A UVM blog Aiden Mason-Velasquez’s Phenology Blog

Posts

Featured

City Nature Challenge

By amasonve

On Saturday, April 30th, I visited Colchester Pond, and noticed that spring has finally begun. Buds were opening up on the trees, wildflowers were blooming, and herbaceous plants were coming up in the understory. Some of these include; ferns, trilliums, and some wildflowers. Additionally, I spotted and listened to several Robins, Chickadees, and Crows. The weather was in the high 50s with minimal wind, and the sunshine felt great. Much more greenery was present at Colchester Pond, and one of my friends that was fishing with me managed to catch and release a Northern Pike!

Aiden’s Final Visit to the Salmon Hole

By amasonve

On may 4, I biked down Colchester Ave for my last visit to my phenology site. I locked my bike and walked down to the water. As I trotted through the woods, I noticed the buds on most of the deciduous trees were opening up. Species such as sugar maple, buckthorn, and ash were beginning to show leaf growth. Additionally, there were many herbaceous plants shooting up into the understory. Many ostrich ferns were growing. Lots of wildlife present as well. I spotted some robins, crested cormorant, and geese on my visit. Overall, I enjoyed noticing the signs of spring and the sounds of the birds singing.

I think that nature and culture entertain in my home place, and in my phenology site at the salmon hole. In both places, it is a cultural norm to spend time in nature for activities such as fishing, hiking, or walking. Because of this, I consider my self a part of my place. I participate in many outdoor activities that are in nature.

An afternoon of tracking in Centennial

By amasonve

On Sunday February 20th, I walked to Centennial woods in hopes of finding signs of wildlife. As I entered the woods, my eyes were drawn to the abundance of tracks in the snow. Because the snow cover was thin and fluffy, the tracks were very detailed. This made it more interesting than my experience at Jericho research forest which happened to have almost a foot of snow. I could clearly see how many claws each animal had, and other details of each print. After analyzing the prints, I found that the majority consisted of Grey squirrel. There was however, a track that I thought to be a cottontail rabbit. Overall I was enthused to be walking around in nature while searching for tracks. Later on on the walk, I managed to capture a video of a grey squirrel in the distance.

My experience using the inaturalist app was positive. I uploaded some photos of the tracks, a paper birch, and a blurry photo of a grey squirrel running through the woods.

Skip to toolbar