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Winter to Spring-Night to Day-Cold to Warm-Work to Play-Teach to Learn-Place to Place-Busy to Calm
During April change occurs often and unpredictably. Earth Week will arrive in two weeks and not only people but all living organisms are taking on each day and week without sitting back. Nothing demonstrates the day-to-day changes with greater flux than the states of water.
Weather systems bring wind, calm, low and high temperatures. Precipitation may be wet or dry snow, sleet, or hail. Snow and ice cover the landscape, nearly melt away, and then return for another round. Rivers and creeks open, then freeze over at night while birds gather to find food, courtship, and mates before nesting in May.
Watch creeks, rivers and lakes. Everyone has some nearby or encounters them occasionally. The water flows there year-round. Sometimes the water is under ice and sometimes it is covered by ice and snow. Several deer cross the CR88 and Burgo Creek daily on their trail. Yesterday, they were in a group between the road and the creek. The creek was flowing from Burgo Lake to Shagawa Lake uncovered by ice. It appeared that there was a decision of whether to wade through the creek in that wetland since the ice surface was gone.
Swans, geese and ducks been present in lesser or greater numbers on Shagawa River at various locations from Shagawa Lake to east of Winton. This week Burntside River that flows from Burntside River to Shagawa Lake had stretches of open water visible from the CR88 and waterfowl congregated.
April is the time for Keith Reeves, DNR Area Fisheries Manager, and the fish management crew to prepare for the upcoming fish spawning and rearing. With ice off Wolf Creek that drops down 40 feet in elevation from Wolf Lake to Burntside River, they have opened the diversion of water to the MNDNR Aquatic Management Area Musky Rearing Ponds. Walking the dikes around the two ponds, the water can be seen filling both ponds. Geese and ducks are in the ponds and red-winged blackbird males are returning to territories and singing. Later, they will stock the ponds with minnows, and then when musky arrive from the hatchery in June and reared before draw down and release to Lake Vermilion in the Fall.
There are many creeks, rivers, and small lakes between Ely and Tower providing a challenge to explore and discover where the water flows. Road crossings offer chances to spot suckers and walleyes moving upstream to spawn.
The other area that still has shoreline ice but will open this month is Pike River that flows into Lake Vermilion. The crew will set up nets to capture walleyes and suckers. Opportunity will be available to watch the process of removing walleyes and suckers from traps. Separating male and female walleyes to enable stripping and fertilizing eggs. The only building on the river at that site is the hatchery where the quota for walleyes is met and fish reared stocking. Depending on “the flow” of water, water temperatures, and fish, quotas are met faster or slower.
Watch upcoming articles for updates from the Ely Field Naturalists, MN DNR and local observers. With the snow cover and ice diminishing, there will be many opportunities to explore, discover and report. You may even find a pair of swans standing on a frozen wetlands covered with snow and claiming the territory of the open water that lies ahead.
Enjoy the April Flow.
