2021: one inch of rain; 2013: rain and temperatures in the 50s |
| Thursday, May 22 | 2024: cool, high in the 60s; 2014: high in the 70s |
Photo credits:
All photos copyright Nina Manzi, except:
- Bob Dunlap, MN Conservation Volunteer: Common Yellowthroat
- Dudley Edmondson, MN Conservation Volunteer: Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Mike Lentz, MN Conservation Volunteer: Bobolink
- Dean Lokken: Eastern Kingbird, Kildeer, Turkey Vulture
- Bill Marchel: Meadowlark
- Gary Sater: American Redstart, Eastern Bluebird
- John Schultz: Rufuous-sided Towhee
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