Yesterdays visit to my phenology site was a muddy adventure. The snow has entirely retreated and spring is in the air. Scattered on the floor of my site were tiny saplings and various grasses. Still, my site did not show signs of any wildflowers quite yet.
Several larger plants at the site had began to bud. Unfortunately one of the more dominant plants budding in my site was the invasive species honeysuckle. Their early return from winter pushes out other native species that bud and bloom later on. The only other tree I saw beginning to bud was a White Oak.
Something interesting I noticed was lots of evidence of sensitive fern’s in at my site. Although I could not yet spot any coming in for the season, there were many fertile fronds standing about.
Lastly it seemed my site was filled with snags, many covered in wood pecker holes. Although the only bird I spotted was a chickadee, the site itself is surely great habitat for many species.
