Audio Guide to Spring: Skunk cabbage and the pink-footed goose

By Maxwell Howard,

Published April 15, 2023 at 6:00 AM EDT

Skunk cabbage often grows in clusters. Individual plants have been known to live as long as 20 years. (Photo: "Skunk cabbage in Komoka provincial park" by karen_hine is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.)

IPR's Red Pine Radio brings you nature spotting tips and wildlife news from northern Michigan.

Fifty is a magic number this time of year in Northern Michigan.

Things start happening when temperatures are above 50 degrees several days in a row. This week, birds, plants and butterflies are appearing faster than we can report them.

Today, we bring you news about spring peepers, a rare goose and a plant you may not have seen before: skunk cabbage.

SKUNK CABBAGE, APTLY NAMED

This stinky cabbage is one of the first signs of spring.

“It does smell a little like rotting stuff,” says Katie Grzesiak, plant ecologist.

The skunky odor attracts carrion-eating flies and beetles. Although not always thought of as pollinators, flies play an important part in pollinating the skunk cabbage.

The “hood” of the plant is called a spathe. The spike inside the hood is called a spadix. The spadix is covered with tiny, petal-less flowers. Each little flower can become a seed if it is pollinated. Common pollinators are the flies and bees attracted to the carrion-like smell. (Photo: "Skunk cabbage in Komoka provincial park" by karen_hine is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.)

Skunk cabbage is also one of just a few plant species that can generate their own heat. The cabbages' buds can warm themselves as high as 70 degrees, which enables them to poke through ice and snow.

The skunk cabbage is a plant that likes to have its feet wet, too. The plant is found most often in lowlands and wet, mucky areas in spring.

If you want to see it while keeping your own feet dry, look for a nature area with boardwalks or wear boots.

The mottled maroon and green of the skunk cabbage flower makes it blend in with the background in wet areas. (Photo: Cheryl Bartz)

As spring turns to summer, the flower withers away and the plant develops bright green leaves as big as dinner plates.

Bears will eat the smaller plants, but not even a very hungry bear will eat the big leaves because they’re loaded with oxalic acid. That’s the same chemical found in rhubarb leaves, which can be toxic to humans.

As spring turns to summer, the skunk cabbage flower dies back and the plant grows large leaves. Most wildlife will not eat the leaves. Bears will eat the smaller plants, but not the larger leaves. Those have a high concentration of oxalic acid which can be toxic to humans. (Photo: Jean Gazis through Creative Commons)

If you're looking for edible leaves, keep an eye out for ramps. Red Pine Radio member Cheryl Bartz saw her first ramp of the year this week, and they’ll be springing up in greater numbers over the next few weeks.

SINGING SPRING PEEPERS

Another sign of warmer weather is the spring peeper. Walk by any small pond or swampy area and, depending upon the temperature, you might hear lots of these tiny frogs singing.

The large number of spring peepers may have you asking where they all suddenly came from. The answer? They never left. Spring peepers spend the winter months buried under leaves, in hollow logs or in soft mud near ponds.

A Spring Peeper sits in a bed of grass. — The chirping of the spring peeper is a mating ritual. The male spring peepers sing to the females near ponds and swampy areas where they can lay their eggs. (Photo: Fyn Kynd, Creative Commons)

They survive the long winter by producing a kind of natural “antifreeze." Despite this, hibernating spring peepers can still die at temperatures below 21 degrees Fahrenheit. An insulating blanket of snow and mud is crucial to their survival.

Even when peepers are hibernating, they still need an energy source to stay alive. They get that from the same natural antifreeze that allows them to survive the cold — it also serves as food.

This pink-footed goose may be the first ever seen in Michigan. (Photo by James Markham.) — This pink-footed goose may be the first ever seen in Michigan. *(Photo courtesy of James Markham)*

AN ICELANDIC GOOSE

Birdwatchers flocked to Kingsley this past week to see a first: a pink-footed goose in northern Michigan.

Birders from the region and beyond lined the road trying to get a glimpse of the bird. Some drove hours to see it.

The birds typically reside in Iceland, Greenland and parts of northern Europe. But one appeared in the farm fields at the intersection of Clous and Schneider roads, likely knocked off course while migrating across the North Atlantic.

A pink-footed goose stands in grass. — A Pink-footed Goose has been spotted in Kingsley, Michigan. It’s a rare sighting drawing birders from Michigan and beyond. (Photo: Bill Kasman, Creative Commons)

Let us know what you’re seeing! Send your photos of northern Michigan flora and fauna to ipr@interlochen.org. Put "Audio Guide to Spring" in the subject line.

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