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.

February 2005

Observations by Gary Fewless, except as noted

Date	Observation (Click on links for photos)
Feb 28	We received 1.7 inches of snow in Green Bay before midnight last night and 0.8 inches more this morning. Flurries are predicted for the rest of this week. Rhinelander received about 3 inches of snow before midnight.
Feb 25	Phenology items have been kind of slow lately, so I thought I'd start a series of quizzes on winter botany of Wisconsin plants. I'll start with an easy one. Today's winter botany quiz. Click on the link to see the quiz photo, then click back to check the answer. We received about 1 inch of snow in Green Bay, beginning yesterday and ending today.
Feb 20	Green Bay received 4.1 inches of snow.
Feb 18	In spite of the recent cold weather, we are nearing the end of our "hard" winter season. It is likely that in two or three weeks time we will have some signs of spring. Red wing blackbirds have returned to some southern Wisconsin locations and they are quick to move north once the ground is mostly free of snow cover--usually in early March, but a little earlier if the weather warms.
Feb 14	Light snow overnight (about 0.3 inches) is deep enough to cover bare fields and lawns, but temperatures are hovering near the melting point.
Feb 13	Most snow is gone now from open fields and unshaded lawns in the Green Bay area, except for places where drifts or snowbanks held deeper snow. Forested sites are still mostly snow-covered.
Feb 12	A couple more unseasonably warm days have brought out skunks and opossums in the Green Bay area. I saw roadkills of both today. I may have missed the start, but the Fox River is mostly open now at the Highway 172 bridge. There is still some ice along the shores.
Feb 08	More seasonable weather returns with a high temperature of 26 °F and a low of 19 -- still a bit over average for this date.
Feb 07	Warm weather continued through the weekend and light rain last night and this morning contributed to rapid melting of snow. Some fields are mostly open this morning and the snow is greatly diminished on UWGB's Cofrin Arboretum. There is water on top of the ice on local ponds and rivers, but the winter ice remains beneath. Light snow began to fall about 10 a.m. Temperatures have not fallen below 32° F since the morning of the 4th.
Feb 06	The warm weather feels more like March than February. The low temperature last night was 37° F. Several people have reported Cardinals singing in the City of Green Bay.
Feb 05	Green Bay's high temperature of 50° F broke the previous high temperature record of 46.
Feb 04	Mild weather continues. Green Bay's high temperature was 43° F--the record high for this date was 44 F.
Feb 03	The high temperature of 42° F in Green Bay is close to the record high for this date: 44 F.
Feb 02	Great Horned Owls are on nests in Wisconsin and are probably on eggs in the southern portion. Here is a photo of the remains of a rabbit taken by a Great Horned Owl . Note the skid mark on the left as the owl's momentum carried it across the snow after it hit the rabbit. Also note the wing marks on the snow around the remains of the rabbit (Tom Erdman).
Feb 01	Mild weather continues with today's high temperature in the mid 30's. Snow cover has decreased to just a few inches in Green Bay. No word on how the ground hog fared today, but on average we will have about another month of snow cover--followed by a couple of March snows just to remind us of where we live.