Seasonal Changes at the Sea Caves

Welcome to Arthur Park! My original phenology spot was going to zone in on the sea caves at the park, but once I arrived there, there were so many exciting species and sights all along the trail. This discovery lead to a little change in my phenology area. I now plan to focus on the hill that lines the trail AND the sea caves! 

For me, the sea caves were an easy choice for this project. I really wanted a spot that incorporated water in some way, and this was a super exciting type of pond/lake and land form. Further, I wanted somewhere off campus that would allow me to see more of Burlington! Since I am from Minnesota, Vermont is a whole new landscape to me, and I want to see as much of it as I possibly can! 

To get to Arthur Park wasn’t too much of a challenge today. However, with the Burlington bus system, I can’t guarantee it’s gonna be like that every time… Anyways, right off the campus green, I picked up the city transportation bus 8 and rode it to the downtown transit station. The ride was nice, but I can’t lie, it was a bit smelly… But, you just can’t win them all! Then, I hoped onto bus 7. This bus was MUCH nicer and didn’t smell like a smoker had lived in it for 60 years. On this bus, I rode to the stop “Opposite Cambrian Rise.” Basically, the stop right across from the high school. I don’t expect this bus ride to be the exact same every time because there always seems to be something happening with the transportation systems, but I assume it will be similar! From that bus stop, the head of the trail was right there! The trail was short, maybe a half mile at most, and leads you to where the sea caves are. Or where they’re supposed to be… Today, they weren’t easy to see due to vegetation overgrowth and the fact that they’re easier to see in the winter when you can get onto the ice. 

The vegetation throughout the trail was a mix from young and old. There was decent undergrowth which was full of cool ferns and young trees. I assume it wasn’t as full as it may be at its max because winter is coming in soon. Young plants aren’t as likely to survive harsh Vermont winters! Mosses covered the grounds and rocks up the hill. The overstory was full of life: oaks, pines, maples, cedars, and more. On the hill that the trail is carved into, there was plenty of fallen and dead trees. I don’t know much about dead trees, but it was more than I would expect. Maybe strong storms had come through and knocked them down? Maybe the forest is cycling out old growth, and young growth is coming in? This is something I may want to look into sometime! Down by the water, there was what appeared to be a cyanobacteria bloom (or some kind of bloom). This was thrilling because we’ve been talking about it so much in class, but also sad as I know it doesn’t mean good things for the lake. I assume it’s coming from phosphorus run off due to the nearby urban areas, roads, and agricultural lands. 

I saw a lot of species in my phenology spot, even some that both me and iNaturalist couldn’t identify. There were some of those that I was able to make guesses on or at least assume the family they belonged in. There was one woody, root-looking species on some trees, and I have no clue what it was (I put a picture below)! The most common woody plants I saw were:

1. Eastern White Pines
2. Northern Red Oak
3. Sugar Maples
4. Paper Birch
5. American Beech
6. Alder Buckthorn
7. Hazels
8. White Oaks
9. Elms
10. Eastern Hemlock
11. Bittersweet
12. Northern White Cedar
13. Box Elder 

I am SO excited to start this phenology project. I can’t wait to see what it looks like once a majority of the leaves have fallen. I feel like I will be able to see the lake a lot clearer. I’m interested if I will see any animal activity at Arthur Park. Today, I saw a frog and some birds, but that was about it. I can’t wait to see what’s to come!

Pictures!

• Google Map of Arthur Park!

• The sign that greets you onto the trail!

• Bacteria or algae bloom in the Salt Cave’s water!

• Overstory!

• Little bit of the understory and the dead trees all up the hillside!

• The really weird thing on the trees that I mentioned. What is this??