Phenology

There are those who tell me they don't "believe" in climate change as if it were a matter of faith. It exists, as 99.9 percent of scientists agree and almost all of them think mankind is at least partly at fault.

The temperature of the earth is gradually climbing, that is one indication.  But another thing scientists do is observe what the flora and fauna are doing.

Gary Fewless, a friend of my Gary's from his time at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, is the herbarium  curator at the  Cofrin Center for biodiversity.  He wanders around the Great Lakes region looking at plants.  He keeps day to day track of the what plants are doing, when they first appear in the spring, when they bloom, and when they die.  This is called phenology.  His careful day to day observations can be observed on the center's website:
http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/phenology/

Yesterday, Professor Fewless observed:

"In areas where springs flow freely, the soil is unfrozen and some plants are already growing--this is very early  even for the springs.  For example, here is a new growth of marsh marigold (Caltha palustris).

This interested me because during the recent warm weather I began to wonder if the marsh marigolds were sprouting in the Good Shepherd swamp, one of our favorite tramping areas. I thought, no, way too early, and yet I was right.  We'll have to go over there and take a look soon.

On February 5, this observation appeared:  "Warm weather continues and among other reports of unusual sightings, Greater White-fronted Geese and Sandhill Cranes have been reported in southern Wisconsin."

Sandhill cranes usually show up in Wisconsin about the first week in April and the white-fronted geese around the same time. I help with the annual Midwest Crane Count in mid-April.  We listen to calls to determine how many are mating, yet I wonder if the pairs will have hooked up by then if they arrive this early.

I've read that Vermont's maple trees are dying out as temperatures mount while others are taking root in Canada.  It could be that in a generation or two maple syrup will only come from Canada.

The most noticeable signs of global warming are dramatic storms, droughts, and floods, but these little changes in plant life and migrations also tell the tale.

Climate change is real.