Anna’s Phenology Blog

Spring has sprung! Today is April 29, 2020 and it is 55 degrees Fahrenheit with no cloud in the sky as the sun shines down. The slight breeze in the air is rustling the trees and adding more music to the singing birds. Sitting outside it made me realize how much I love watching the birds in my backyard. I was able to see two turkeys, four robins, one crow, and one hawk far off in the distance circling the woods. However, my favorite part of the spring time is seeing all the bumble bees outside. Bumble bees are by far one of my favorite insects, hense why I got a tattoo of one, and I love the genus name of bombus. The bees were found in the double weeping cherry tree which in the last blog post I thought was a willow (Figure 1). I ended up asking my parents and found out I was wrong. This tree is my favorite and it finally blossomed. The buds on this tree are magenta with light-pink flowers (Figure 2).

As horrible as the recent virus outbreak has been it has allowed me to be outside more and see the beauty of nature everyday. During my time at the University of Vermont it was easy to see new wildlife with the amount of forested area, natural spaces, and mountain views. However, being home has allowed me to enjoy sitting in my own space and that I learn better studying in a natural area. Now that the seasons are changing and spring has come, I will be spending every chance I get outside and being productive. I am able to get up in no rush and take my dog for a walk every morning before coming home and doing work in my yard surrounded by nature. This has reduced my stress significantly as it relaxes me while I work. I can’t wait to go back to UVM and visit my phenology spot to see how much the spring weather has changed it.

Due to the recent outbreak of the coronavirus, I am back to living at home with my family in Northborough, Massachusetts. Now that I am no longer living on campus, I needed to say a sad goodbye to my phenology spot at Centennial Brook and find a new one here at home. Luckily for me, I don’t need to go too far because behind my house there is a patch of trees that connects to the woods a few houses over. You might remember me mentioning this spot in December where I mentioned how this influenced my sense of place (see blog post titled “Home”). This place in my yard is now my new phenology spot.

When I went outside today, the weather was 61 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny making me excited for the new spring weather. There was also a slight breeze that blew around the spring aromas of growth which I loved. One of the main things I noticed that showed signs of spring was the willow tree in my yard starting to grow short reddish-brown buds (Figure 1). This is my favorite tree in my yard not only because it was planted when I was born but every year it blossoms with pink flowers around my birthday and a family of birds builds a nest in it every year so we always watch the eggs hatch.

Another piece of evidence that prooves spring is coming is the crocuses in my yard starting to pop up on the edge of the woods (Figure 2). This is assuring me that the warmer weeks are ahead because these flowers sprout right before the spring weather. After I looked at these flowers I started to look at the trees at the edge of the woods and noticed how dead and scragely the crab apple tree was looking (Figure 3). This tree still grows apples every year but I never looked at it before the leaves grew in and the bark is extremely dark and flakey looking. The tree overall looks very unhealthy in my opinion due to having seen better looking trees.

This beautiful day just kept getting better and better after hearing and seeing the birds flying around in the trees. There was one bird call that I found really interesting that I had never heard before (bird audio). A few birds I recognized were the bluejay, cardinal, and robin which are very common and I am used to hearing and seeing. Another thing I found interesting was a piece of bark with lichen all over it (Figure 4). I wanted to know why I was finding lichen on a piece of dead bark and after researching I found that “when they are found on dead or dying branches, particularly when accompanied by thinning of the tree crown, they have located themselves because of the geater availability of light from leaf drop” (Eichinger, 2014). I found this interesting because I didn’t think that this was something that would happen voluntary but it is. I do miss my spot at UVM and I definately will visit it when I return in the fall but for now I am excited to see the changes in my backyard that I may not have noticed before.

Sources: Eichinger, B. (2014, August 19). Lichen has a lot to tell you about your trees. Retrieved March 27, 2020, from https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/life/home-garden/2014/08/18/lichen-lot-tell-trees/14266907/

