Friends of Lake Bemidji State Park

Just a reminder that there will be no Story Tree preschool program next week, but it will continue every Thursday until Labor Day from 10-10:30 a.m. After Labor Day, it will be moved to Saturdays instead from 10-10:30 a.m. To see the park's program and event schedule, go to the Lake Bemidji State Park website and look under "events calendar". These programs and events are year-round.

Come to the Labor Day Pancake Breakfast at the dining hall in Lake Bemidji State Park on Sunday Sept 1 from 8am-10am. We will be raising money for the park! For more information, check out the events calendar on the park’s website at www.mndnr.gov/lakebemidji.

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday! Birds are migrating south ALREADY??? Summer isn't even over yet!!!! Yes. Some birds, especially shore birds, even start going south in July! The male red-winged blackbirds left a week ago and now the females have followed. Next will be the ruby-throated hummingbirds. Red-winged blackbirds migrate 800 miles to the southern United States. Ruby-throated hummmingbirds go even farther to Mexico and Central America, more than 3,000 miles away! Many birds migrate at night and use the stars to navigate and that is why light pollution in big cities can be an issue.

How in the world do birds know when it's time to migrate? A big cue is the length of daylight. In Minnesota, we have lost about 40 minutes of daylight since the Summer Solstice in June and, by the end of August, it will be 1 hour and 43 minutes. Migrating birds are highly sensitive to this change.

A cool website to check out is the Minnesota BirdCast Migration Dashboard. They use weather surveillance radar to estimate how many birds passed through Minnesota the previous night. Last night, it was over 1.5 million birds!

Minnesota - BirdCast Migration Dashboard Explore nightly migration data in your region

New program flyer!

Sharing this exciting event coming up at our sister park, Big Bog State Recreation Area on Saturday, August 10th!

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday! What did the snake do when it was hungry? It had a ssssnack! Anyways, this good sized common garter snake was seen sunning itself in the bog. The garter snake (not gardener snake) is one of the 17 snake species found in Minnesota and are the most widespread. They can even get up to 3 feet long when fully grown! These snakes are identifiable by the three yellow stripes along their back and sides. Their favorite things to eat are frogs, small mammals, earthworms and insects and, despite the popular snake myth, they cannot unhinge their jaws to eat larger prey.

Garter snakes may bite when handled, but they are not venomous. Another defense mechanism is to defecate on you releasing a foul odor. Most snakes in Minnesota are not venomous and the ones that are (the timber rattlesnake and the eastern massasauga) are only found in far southeastern Minnesota.

Community Pint Night | Friends of Lake Bemidji State Park

Tonight's Community Pint Night Organization is Friends of Lake Bemidji State Park! Funds raised will go towards updating the Bemidji State Park playground to be more adaptable and inclusive for all ages🌲🌞

$1 from every beverage sold between 4-7 PM TONIGHT will be donated to this organization! 🍺

of Lake Bemidji State Park

A fun new program has been added to the August schedule! Kid's Quest: Outdoor Skills will help children ages 10 and older learn how to tie knots and to start a campfire. It's from 11am-12pm on Friday, August 9 and registration is required. Call 218-308-2328 or email [email protected]. to register. This program is limited to 12 participants.

More fun programs coming up!

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday! Holy C.O.W.! This is a massive chicken-of-the-woods mushroom! What you see above the ground is actually the spore-producing fruiting body of an underground fungus. Most of a fungus' life cycle takes place underground or beneath the bark of dead or living trees. Before developing the mushroom structure, the fungus lives as a mycelium, a matlike or netlike network of filaments. When the conditions are just right, the above-ground mushroom will grow and produce spores that are as fine as smoke (instead of seeds like plants). When these spores land in a suitable place, they germinate, developing the fine filaments that eventually become a new mycelium

Mushrooms are a lot like plants, but they lack chlorophyll and have to take in nutrients from other materials like rotting wood and dead plant material. And they like to grow in shady, dark places.

Harvesting edible fruits and mushrooms is allowed in Minnesota State Parks, as long as they are for personal consumption. Commercial harvesting is not allowed. It is not allowed to pick wildflowers or other plants (edible or not), even for personal use.

A visitor found a MEN'S RING (probably a wedding ring) on the beach yesterday (7/15). If its yours, call the park at 218-308-2300 to describe it and claim it.

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday (Saturday)! A white-tailed doe and two fawns have been seen along the entrance road and by the park office for a while now. White-tailed deer fawns are born in the spring and summer, usually between April and July, with most being born in June. So, our little ones are a month or so old. Fawns are born with white spots so they are camouflaged in the dappled sunlight of the forest and these spots go away after they are 90 to 120 days old. Newly born fawns are nearly odorless and this helps them hide from predators as well.

