Phenology

Observations by Gary Fewless for Green Bay WI (Lat.N 44.51° Long. W 88.02° ), except as noted. For flowers lacking conspicuous petals or sepals I define "anthesis" as release of pollen by mature anthers.

November 2004

Observations by Gary Fewless, except as noted

Date	Observation (Click on links for photos)
Nov 30	Heavy frost in the Green Bay area this morning with temperatures in low 20's. UWGB Cofrin Arboretum's prairie pond is still frozen--perhaps for the duration of winter.
Nov 29	Prairie Pond is frozen, UWGB.
Nov 28	Today is the last day of the Wisconsin (gun) deer season.
Nov 27	Ice melted on prairie pond (UWGB). A winter storm bypassed Brown County, but deposited up to 9 inches of snow in northern Wisconsin.
Nov 26	Warmer temperatures today deposited some melt water on top of the ice on prairie pond (UWGB). A pair of Bald Eagles were noted along the Green Bay shore on the UWGB Cofrin Arboretum. There are still a few plants flowering in protected spaces, including Berteroa incana (hoary alyssum) (UWGB).
Nov 25	The low temperature of 16° F this morning is the coldest of the season so far. Thin ice formed on UWGB's prairie pond.
Nov 17	Unseasonably warm weather today. Green Bay's high temperature was 61° F (record high is 67). In spite of the very cold temps on Nov. 11 and 12 there are still some flowering plants to be seen. During a brief walk I saw several weedy species still in flower, including Sinapsis arvensis (charlock), Berteroa incana (hoary alyssum) and Erysimum cheiranthoides ( worm-seed mustard). I also saw a few plants of Thlaspi arvense (field pennycress), ordinarily a spring flowering species. All four are in the mustard family, Brassicaceae.
Nov 16	I saw about 150 Tundra Swans today at Peshtigo Harbor, Marinette County and there are other reports from several locations along Green Bay's west shore. WISBIRDNET reports a flock of 6,000 - 10,000 Tundra Swans on the Mississippi River near Genoa Wisconsin.
Nov 13	Even after the recent very cold temperatures some plants still have green leaves. One prominent example is the invasive species Rhamnus cathartica (European buckthorn) You can find more photos and information about Rhamnus chathartica and other invasive plants at our invasive species site. UWGB praire pond is ice-free again. Canada geese are now visiting the fields in Allouez along the East River in large numbers--at least 300-400 together. Last year this level of feeding began Oct 04, but this is the first time we have seen the large flocks this year.
Nov 12	Green Bay's temperature fell to 20° F this morning, our lowest temperature of the season so far. UWGB's prairie pond is completely frozen over this morning (we had a little ice around the edges Nov 8).
Nov 11	The high temperature in Green Bay was 39 F today and it fell rapidly as the sun started to go down. By 7:00 p.m. we had hard frost on the grass in Allouez and the temperature fell to 23 F by midnight.
Nov 09	Wis DNR reports that the deer rut is at about peak now. Many people report near collisions with deer on the highways.
Nov 08	Prairie pond has a little ice around the edges.
Nov 07	Snow flurries were reported widely in northern Wisconsin today (e.g. Rhinelander).
Nov 05	The weather remains relatively mild, but we have clearly moved from the green season into a season of browns and grays. The paired photos show the same site on Sep 14 when the goldenrods were near peak, and again on Nov 5.
Nov 03	Last weekend's 4 day special hunting season recorded approximately 64,500 deer killed. Last year's pre-hunting season deer herd was estimated at about 1.3 million deer, so 64,500 is roughly 5% of the total herd. The traditional gun deer season begins Nov 20. [late note: the Wis DNR estimates the 2004 deer herd at 1.7 million.
Nov 02	Wis DNR reports the deer herd is entering the active breeding period--an especially dangerous time for deer/auto collisions.
Nov 01	Temperatures for October were about 2.6 °F above average and precipitation was about 3.71 inches (1.54 inches above average).