Happy Spring x2!
Despite the rainy weather for most of the weekend, I was luckily able to get out into the Burlington area to participate in this year’s city nature challenge on Monday! I explored the plants on campus, but also was able to take a walk in Centennial Woods for about 2 hours as well!
During my time exploring both campus and Centennial, I was able to document 17 different species on iNaturalist, though I saw many more that I wasn’t able to document! All of the species I was able to get pictures of and document were plant species, though using the Merlin app as well as just my eyes, I was also able to observe some really cool bird and mammal species as well (though I was too slow with my phone to get pictures).
The plant species I observed on campus were Dogwoods, Ground-Ivy, Birches, Chickweed Tribe, White Oak, White Poplar, Garden Tulips, and Staghorn Sumacs, and the plant species I observed in Centennial were Honeysuckles, Staghorn Sumacs, Box Elder, Garlic Mustard, Butternut, Feather Moss, Wood Horsetail, Northern Lady Fern, Black Raspberry and an Orange Jelly Spot (fungus).
As for some of the animal species I observed throughout the four days, I mainly observed different bird species, but was happily surprised when I also encountered a snake and a rodent-like mammal during my walk in Centennial! Using the Merlin app on my phone, I identified an American Robin and a House Finch. I also visually observed bird species like Seagulls, Robins, and Chickadees! I even encountered a huge flock of seagulls on one of the greens on campus while I was hammocking on Monday as they walked around snatching up any worms that were on the surface of the wet soil after the recent rain which was really cool!
Despite spotting many birds, my spotting of a snake and a rodent-like mammal in Centennial woods were by far my most exciting ones of the Bio-Blitz, even though I wasn’t able to document them to submit them onto iNaturalist. I spotted the snake right after I had gotten to the trail, only a little ways after the trail map at the beginning of the main trail. At first, I was taken aback and a little nervous, as I am not the biggest fan of snakes, but when I noticed that it was just slithering away into the bushes next to the trail and not at me, I was able to clear my head and get a good look at the snake; it was a thin, black snake, possibly around 1.5 feet, though I am very unsure about that part. After looking at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife website and looking over the 11 species of snakes found in Vermont, my best guess for the species of snake that it was either a Northern American Racer or a Red-Bellied Snake (though these are really just loose guesses, since all I was really able to see was that the snake was black/a dark color!). After reading about these snakes, I was also happy to learn that most are completely harmless and beneficial to the ecosystem!
After encountering the snake and walking some ways through Centennial, I found myself exploring a back path that led towards the electrical-plant-looking facility right by the parking lot of the baseball stadium. I walked along an area with long marshy grasses lining the stream, and as I was walking I saw a small rodent-y animal. At first, I thought it was a beaver, but then realized I was wrong when I saw its long, rat-like tail! I tried so hard to get a photo, but because I didn’t want to scare it away by getting closer, I unfortunately wasn’t able to get a clear picture of it to include. After once again using the VT Fish and Wildlife website, I am almost certain that what I saw was a muskrat, which I think is super cool! Apart from this instance, I’ve never spotted a muskrat or any animal akin to a beaver in the wild before, so this was super exciting for me!
After the exciting sights in Centennial, I decided to call it a day on documenting species, and started heading back to campus. As always, using iNaturalist was really fun while I was out walking since I could finally identify plants that I had been walking past day after day without knowing what they were! I thought it was especially easy to document plant species. However, I do wish there was an easier way to document the animals I saw because I found it super hard get a clear picture of them before they moved!
Finally, I also had some time to look at some of the amazing observations that came in from around the world for this BioBlitz! I was very surprised to see the outcome of the leaderboard, with Bolivia coming out on top, especially after everything Walt had told us about in class with Cape Town always coming out on top! What maybe surprised me even more was that the San Antonio Metro Area came in second with over 5,000 species documented! I guess I never really thought about San Antonio, or even Texas in general, as a hotspot for ecology and nature, but based on this I guess I was very wrong! I was also pleasantly surprised, as someone from the DC area, that the Washington DC Metro Area also had more species observed than the City of Cape Town! It was something that I didn’t expect to happen, but something that I’m definitely pleasantly surprised and excited about, especially with it almost being time for me to go home! I will miss this beautiful spot at Centennial though!
