Olmsted County Parks Newsletter - Spring 2024
Volume 10, Issue 1
In this issue
Minnesota weather, Broad-winged hawk, winter recreation, and more...
Critter catch-up
by: Clarissa Schrooten
The most recent addition to the Zollman Zoo is a small yet boisterous Broad-winged hawk. This hawk came to the Zollman Zoo because she has a non-releasable status and can not go back into the wild where she came from.
Because of an eye injury to the left eye, this broad-winged hawk went to a rehabilitation facility in Wisconsin where she was cared for by a veterinarian who ultimately decided this bird would not survive in the wild. She has adjusted well to the zoo and can be heard singing her piercing, two-part whistle call. Besides the typical accommodations of perches and room to fly this broad-winged hawk has a warming box with a heat lamp to give her refuge from extremely cold temperatures. Broad-winged hawks are found in Minnesota only in the spring and fall as they migrate north for breeding grounds and south for warm winters in Central and South America. The best time to spot Broad-winged hawks in MN is in the fall when the hawks will “kettle” or fly in circular patterns high in the sky as they all prepare for the long journey south. A tell-tale sign for identifying this smaller raptor is the tail with its black-and-white bands that are visible when in flight. As a raptor this hawk will prey on small rodents, amphibians, and insects. They are most likely to be found on lower branches in the canopy of deciduous or mixed forests waiting for food to scurry below. Broad-winged hawks are hard to spot because of their great camouflage in the trees.
Since it will be several months before the wild broad-winged hawks will be migrating through and perching in the trees of southeast Minnesota, visitors can catch a glimpse of the resident broad-wing hawk in the Zollman Zoo.
Chester Woods Park winter recreation
by: Celeste Lewis
Do you enjoy getting outside, recreating, and taking in all that mother nature has provided? In Minnesota the winter weather can sometimes make that a little more difficult. Chester Woods Park would like to help in that matter. The park received a grant and purchased winter recreation equipment for the public to rent at a very nominal fee.
Snowshoes, cross-country skis, and kick sleds will be available, daily, to rent January – March (weather and snow-pending!) Equipment is available at the Park Office from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. every day, on a first come basis, for a fee of $5.
When snow base allows, staff will be grooming over eight miles of multi-use trails. There are snowshoes for all ages, as well as adult and junior skis available. The park has six kick sleds available in three different sizes for folks to try out and explore with as well.
For those of you looking to get a little winter workout in, this is a great opportunity for the whole family to enjoy. The average person burns approximately 375-950 calories per hour snowshoeing, and anyone can do this! The calories burned during cross-country skiing are 640-850 per hour and about 500-800 calories per hour kick sledding.
All these activities are fun winter sports that can help you enjoy the snow and outdoors with the benefit of offering a great outdoor workout that folks of all ages can enjoy!
El Nino and Minnesota weather
by: Jaide Ryks and Celeste Lewis
When was the last time you remember a browner and rainier Christmas than you did in 2023? We did not get the white Christmas like most of us wanted, and why is that? What in the world is going on? There are many climatic and weather-related reasons for this, but mostly it’s the fault of El Niño.
El Nino literally translates to “the boy” which may not make a whole lot of sense when we are talking about the weather. According to the California Fish and Wildlife Department, sailors in the 1600’s started noticing warmer weather patterns near Christmastime, naming this phenomenon after Baby Jesus. But what exactly is El Niño?
El Niño is an atmospheric weather pattern where warmer-than normal surface temperatures develop in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. This naturally occurring phenomenon leads to warmer temperatures during winter months. Average seasonal temperature in Minnesota is almost always above average, and El Niño tends to bring more mild winters. Unfortunately for the winter recreation lovers, large amounts of snow are not likely during these events. That’s not to say we wouldn’t have a blizzard or extreme cold event during an El Niño-we do live in Minnesota after all! Even with large snow events, the milder and warmer overall temperatures tend to melt the snow faster, and the average snow depth becomes lower than average too.
Scientists have recognized El Niño events for hundreds of years, but only began studying them in the last 70 years. Since 1950, the United States has had 26 El Nino events, counting our current winter of 2023-2024. This equates to El Niño seasons occurring about 25% of the time. The strongest El Niño on record took place the winter of 2015-2016. According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, during El Niño years Minnesota’s average winter temperature is 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit higher than non-El Niño seasons and produce 22% less snow.
Now you might be wondering, are El Niño’s considered climate change? Well, no. Not exactly.
Since El Niño events have been occurring for hundreds or even thousands of years, we wouldn’t call the events climate change. However, with already raising ocean temperatures, climate change and global warming patterns are leading to more extreme El Niño events, called Super El Niño’s. Super El Niño’s are declared when Pacific Ocean surface temperatures are two degrees Celsius warmer than average. Scientists have predicted the 2023-2024 season to be a super El Niño, leading to a warmer Minnesota winter and more extreme weather events in other parts of the country. Both global temperatures and El Niño intensity has increased over the past 40 years, but it’s hard to conclusively decipher what the exact cause is. Because El Niño events are so variable and difficult to predict, scientists cannot definitively connect climate change to the intensity of El Niño events.