It’s been a month since my last visit to my spot at Centennial Brook in Centennial Woods and a few phenological changes have occurred. One reason for this change was the beautiful and warm weather today, February 24, of 52 degrees Fahrenheit. The melting snow has made the area of the brook by the footbridge, which typically flows faster than other areas, very fast-moving and clear. The rocks at the bottom were clearly seen and had bubbles around the areas where the rocks stuck out. I also walked over to the backside of the brook where the water wasn’t flowing as fast and noticed how dirty the water was. In this area, the water was a muddy brown and had was very high in turbidity. The biggest change at my spot was that the Norway Maple tree had finally lost all of its leaves. The last time I visited there still was some leaves clutching onto the tree, but I suspect strong winds blew off the remaining leaves due to leaves scattering the forest floor. Lastly, there seemed to be a lot more human activity, most likely due to the warmer temperatures, because there were footprints all over my site. Even though this eliminated me from seeing many animal tracks, I was able to find scat for the first time! After a discussion with Michael McDonald on the scat found at my site, we came to the conclusion it was a raccoon. This was due to the size and visual appearance of the scat. The scat was about 2 inches long so it was very small but it did contain seeds and some fur. The scat also was shiny and uniform so it was clear the animal was getting nutrients from somewhere other than plants meaning that it ate other animals as well. After taking the size and composition into consideration we decided on a raccoon getting food from nearby trash. This would also make sense because raccoons “can most often be seen along streams in open forests” (Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, “Raccoons”). 

Raccoons are very intelligent animals and can make a home out of fallen tree trunks, holes in trees or burrows that other animals have abandoned. As I mentioned earlier in the post, they tend to prefer living near water and this is due to their habit of “washing” their food before they eat it. The predators of raccoons are cougars, bobcats, coyotes, and domestic dogs (Washington Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, “Raccoons”). It is almost peak mating season for raccoons where 2-3 kits are born and remain in the den for 7 weeks. During the day raccoons can be seen sleeping around in nearby trees as well. Raccoons are nocturnal so they hunt and eat during the night. The raccoon eats almost everything like insects, crayfish, wild grains, fruit, and birds but it sometimes it rarely can catch young gophers, squirrels, mice, and rats (Vermont Fisheries and Wildlife, “Raccoon”). This means that the raccoon I found could have been interacting with many different species. Since there was fur in my raccoon scat that I found and after researching what they eat, I am guessing my raccoon came in contact with a squirrel. In Centennial Woods, the grey squirrel is extremely common and I have seen it many times. Additionally, in my visit, I was able to see squirrel scat that I identified with my pocket guide. This showed me that the raccoon and squirrels are in the same area as the feces were less than one foot apart. Another animal the raccoon could have come in contact with is the white-tailed deer. This is because the raccoon scat was found by the brook and I know deer will come to the area to drink water. Also, I have found deer tracks around the brook in previous visits so I know for sure that they are present in the area. Even though deer are more active during the day there are possibilities that the raccoon and deer have been in the same place during dawn and dusk hours.

Sources:

Vermont Fisheries and Wildlife. (n.d.). Raccoon. Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://vtfishandwildlife.com/learn-more/vermont-critters/mammals/raccoon

Washington Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (Ed.). (n.d.). Raccoons. Retrieved from https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/procyon-lotor#conflict

This is my first trip back to my phenology site after winter break and in the spring semester and I am so happy to be back! I forgot how extremely beautiful and tranquil my place was after such a long time apart. There were many changes from my last visit as well. The biggest change was that my spot was covered in snow! There had been flurries in my past visits but seeing everything in a blanket of snow was lovely. Another change was something I heard before I even got to my site: the brook flowing. As I was walking across the footbridges I could hear how fast the stream was flowing. When I arrived at the site the first thing I noticed about the body of water was the white foam bubbles forming around one of the bends. The brook was also very low which uncovered large areas of rocks that were in the stream in previous visits. This low water also showed the eroded muddy banks of the side of the brook closest to the footbridges. The most exciting thing about this visit was being able to see animal prints in the snow. The first print I saw was very easy to define as a dog print. This was easy to see not only from the classic “paw print” but also in the diagonal pace. The next print I found was a deer print. I was able to follow these tracks all around to the far side of the brook near the wetlands. These prints were easy to identify based on their straight lines of hoof-shaped prints. After measuring these I was able to find that the print was 7.62 inches wide and 5.12 inches in width. The last print I found was a rabbit. I was able to determine this because there seemed to be larger feet in front of the smaller feet prints. After looking at my class notes I was able to understand that the hind feet end up in front of the smaller ones due to hopping. Another thing I was able to practice on this visit on January 28 was winter twig identification. The first twig I was able to identify was on the Norway maple at my site that surprisingly still is clinging onto a few leaves. This twig is the one I drew in my field notes and the only thing I was unsure about what the difference between the internode and node were. The terminal bud was red and brown with very prominent bud scales. The bundle trace was extremely visible as well with the ring of the bud scales keeled. I was also able to identify white pine, red maple, and sugar maple buds. I can’t wait for my next site visit to see the other changes as winter progresses.

