3/18/19 – Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary Visit

Over spring break, I decided to visit the Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary managed by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Over 100 years ago, these trails were once part of a sanitarium. Patients and caregivers would walk the trails in contemplation, looking for spiritual renewal and healing through nature. Today, there are open meadows were fruits and vegetables once grew in orchards and fields, and stone walls are still standing, showing where the designated trails once were.

One of the stone walls that wind throughout the sanctuary.

My phenology spot was specifically an area of vernal pools along the trails. Unlike the stream in Centennial Woods, the vernal pools were mostly unthawed under the warm spring sun. I couldn’t find salamanders or toads around the water; the weather has not warmed up enough for them to come out of hiding and warm under the sun.

Around the pools were a mixture of white pines and red and white oak trees. The forest was densely packed with these pines and oaks, while Centennial Woods has maples, eastern hemlocks, and birches distributed throughout the forest.

The forest floor shows the composition of white pines, red oaks, and white oaks surrounding the vernal pools.

Similar to my experiences at my phenology site in Burlington, I was able to find tracks of a galloper atop the still frozen sections of the pools; based on the track length and stride, I believe this could be tracks of a cottontail rabbit.

Possible cottontail rabbit tracks

Just before leaving my site, I was greeted by a male cardinal hopping along the trail. I haven’t seen many birds in Centennial Woods except some crows a few months ago. The ecosystems of Centennial Woods and of the sanctuary as a whole are very similar with a mix of both wetlands and wildlands.

I’m excited to revisit the sanctuary again in May. Hopefully next time I will find some salamanders hiding under logs or sitting atop of rocks by the pools. They are one of my favorite animals!

3/7/19- Categorizing and Phenological Changes

Upon visiting my site, I took the time to listen to the barely trickling stream, slightly thawing under the early March sun. I realized how much I missed the gentle sounds of the stream when visiting my site; it added an extra layer of peacefulness that was missing the last time I visited while the stream was still frozen.

The eastern hemlocks have grown new pinecones that are beginning to spread open as spring approaches. I found some beautiful new tracks in the snow, most likely from a rabbit and a mouse or vole. I noticed that the area changed immensely since the first time I visited. The small wildflowers and ferns I encountered are covered under the snow, and the bank of the stream seems to have eroded with the amount of precipitation from the winter. I remember hearing lots of birds during my visits in the fall, but this time I noticed it was silent except for the soft sounds of the stream.

Possible rabbit tracks
Possible vole tracks

According to the Wetland, Woodland, Wildland text, I would classify Centennial Woods as a northern hardwood forest. Beech, red maple, sugar maple, and birch trees are very common throughout my forest. Classifying my site specifically is more of a challenge. My site is dominated by eastern hemlocks with a few white pines and striped maples, and this mix isn’t listed as its own natural community that’s best expressed in the Champlain Valley. I would say that my phenology spot is on the edge of two communities, one being an eastern hemlock forest and the other being a white pine-transition hardwood forest. The dominant eastern hemlock population leads to my first conclusion, while the abundance of white pines, maples, and beech trees on the other side of the stream create a completely different forest composition. In Wetland, Woodland, Wildland, this type of forest is called a
transition hardwoods limestone forest. I’m unsure if my area is abundant in limestone so this classification could be incorrect.

I’m excited to visit my site as spring rolls into Burlington!!

Citations:
Thompson, E. H., & Sorenson, E. R. (2005). Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. Montpelier: Vermont Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and the Nature Conservancy.