Does (female deer) will leave their fawns resting in a hidden place to go find food and they can be left for long periods of time, but the doe will eventually come back. In most cases, the best thing to do if you find a fawn is to leave it alone and give it space. Fawns are wild animals that are naturally afraid of humans, and their survival depends on being left alone. Touching a fawn can leave your scent on it, which may attract predators. If the fawn is crying, it is probably because it is scared of you and calling for its mother, not because it is injured.

If you do come upon a fawn with curled ears (which means it is dehydrated) or that does not look healthy or is injured in any way, contact your local wildlife rehabilitator.

More fun programs coming up! Make sure to check the Lake Bemidji State Park website under Events Calendar to find out what else is going on. All programs are free, but each vehicle entering the park needs a MN State Park permit which is $7 for the day or $35 for a whole year.

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday! Not only do we have lady's slippers orchids in the bog, we also have the tuberous grass-pink orchid and they started blooming this past week.

The tuberous grass-pink orchid is one of the 48 orchid species in Minnesota and they bloom from early July to early August in the park. Look for the bright pops of magenta along the bog boardwalk.

The flowers look like they are upside down with the lip at the top. Halfway up the tip, there is a tuft of yellow-orange hairs that resemble pollen which attract recently emerged bees looking for a nectar reward. Ones large enough force the hinged upper lip to swing down which drops the bee backwards onto the column that has the stigma (the female part of a flower that receives pollen) and the actual pollen. Any pollen that is already attached to the bee sticks to the stigma as it leaves the flower and then it picks up a load of more sticky pollen on its way out. Then that bee will visit another grass pink flower to pollinate it.

Good news! Some patches of the showy lady's slippers in the bog started blooming later than normal and are at peak right now! The estimate is that there is about a week left before they will be done for the season, so come on out to the bog boardwalk at the park to see them before they are gone.

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday! We often get asked what kind of bird is making that loud, high-pitched whistle, and SURPRISE, it's actually our Franklin's ground squirrels! The Franklin's ground squirrel is considered the largest and darkest ground squirrel in its range which is Minnesota, North Dakota, Kansas, Indiana, Alberta and Manitoba.

They live in tallgrass prairies, open woodlands, and the edges of fields, marshes and forests (and state park campgrounds). And they dig burrows that can be up to 8 feet deep! They also can climb trees and even swim!

They are omnivores and eat seeds, nuts, fruits, grasses, beetles, caterpillars, bird eggs, small rodents, fish, frogs and carrion.

These diurnal (active during the day) ground squirrels are one of the first mammals to start hibernating for the upcoming winter. Males hibernate from August to late March or April, while females hibernate later and emerge later in the spring.

🎨🖌️🖼️ Exciting opportunity for Minnesota artists 🌟📸🎭

Minnesota State Parks and Trails, Metropolitan Council Regional Parks, and Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission are partnering with Forecast Public Art to launch a pilot program: Creating Belonging in Minnesota Parks, artist residency positions.

The *9* selected Minnesota-based artists will research and engage with a park, trail, or park system and its communities, and then use that research to develop new work(s). Unlike traditional residency opportunities, this program focuses on how artists can serve as partners to and ambassadors for the parks and contribute not just art, but ideas.

Learn more about the positions and apply by July 21!

👉 https://forecastpublicart.submittable.com/submit/298545/minnesota-parks-artist-in-residence-application

📷: Gorgeous murals from Forecast Public Art artists Wes Winship, Suyao Tian, Noah Lawrence-Holder, and Danielle Clifford. The murals were painted live at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair.

There has been a little bit of confusion about a location that is closed at the park. The bog boardwalk is open, it is the Sundew Pond boardwalk and overlook that are closed due to flooding.

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday! The showy lady's slipper orchids are now blooming out at the bog! If you want to see these lovely flowers, try to get out to the park some time between now and before or a few days after the fourth of July before they are done.

The showy lady's slipper is one of the five lady's slippers varieties in Minnesota. These others include the small yellow, large yellow, stemless (pink), white and the elusive ram's head. The showy has been the Minnesota State flower since 1902 and has been protected by state law since 1925, which means it is illegal to pick the flowers or to uproot or unearth the plants.

This rare orchid grows slowly, taking up to 16 years to produce their first flowers and can live for up to 50 years and grow to be four 4 feet tall.