I have lived in Northborough, Massachusetts for my entire life. It is located in Worcester County and has a population of about 14,155. My graduating class was about 366 students at a regional high school with one other town. My town’s biggest highlights are Tougas Family Farm, Ski Ward Ski Area, and a shopping center called Northborough Crossing which holds a Wegmans, Old Navy, TJMaxx, Ulta, and other stores like that. I remember when Northborough Crossing was first being built I was in middle school and was so excited to have something to do in my town. However, the older I got and the more I learned I realized how truly awful this was because they tore down some forests and now Saturday mornings are busy with people from surrounding areas grocery shopping. After being gone for three months I have found that nothing has changed in the entirety of this town and that I have missed my hometown while exploring Vermont in college. The fact that home will never change is reassuring because I know I will always have a place to go back to where I became myself. In elementary school, I learned the brief history of my town. The areas surrounding Northborough were first settled by Nipmuc Indians and then in 1656 Europeans had a petition for resettlement from the people of the Sudbury Plantation to the General Court of the Bay Colony. And so than in 1766 Northborough was established as a district and became a town in 1775. Northborough is located in New England where there are deciduous forests with lots of organisms like white-tailed deer, squirrels, oak trees, eastern white pine, sassafras, and mosquitoes. My biggest sense of place has been influenced by life right in my backyard. I am fortunate enough to have been exposed to natural areas with the woods in my backyard. This area exposed me to the natural world around me from a young age when my cousins and I would play fairies in the trees, or when I discovered the small pond in middle school, or when sitting in a clearing made me realize I wanted to study environmental science. My sense of place is defined by water and the presence of lakes, oceans, and ponds. From the time I was little that pond was my first introduction to any type of water and is there for the first spot where I felt home. Now whenever I go on vacation to a beach, or a lake, or see a river on a hiking path, I feel a connection to the land around me that always calms me down.

My sense of place here at Centennial book is defined by the presence of the brook and different ecosystems surrounding it. I am more comfortable when I am surrounded by lakes and streams and in this location of Centennial Woods the water presence is on a smaller scale but I still feel the same sense of connectedness with the area. The stream itself has gone through many changes since my first visit. The first time it consisted of very slow-moving water clogged up by leaf litter (it was almost like a dam). Then the second visit consisted of fast and overflowing water with expanding stream beds. In this visit I could also not see the bottom of the brook because there was such cloudy and muddy water. The water in my visit today (November 11) was a more moderate speed with extremely clear water so that the rock covered bottom was completely visible. It also has a smaller and more manageable volume now with the water barely reaching the banks. In addition to the changes in the brook, there were also many other changes. I was able to easily spot lichen on some trees on my walk down to my spot. Additionally, I noticed that no trees had leaves except the Norway Maple mentioned in last week’s visit. The tree only had 15 or so leaves on it. One thing that I noticed for the first time this week was that the surrounding pine trees don’t have many needles except towards the top. I thought this was interesting and wondered why this was the case so I googled it and learned that it could be possible the trees were just aging so they did not have many needles left. After reading the November chapter in Naturally Curious, it said that in November there should have been migrating birds, lichen and mosses, hibernating animals, and very few trees with leaves. Three of these things were correct as there was only one tree with leaves, only one squirrel was spotted, and I did find lichen, however, I did not see any birds in the sky or even hear one in the forest. I think this could be due to the fact that it was snowing today!! There is a storm coming and by 3:44 pm when I was at my spot, snow was already rapidly falling and adding to the previous inch we got earlier in the weekend. I am really excited to see how my place changes with the new snowfall and what that will do to the brook and Norway Maple tree.

In a larger sense, I find my sense of place to remain the most intact when in New England. This is because I was born and raised in Central Massachusetts and vacationed in various spots New England practically my whole life. This small site was chosen for its unique layout and pretty appearance. Although I have only been taking note of this particular site all parts of the woods are going through phenological changes. If each part of Centennial Woods is changing individually and as a whole. When I look at Centennial Woods, I see it as a natural resource and an educational resource for myself and other UVM students. However, it wasn’t always viewed in this way. As we have learned in our natural resources one lecture, much of Vermont was deforested and used for livestock grazing and milk production. Centennial Woods was most likely deforested at some point and the healthy landscape shows that it would have been a prime location for raising livestock. There is some evidence of this, such as stone walls and old barbed wire in trees. How funny it was to stand in my site now and think that a sheep could have been here at one point!

