184 miles east of my Burlington phenology site rests a familiar forest that I grew up exploring. The woods behind my house in Gorham Maine were my stomping grounds growing up. Here I would build forts, catch frogs, and explore nature. Coming back to these woods now, I look at it with fresh eyes. This forest is a northern pine-hardwood forest that is nestled in between a number of houses and housing developments on either side.
At 2:00 pm on a cold, sunny Friday afternoon, I laced up my boots and made my way across the backyard into the woods. Immediately I noticed a number of deer tracks criss-crossing their way through the forest edge.
The dominant red oak in the area is joined by American beech, eastern hemlock, eastern white pine, few ash, and a confined area of young paper and yellow birch.
This birch stand is abutting the edge of the lawn and must have recently been cleared within the past 10-15 years, when my house was built. The paper birch is a pioneer species, which thrives in the excess sunlight. This explains why the paper birch is secluded to just this area. Other signs of human interaction is a number of large stumps which suggests cutting for timber.
The forest is thick with woody, head height plants. I was able to identify some of these plants as high bush blueberry and buckthorn.
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While walking through the deep snow, I noticed a very prominent undulating pattern of the forest floor. This wave-like topography of the forest generally corresponded with a higher volume of plants and roots when the altitude of the wave was at its highest. The roots of these trees and plants must hold the soil better and raise it up higher.
Additionally, the low spots in the forest corresponded with pools of frozen water. In fact, the forest is dominated by a small frozen pond.
Evidence of wildlife that I noticed included a possible groundhog burrow, woodpecker holes in a number of the trees, deer tracks, and a chickadee sighting. The perpetrator of these woodpecker holes was spotted only two days ago when I saw a pileated woodpecker fly across the road into these woods. Additionally, I saw what I believe to be the tracks of some kind of rabbit, most likely a snowshoe hare.
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My home phenology site and my phenology site in Burlington have some similarities and many differences. The Burlington site is impacted much more by its human surroundings. Here I find remnants of a cement trail, trash, and hear sounds of the city all around. The Gorham location has seen human interaction in the past, when the neighborhood and houses were being developed, yet the signs of human interference are much less present. The tree species differ between the two locations with black locus, elm, and striped maple in Burlington replaced by red oak, hemlock, Eastern white pine, American beech, and birch in Gorham. The topography of both locations is very different which affects the way water cycles through each system. The Burlington site rests on a steep downward slope, yet the forest floor remains flat. Water in this system runs off very quickly down the hill. The Gorham site has no hill but the forest floor undulates intensely. When water enters this system it will pool where there is a depression in the forest or in the small pond. The wildlife you might find in these locations is similar, yet there seems to be more and a greater diversity in the Gorham site. The Burlington site might have less wildlife because of its proximity to the bustle of the city. Squirrels, chipmunks, some song birds, and pileated wood peckers are present in both locations. My connection and sense of place is much stronger tied to my Gorham site, because I am more familiar with it and I have spent more time here.
Please refer to the following link to observe a map view of my Gorham phenology location:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1acEJ7vum4bKCn0P-IDGS6SnrkFQKDvl2&usp=sharing