As you visit the bog to find these stunning blooms, make sure not to step off the boardwalk because it can not only negatively impact the upper layers of the bog which includes many other unique plants, it can even damage the roots of the lady's slippers if you get too close. There will be no need to step off the boardwalk since the lady's slippers are right along it.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Happy first day of summer! Astronomical summer started today at 3:50 p.m. with the Summer Solstice. That means that the northern hemisphere is fully tilted towards the sun and it is the longest day of the year! On the other side of the Earth, in the southern hemisphere, they are experiencing their shortest day and thus their longest night of the year. From this point on, the northern hemisphere will start titling away from the sun and the days will start getting shorter until the Winter Solstice in December.

We are excited to share this opportunity with artists. The MN DNR is going to have opportunities for a new artist-in-residence program and Lake Bemidji State Park is one of the chosen locations! The application deadline is July 21, 2024.

https://forecastpublicart.submittable.com/submit/298545/minnesota-parks-artist-in-residence-application?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2-wahOQcf6kALOCwXKTFjHdDvw4eZK0s1MR_D3z5RjbeBFzkiNODC3N84_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

Forecast Public Art - Minnesota Parks Artist-in-Residence Application Minnesota Parks Artist-in-Residence Pilot Program  Artist-in-Residence position Timeline: 12 months (August 2024 to August 2025)  Time commitment: average 20 hours/week (part-time) Stipend: $40,000  Materials budget: $14,000 Location: A Minnesota park or a park system (full list of host sites is ...

Upcoming programs at the park! Park programs have no cost, but each vehicle entering the park needs a Minnesota State Park vehicle permit. There are 2 permit options: $7 for the day or $35 for an annual , which is good for a full year from the month you buy it in. The annual permit gets you into all the Minnesota State Parks and State Recreation Areas.

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday (Sunday)! It's turtle egg laying season! A large snapping turtle was seen laying eggs in the park this week! Snapping turtles, along with many other types of turtles in Minnesota, lay their eggs in June. Snapping turtles leave their aquatic habitats to lay their one clutch of eggs on land in nests dug into the ground in lawns, edges of roads, gardens or other dry, sunny places. Females can travel up to a mile away from water to find a suitable nesting site! Next, she will dig a hole about 4-7 inches deep, drop anywhere from 25 to 80 eggs in the hole, and cover it back up with dirt. After 80-90 days the eggs will hatch and the hatchlings will emerge from the hole.

If you see a turtle crossing the road and want to help it, first, make sure it is safe and then gently pick it up under both sides of their shell and slowly walk it in the direction it was heading. If you find a snapping turtle, it is important to not get your hands, feet or any other parts of your body near its mouth. They have a fast and powerful bite than can break bones as well as a long neck that can reach as far as the middle of their shell. If you want to help one of these turtles cross the road, lift with two hands, under their shell, behind their rear legs. If it’s a larger snapper, you can use a shovel or you can lay your car floor mat in front of them, get them onto the mat, and safely drag the them to the side of the road.

As for all turtles, it is very important not drag or lift them by their tail as it can damage their spine.

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday! Black bears are on the move in the park! A mother with three cubs has been spotted along some of the trails as well as a large male. Black bears are the only kind of bears we have in Minnesota and are also the most widespread of all three bear species in North America. They range from all the way up into Alaska and all the way down into Mexico. The other two bear species are the polar bear and the grizzly bear, with the polar bear being the largest. Black bears are actually the smallest bears of all three at an average of six feet long and three feet high when on all four legs. This time of year, Black bears need to gain a lot of fat to live off of during the long winter and thus eat up to 20,000 calories per day! They are omnivores, so they eat both plants and animals, but mostly plants. Although, their favorite summer food is yellow meadow ants. If you do see a bear in the park, make some noise and make yourself look bigger by raising your arms, and that will scare them away. They are more afraid of us then we are of them. But it is very important to not get between a mother bear and her cubs because she will protect them.

June 5: Christa Drake of Lake Bemidji State Par... by Chatabout! June will be a busy month in our state parks. Lake Bemidji State Park Naturalist Christa Drake and Itasca State Park Lead Naturalist Connie Cox preview all the great things going on this month and talk about the orchids that are on full display right now.

Naturalist Christa's Fun Phenology Friday! I'm just a frog hanging out in a bog. The mink frog is one of the ten frog species in Minnesota and is considered a "true frog" which means they have long legs, narrow waists and smooth skin. They also do not have webs between their fingers, but they do between their toes. Mink frogs spend their adult lives in the water and you can hear their rapid "cut, cut, cut" call from May through July which sounds like a hammer striking wood. One fun fact about these frogs is that their skin has a musky smell similar to onions!