This week’s assignment was all about finding organisms, mapping, and more seasonal changes. I visited my site today, November 1, right after a large rainstorm which explained many of the changes I saw there. One species I was able to identify due to the storm were the earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) present in the wet soil. They were everywhere I looked and I had to be careful not to step on them. I identified one of the yellow and black birds I saw last time as Black-Capped Chickadee (Poeicille atricapillus). Chickadees do not fly south for the winter because they rely “on nuts from coniferous trees or they scavenge from birdfeeders which is why they have become dominant in the area it nears the colder seasons” (paraphrased from http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/blog/winter-chickadees.html). The most dominant tree at my spot is a Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) which was one of the only trees that still had its leaves. I could tell this maple apart from others because of its yellow leaves with many black splotches. Two other dominant species were the Sciurus carolinensis (gray squirrel) and a chipmunk from the Sciuridae family. Both these animals are extremely present in the northeast so I wasn’t surprised seeing them prepare for winter. Another tree I saw growing low to the ground was a young Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) whichonly had a few large red leaves growing out of its very skinny trunk. I was surprised the wind didn’t knock it over! The northern red oak is a very common tree in Centennial Woods and this is just one of many saplings across the reserve. My favorite finding was a beetle from the Coleoptera order. This beetle was shiney, gray, and had many little legs running across the ground. I think this bug was present in the muddly soil but had to move outward as the brook started to overflow!

Despite my visits being only a week apart so much has changed in the surrounding area near my spot.There was a huge rainstorm the night before so the ground was soft and muddy. I think this caused the sides of the creek to “expand” as I said as it eroded into the water. The previous rain had caused the water level to rise in the brook to rise significantly and flow a lot faster. The water last week was clear but today it was a grayish-brown color due to the sediments it was picking up as it flowed. I was also able to notice a small waterfall towards the far end of my spot at the brook that wasn’t visible before due to all the tree leaves. The cattails in the wetlands were also more visible with weekly change and tanner in color. The ground was completely covered in leaves from the surrounding trees.

After creating my map I was able to understand the place a little more. I got to see new details of my spot at Centennial Brook. The most shocking thing to me was that I was able to remember all the basic details of the place after only visiting four times. I was also able to remember landmarks in the woods that showed me if I was gettingt close to my spot, like the footbridges. I was able to understand my place in location to the large woods surrounding it and how much it impacts the wetlands and trees growing near it.

As the seasons have switched over from the long and warm days of summer to the brisk and beautiful fall my place at Centennial Brook is adapting to the season changes. To me, my place is defined not only by the short walk through the woods and across the footbridges but by the variety of ecosystems surrounding its watershed. The forest ecosystem is dominant around the brook since it flows directly through the woods, but on the other side of the water (farthest away from the path) is a wetland with completely different vegetation and organisms. The forest is made up of trees like the sugar maple, red maple, white pine, boxelder, green ash, paper birch, and many other species commonly found in Vermont. The plants that dominate the wetland are cattails and other long and wispy grasses. I thoroughly enjoy getting to witness different changes to different plants that I wouldn’t be able to see if this was just a forest.

One distinct detail of the seasonal changes is the trees shedding their newly colorful leaves. On September 30 when I visited the woods only a few trees towards the trailhead and edges of the trail had changed to a bright red color. After visiting again on October 10 many of the leaves deeper in the forest had changed to a bright yellow color. During my third visit on October 22, almost all of the trees had dropped at least half of their leaves. The changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature due to the cooling fall weather are making the trees stop their food-making processes to conserve water and energy for the upcoming winter seasons.

Another observation I have made over visiting my site is the abundance of organisms both human and animal. During the warm days of summer, I remember seeing many families walking dogs with their children and many college students going on a small adventures with groups of friends, but now that fall is upon us there seems to be less family activity on the trail during the week but still a steady flow of college students exploring. The animals have also started their fall tendencies of gathering an abundance of food. During my October 22 visit, many birds were heard in my thirty-five-minute visit. At first, I could only hear them as I sat by the brook noticing the absence of mosquitos and fewer water bugs (only one spotted), but soon I was able to see a large group of birds, ten or so, fly into a nearby berry bush to feed. These birds were small and gray with a white belly and head and an additional black spot on the top of their heads. I was also able to notice two chipmunks and a single squirrel in the trees nearby scrambling around the trunks and branches. Five minutes later I spotted a female cardinal feeding on some blue berries who was extremely plump as a male watched from the distance. Soon a chipmunk came to the feeding frenzy and starting eating large red berries. As I was getting ready to leave I quickly saw a flash a blue from a bluejay in the tree directly across the footbridge. This shows all the animals are eating the summer fruits while they are available. I cannot wait to see how else Centennial Brook changes. Attached below are my field notes and sketches from my visits.

This blog is an assignment for my Natural Resources class. We have to create a phenology blog for a place on campus. My spot is right in Centennial Woods Brook.