Events
Bird Language: Sat, Sep 8 (Second Saturday)
Saturday, September 8 9:00 - 1:00 Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center 3815 American Blvd E Bloomington, MN 55425 Registration
for these gatherings is encouraged, but not required. Feel free to drop
by--and it would be great to know that you are coming! Birds talk to each other. We can learn to understand it. And it's fun!Nesting season has wrapped up. Migration is beginning. The first "snowbirds" have arrived from the north and the neotropical migrants have begun their journeys south. Older birds know the routine--but for this year's hatchlings, it's all new. As we move past Labor Day weekend--the unofficial transition from summer to fall--we will gathering on the slopes of the Minnesota River Valley to watch and listen to the birds as they talk to each other about all that's going on in the woods.You can read about our August gathering here on our blog. What should I bring?Bring what you need to be comfortable sitting still, outside on the ground for an extended period of time—perhaps as long as an hour. You will also need something to take notes on. You do not need to have binoculars, but there is no harm in bringing a pair if you would like. Here are a few recommended and optional items to bring:Recommended: Note pad & pencil Ground cloth, blanket or camp-chair Sun protection Bug protection Poncho if it is raining Optional: Water bottle Snack Binoculars Sign me up!Registration is encouraged, but not required. Feel free to drop in and join us—and it would be great to know you are coming! If you have any questions, or to register for the event:
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August Tracking Club: Test Prep
 Sunday, August 19 9:00am - 1:00pm We will gather at the Ft. Snelling State Park visitor center: Ft. Snelling State Park 101 Snelling Lake Rd West St Paul, MN 55111 On Labor Day weekend, a group from our club will participate in a CyberTracker Track & Sign Evaluation with Michelle Peziol. Time for some final test prep! Come join us at Fort Snelling State Park as we challenge each other to identify and interpret tracks and sign and support our friends as they prepare for their evaluation. We
will gather at 9:00 in the fireplace room in the Visitor Center. We
will head out on the trail about 9:20 and return to the visitor center
about noon for a brief mapping exercise and wrap-up session. If you need
to reach us the day of the outing, please call Jon's cell phone at 612-388-4700. Please note that cell reception is poor in much of the park. Note that you need a State Park pass to drive to the Visitor Center, but you can park for free at the Historic Fort Snelling visitor center. It is about a half-mile walk past the historic fort and down the hill to get to the State Park visitor center. The Historic Fort parking is located at 200 Tower Ave, St Paul, MN 55111
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Small Mammal Survey: Sun, Aug 5
 Sunday, August 5 8:00am - 10:00am Meet just inside the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary entrance: At the corner of Commercial St & 4th St E St Paul, MN 55106 We will use Sherman traps, baited with peanut butter and set out overnight to capture the smallest mammals, larger cage traps for larger mammals, and of course track plates to discover who is living in the park. Together, our group will collect traps from three separate survey transects, then help Dakota Rowsey identify and record species. Dakota is a great resource and happy to share his expertise about small mammals, they’re lifestyles, and how to identify them. We, in turn, may be able to offer some tips on identifying prints on the tracking plates. This is a great opportunity to spend some time outside, learn about our mammal neighbors, and contribute to a research project. The program is free for members of the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project, but registration is required and we are limited to 15 participants. To register, use our contact page, or email Jonathan Poppele <poppele@umn.edu> |
