As a preface to this it’s important for my readers to understand that Redstone Forest is a man-made micro-ecosystem, no more than a quarter mile in diameter. While many other phenology spots host many pieces of ecosystems, some in forests, some near lakes, mine is just a small pocket of tree. I chose the spot for that reason, because it forces me to do truly CLOSE observation of the very small phenological details and changes in my spot as opposed to over-arching changes.
That said, since my last visit not much has changed. There are no signs of amphibians, which makes sense since it is not a wetland environment. There are however signs of birds, for the first time in a long time. Despite the weekend of unpromising weather the birds seem undeterred, filling Redstone campus with their song. In addition, the squirrels have more readily returned to the area, as is evident in their frantic running up and around the pines.
The red oak is starting to bud, enticed by a string of warmer, sunnier days. Its pinecone-like small buds are lightly coated in ice today considering the weekend of cold wet weather. The ground in coated in pine needle litter and a thick layer of mud and ice, making it less ideal for the usual crowd of dogs and dog-owners, so today the squirrels are emboldened, venturing to the edges of the forest, chirping at passersby near the Interfaith Center.
Since I guess you could consider Redstone forest an “edge” in itself, due to its not being part of a larger network forest or wetland ecosystem, it does not house “interior species”.