El Niño events in the future will have a great effect on our global weather patterns, affecting much more than just our winter temperatures. Warming ocean water also produces extra atmospheric energy, leading to more intense storms like hurricanes and cyclones, even appearing in places outside their typical zones. Torrential rainfall may appear in some areas and major drought will appear in others. Although there is so much more to learn about climate change, global warming, and the effects of El Niño events, as Minnesotans we know one thing for sure: El Niño year or not, we will probably never get out of shoveling!
Friends of Chester Woods (FOCW) update
Wahoo! A native tree at Chester Woods
by: FOCW Forest Management Volunteers
Shortly after Chester Woods Park manager Tom Eckdahl passed away, volunteers had a planned workday. Not sure if they should work or not, they decided Tom would approve.
The volunteers were managing buckthorn that day, heading out on a Ranger UTV to the far SW corner of the park. About halfway there, the team saw a rogue patch of buckthorn, and stopped to treat it.
Then a surprise - an 8 ft Eastern Wahoo tree was spotted. Wahoo trees are native to Minnesota’s deciduous woods, but not that common. The distinctive reddish, four-lobed capsules were ready to burst.
The tree's trunk would need some protection from deer and rabbits, so the volunteers planned to return. The location was noted as a bend on the South Sand Prairie trail, with a large dead oak that had many shelf mushrooms on it - easy to spot as a landmark (so they thought).
That weekend brought the season's first snowstorm. A few days later, the group headed out again to the back south side of the park. On the way, they planned to stop and add a tree tube to the Wahoo. But everything looked different with the snow. The Wahoo was not seen, nor the landmark oak with shelf mushrooms. Like a search and rescue mission, the volunteers spread out. Wahoo! - a spotting. But this Wahoo had some broken branches. They soon realized that the snowstorm had blown down the landmark oak mushroom tree, falling only a foot away from the Wahoo. Ironically the landmark tree had almost crushed the thing it was supposed to be a landmark for. Tree tubes were then added to the 8 ft Wahoo, and to a smaller one found nearby. The fallen mushroom oak tree was cut and removed. Then several small Wahoo saplings popped up - what a nice surprise!
At Chester Woods Park, this is the first known Wahoo tree to be observed.
Mystery: With 1330 acres at the park, and driving two miles from the office, why did the Ranger stop that day when the Wahoo was found? A sign from Tom? Another name for the Wahoo is “Hearts Bursting with Love.” What a nice way to honor Tom.
Links to the Eastern Wahoo - Euonymus atropurpureus:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/shrub/eastern-wahoo
https://forestandfield.blogspot.com/2019/11/eastern-wahoo.html
(Wahoo - not to be confused with invasive burning bush - Euonymus alatus)
Friends of Oxbow (FOX) update
by: Kristina Nelson – Friends of Oxbow Vice President
Late fall brought the end of major construction on the new zoo entrance and fencing, just in time for ZooDazzle! We were so excited to host our premiere event again after a four-year hiatus. The first weekend brought the most visitors as seeing Santa, listening to a festive winter story, and visiting the animals at night as the highlights. The second weekend, lights only, brought out visitors who may have wanted a quieter experience without the hustle and bustle of activities. Overall, we welcomed over 5,000 visitors to the park over the two-weekend event. Our donation boxes were generously filled, and we are already making plans to improve next year’s event.
Mindfulness in nature
by: Megan Long
“Mindfulness” has been a buzz word lately, but what exactly does it mean? Mindfulness is a type of meditation where you engage in what is happening around you. Focusing on what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment. Mindfulness has a multitude of benefits, especially when practiced in nature, such as reduced stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, increased focus, and improved sleep.
Focusing on and tuning in to the five senses can be a great way to start practicing mindfulness. Start with short sessions and work your way to longer sessions. Remember, mindfulness is a practice so it may take time for you to be able to focus on the present and not think about what happened yesterday or the to-do list you need to get to. There are tons of different mindfulness exercises you can do, so find what works for you and go with it! Here's an activity you can try today!
Five Senses Observations
How To: Find a safe and comfortable spot to sit, stand, or lay down. Bonus if it’s outdoors! Focus on your five senses one at a time. Either mentally list or journal about five things you see, four things you hear, three things you feel, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. Don’t rush! Take your time really focusing and thinking about your observations. Don’t just list them but think about the sensations or emotions that each item evokes, and really think about descriptions of each item. This activity will help you to practice mindfulness and being in the moment.
Benefits: Reduced anxiety and depression, lower blood pressure and improve sleep.
Mindfulness activities you can do in nature:
- Body Scan
- Cloud Gazing
- Nature Journaling
- Sit Spot Observations
- Nature Scavenger Hunt
- Bird Watching
- Listening to Bird Sounds
- Sound Mapping
- 5 Senses Observations
- Much MORE!
If you’re looking for more information about the activities listed above and how to do them, check out the new Southeast Minnesota ParkRx Nature Prescription Activity Booklet! (links below). It has a variety of exercises with information on “how to” and the benefits of each activity. You can also attend a free Mindfulness Meander program offered throughout the year at Oxbow Park where you can learn about mindfulness and participate in a few guided activities.
Printable Nature Prescription activity booklet
View the virtual version of the Nature Prescription activity booklet