**Cloquet Wildlife Survey DATE CHANGE: Sun, Aug 19**
 Schedule for Sunday, August 19 Our summer survey will run a bit over half the day. We plan to divide into teams and survey the sand-roads for track and sign, then come back in to share our discoveries with one another. Our plan is to have each team led by an experienced wildlife tracker, certified in Track & Sign identification. Here is an approximate schedule for the day:9:45 Gathering on campus 10:00 Shuttle to survey routes 1:30 Gather for lunch in the field & to share our stories 3:00 Depart RegistrationAdvanced registration is required. To ease our planning, please register by Thursday, August 16.To register, use our contact form, or email Rachael Olesiak <rolesiak@umn.edu> or Jonathan Poppele <poppele@umn.edu> Want to Carpool?We have a new tool to help coordinate carpooling. If you would like to share the trip to Cedar Creek, you can use our Group Carpool webpage to offer or request a ride.iNaturalistWe use iNaturalist as a tool for recording and sharing our observations. It is the primary way we document what we find and report our results to researchers at the Cloquet Forestry Center. You can view sightings from our past surveys here on iNaturalist. Not everyone needs to record observations in iNaturalist, but there should be enough people in each group logging observations that all of the groups findings get reported. To add observations to our project, you will need an iNaturalist account, and be a member of the. Cloquet Forestry Center Wildlife Tracking iNaturalist project. If you don't have an iNaturalist account, begin by signing up using this link. Once you have signed up, you can join the Cloquet Forestry Center Wildlife Tracking project and add observations. You may also be interested in joining the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project and the North American Animal Tracking Database and adding your tracking observations to these as well. About Cloquet Forestry CenterThe Cloquet Forestry Center, located 135 miles north of the Twin Cities, has been the primary research and education forest for the University of Minnesota for over a century. Located in the Lake Superior watershed in northeastern Minnesota, this 2,662 acre experimental forest is home to researchers, practitioners, students, and members of the public who are interested in forest ecosystems and their sustainable management. The Center sits inside the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation and partners with the tribe on forest management and educational programming. It's northern Minnesota biome is home to a diversity of wildlife including moose, wolves, bears, lynx, bobcats, porcupines, pine martins, hares, goshawks, deer, and ruffed grouse.The overnight lodging that is sometimes available at the Cloquet Forestry Center is filled up for the weekend. If you would like to head up on Friday, or stay in the area until Sunday, there are some nearby hotels that offer reasonable rates. These are two of the closest and least expensive options: 121 Big Lake Rd, Cloquet, MN 55720 1308 MN-33, Cloquet, MN 55720 Address, Map & Directions Cloquet Forestry Center 175 University Road, Cloquet, MN 55720 For a map & directions to Cloquet Forestry Center, click here |
Bird Language: Sat, Aug 4
Saturday, August 4 9:00 - 1:00 Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center 3815 American Blvd E Bloomington, MN 55425 Registration for these gatherings is encouraged, but not required. Feel free to drop by--and it would be great to know that you are coming! Birds talk to each other. We can learn to understand it. And it's fun!As we move into high summer, the woods begin to quiet. The songs of spring, and even the incessant begging calls of early summer are fading as tired parents and naive fledglings do their best to feed themselves while staying safe from hungry juvenile raptors. The forest may seem more subdued than in the spring, but drama abounds. Come join us on the slopes of the Mississippi River Valley to see what the birds have to tell us about their day-to-day lives.What should I bring?Bring what you need to be comfortable sitting still, outside on the ground for an extended period of time—perhaps as long as an hour. You will also need something to take notes on. You do not need to have binoculars, but there is no harm in bringing a pair if you would like. Here are a few recommended and optional items to bring:Recommended: Note pad & pencil Ground cloth, blanket or camp-chair Sun protection Bug protection Poncho if it is raining Optional: Water bottle Snack Binoculars Sign me up!Registration is encouraged, but not required. Feel free to drop in and join us—and it would be great to know you are coming! If you have any questions, or to register for the event:
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Cedar Creek Summer Survey, Sun Jul 15
The
Cedar Creek Wildlife Survey is a joint venture between the Minnesota
Wildlife Tracking Project and the University of Minnesota's Cedar Creek
Ecosystem Science Reserve. It is a unique opportunity
to improve your tracking skills, connect with nature, and help Cedar
Creek scientists learn about the wildlife living on their property. You can read about our last survey here on our blog. |
Bird Language: Sat, Jul 7
Saturday, July 7
