Do you have any interesting spring or duck stories?
Phenology (Spring)
Phenology is the study of natural seasonal or cyclic events such as the first spring flower or bee or cuckoo or frog spawn or cherry blossom of the spring. In some cases records have been kept a long time because the events have been linked to festivals. Some festivals are more recent, such as the greeting of the monarch butterflies in parts of the USA or the return of the Swallows to Capistrano.
Phenology has become more important in recent years as it can contribute to our knowledge of global warming. Plants and animals respond to changes in the climate such as milder or shorter winters. Polar bears and sea mammals can be affected by earlier break up of ice. Some birds squeeze in an extra brood, or overwinter in areas when they would have previously have migrated to warmer climes. In some cases the changes have been very noticeable, for example, "As Ice Thaws, Arctic Peoples at Loss for Words".
It is a study that everyone can contribute to by making their own observations, or digging through old diaries and documents. Here are a few sites to give you some ideas:
Other Stories
Washington Bureaucrats Make Way for Ducklings RT May 01 2005
A duck who nested at the entrance to the Treasury and was guarded by the Secret Service has hatched her brood of 11. Transported to a riverbank in a public park with the assistance of the Secret Service, the U.S. Treasury department and the Agriculture Department, the brood soon took to the river like, well, ducks to water. What name would you have given her?
Mild Quake Felt in Northeast Arkansas AP May 01 2005
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake centered in northeastern Arkansas caused no major damage.
Rafters Answer Critics by Finishing Final Nile Leg RT May 01 2005
A team of rafters resumed where they left off and finished a rafting trip down the river Nile. Sceptics had said that their trip last year had not begun at the true source of the Nile, so they did another leg.
Do you have any interesting spring or duck stories?
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