Once again, I am visiting the suburban woods that are Crescent Woods to see my lovely, possibly oak tree. I still need to be 100% able to identify this tree, but I believe it is an oak tree. There are a lot of white oak leaves surrounding the tree, so this is still my best estimate. Now my main observation in this area, in general, is the pollutants I found filled in the foot pockets of the mud. The pollutant’s reflective surface makes me assume it’s an oil. It makes me curious how much of this pollutant is in the woods and where it originated. My main guess is that it was washed off the road into the woods during the recent rain.
The next portion that changed from the last visit was the fallen tree in the way of the trail. This time the tree must have been cut by a chainsaw to clear up the trail. Other branches that had fallen in the path were now moved to the side of the trail. Again, it was amazing that even smaller wooden areas were being cared for and not just left in disorganization.
My favorite portion of this entire excursion was wildlife spotting. After seeing my tree, I took a decompressing break from my long day. During this time, I heard a slight taping sound on a tree. When I looked up, I saw that one of our keystone species: the pileated woodpecker. I watched it for around 10 minutes hopping up and down the tree, constantly pecking at it. Since I started these phenology posts, this was my first wildlife spotting besides squirrels. During the last portion of the visit, I saw some small ferns appear. I am still determining what kind they are, however.