9:00 - 1:00 Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center 3815 American Blvd E Bloomington, MN 55425 Registration for these gatherings is encouraged, but not required. Feel
free to drop by--and it would be great to know that you are coming! Birds talk to each other. We can learn to understand it. And it's fun!Celebrate the weekend after Independence Day eavesdropping on the birds along the wooded slopes of the Mississippi River Valley. As we move into the height of summer, we can expect to be surrounded by all five voices of the birds signing, screaming, begging, gossiping, jeering & tattling on each other like tiny, feathered fireworks.What should I bring?Bring what you need to be comfortable sitting still, outside on the ground for an extended period of time—perhaps as long as an hour. You will also need something to take notes on. You do not need to have binoculars, but there is no harm in bringing a pair if you would like. Here are a few recommended and optional items to bring:Recommended: Note pad & pencil Ground cloth, blanket or camp-chair Sun protection Bug protection Poncho if it is raining Optional: Water bottle Snack Binoculars Sign me up!Registration is encouraged, but not required. Feel free to drop in and join us—and it would be great to know you are coming! If you have any questions, or to register for the event:
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Trackspotting: Tracking Club on Sun, Jun 17
 Sunday, June 17 9:00am - 1:00pm We will gather at the Ft. Snelling State Park visitor center: Ft. Snelling State Park 101 Snelling Lake Rd West St Paul, MN 55111 Trackspotting: noun, chiefly British English, referring to the hobby of recording the footprints one has observed, particularly when an identifying feature of the footprint is a spot. Come join us this coming Sunday as we spot a few tracks of our own. This is an all-weather event and we spend time off trail. Please bring appropriate footwear and dress for several hours outdoors in whatever weather we may have that day. We
will gather at 9:00 in the fireplace room in the Visitor Center. We
will head out on the trail about 9:20 and return to the visitor center
about noon for a brief mapping exercise and wrap-up session. If you need
to reach us the day of the outing, please call Jon's cell phone at 612-388-4700. Please note that cell reception is poor in much of the park. Note that you need a State Park pass to drive to the Visitor Center, but you can park for free at the Historic Fort Snelling visitor center. It is about a half-mile walk past the historic fort and down the hill to get to the State Park visitor center. The Historic Fort parking is located at 200 Tower Ave, St Paul, MN 55111
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Bird Language: Sat, Jun 2
Saturday, June 2 9:00 - 1:00 Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center 3815 American Blvd E Bloomington, MN 55425 Registration
for these gatherings is encouraged, but not required. Feel free to drop
by--and it would be great to know that you are coming! Birds talk to each other. We can learn to understand it. And it's fun!Its a busy time of year for songbirds. Spring migration is wrapping up, nesting season is winding up, and all five voices of the birds are filling the woods. With the trees leafed out and the canopy filled in, we will once again need to rely more on our ears than our eyes to understand what is going on in the forest around us. Come join as we step into the birds' world along the slopes of the Minnesota river valley.What should I bring?Bring what you need to be comfortable sitting still, outside on the ground for an extended period of time—perhaps as long as an hour. You will also need something to take notes on. You do not need to have binoculars, but there is no harm in bringing a pair if you would like. Here are a few recommended and optional items to bring:Recommended: Note pad & pencil Ground cloth, blanket or camp-chair Appropriate clothing for sitting still outside Bug protection Sun protection Poncho if it is raining Optional: Water bottle Snack Binoculars Sign me up!Registration is encouraged, but not required. Feel free to drop in and join us—and it would be great to know you are coming! If you have any questions, or to register for the event:
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Cedar Creek Spring Survey, Sat Apr 28
The
Cedar Creek Wildlife Survey is a joint venture between the Minnesota
Wildlife Tracking Project and the University of Minnesota's Cedar Creek
Ecosystem Science Reserve. It is a unique opportunity
to improve your tracking skills, connect with nature, and help Cedar
Creek scientists learn about the wildlife living on their property. You can read about our last survey here on our blog. |
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