by Cassie Broberg Phenology Project

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Final Blog Post

This past week I visited my phenology site and noticed many changes. Now that we are well into the month of May, the forest is much greener, there are more plants and overall more signs of life. I saw numerous plants including, trillium, fiddlehead ferns, jack-in-the-pulpits, and wood anemone. The small seasonal wetland located in my phenology site has reappeared. I could hear birds chirping the entire time I was in the forest and I even saw and heard a woodpecker.

Phenology Site
Wood Anemone
Seasonal Wetland
Jack-in-the-pulpits
Trillium
Fiddleheads

Nature and culture are two very important parts of any location. At my phenology site nature and culture intertwine, but they do this in minimal ways, as the cultural history of my location is mostly unknown. My phenology site is a forest located in my backyard in Barre Massachusetts, currently my site has no evidence of human interaction, besides a few narrow trails, because of this there is no current evidence of culture. But, this land was once occupied by Native Americans of the Nipmuc tribe. The connection that this tribe once had to the land is now represented by the wildlife, the plants and animals that they had relationships with and that were used in their culture for food, medicine, clothing, shelter, etc.

I see myself as a part of my phenology site, I have been exploring it since I was just four years old and have been able to make special connections to the land. When I was younger my dad built my brother and I a tree house in one of the oak trees located within my site. We would spend hours playing here, using the sticks as wands, making pretend food with leaves and rocks, watching birds fly in and out of the trees. Since I was younger I have felt a connection to the wildlife in my site and I still feel that connection today. I see myself as a part of my phenology site because I are up in it, it has provided me with peace, joy, comfort and has fueled my endless curiosity.

May 4th Update

For the City Nature Challenge I explored my hometown, Barre Massachusetts. I explored my backyard, my forest and even went for walks down my road. The most memorable species I saw was a beaver. I was walking with my mom and dad and we heard rustling in the bushes and soon after a splash. We looked into the pond and saw two beavers swimming together. They soon reached shore on the other side of the pond and we got to watch them eat from a distance. Another memorable observation was when I saw three yellow finches eating at the bird feeder in my backyard. Yellow finches have such vibrant, beautiful feathers and they are now my favorite species of bird.

I really enjoyed using iNaturalist, I had never heard of it before taking this class, but I am now excited to use it in the future. I downloaded the app on my phone and I want to start using it to help me identify new species of plants and animals that I come across. I’ve already learned so much while using the app and I’m really excited to learn more.

I was really interested to see all the different types of species being observed for the City Nature Challenge. It’s incredible how many people are participating and that over one million observations have been made. I spent some time looking at observations from South America, it was fascinating to see how different their plant species are from ours and I loved learning about new plants. I also spent time looking at the reports from the City Nature Challenge in Cape Town and I was amazed with their observations, they currently have over 60,000 observations. Their species look so different from species in Vermont, it was great to see the diversity.

Bumble Bee on Barberry Bush
American Beaver
Yellow Finch

April Phenology

Budding Plants

Yellow Birch Buds
Budding Ferns
Trillium

Wildlife

While observing my phenology sight it was hard to find evidence of wildlife, due to the layer of leaves covering the forest floor and the rain that had been going on for days. Although I couldn’t find any evidence in the form of animal tracks, or scat, I was able to find evidence of the presence of wildlife in other ways. I heard birds chirping, I saw a squirrel crawl out of a burrow in a tree and when outside during the evening I heard a barred owl inside my phenology site. I even saw a salamander crawling around on some of the wet leaves.

Species Interaction Diagram

Early March Phenology

While exploring my phenology site I noticed some changes in phenology as we are shifting towards spring, but it is very apparent that it is still winter. The snow is starting to melt, but the temperatures are still close to freezing and still reach below freezing at night. Beneath the snow you could see greenery like moss emerging and small plants. While walking through the woods I came across a game trail with what looked like deer and coyote tracks. I also found deer tracks scattered throughout other areas of my phenology site. Although I was able to spot these tracks, it was hard to find evidence of smaller animals like squirrels and birds due to the fact that the snow had a hard layer of ice covering the top. I was able to hear multiple birds chirping while exploring my site, I heard a crow, raven and chickadee and I was able to see the raven fly above the trees. I came across many budding plants but the most prevalent budding plant was the yellow birch, I saw at least five of them within my phenology site. There is little to no evidence of human activity, the only humans that visit this area are my family members and we only leave behind small trails.

Small Plants

Game Trail

Yellow Birch Buds

More Tree Buds

Image of Phenology Site

Wildlife Activity and Phenological Changes

Deer track

Phenological Changes

My site has changed drastically since my last visit this past fall. The forest floor is now blanketed with approximately a foot of snow and the temperature outside is only around 25 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, while in the fall the temperature was usually in the 50s. Most animal and plant species are dormant due to the cold temperatures. Some animal species that are still present in my site include, deer, squirrels, birds, etc.

CONTACT

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cbroberg@uvm.edu

Animal Prints

Squirrel track

Phenology Location

The location I chose for my place-based phenology blog is in my backyard in Barre Massachusetts, it’s a private area and is very easy to access by my family, but there is no public access. To get to my location you have to walk through my yard into an opening in the forest which leads to dirt trails allowing for exploration of the forest. I chose this area because of how untouched and natural it is. The only sign of human intervention is the presence of trails, otherwise the forest is thriving as a well-preserved natural area. The forest is very dense with hundreds of trees and a diverse understory.

Description of Vegetation

The plant species at my location are very diverse. In the forest’s overstory there are sugar maples, shagbark hickories, paper birches, yellow birches, northern red oaks, black cherry trees, white pines and more. Trees in the understory include, striped maple, white ash, American elm, sugar maple, etc. In the herbaceous layer there are numerous species of vegetation enveloping the ground. There are hundreds of ferns, spotter jewelweed, poison ivy, partridge berry, Virginia creeper, and more. 

Wildlife

There are many different species of wildlife that occupy my location. I have seen birds like cardinals, robins, chickadees, hummingbirds and more. There are porcupines, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, bears, deer, coyotes, etc.

Most Common Woody Plants: 

  • Sugar Maple
  • Northern Red Oak 
  • White Pine
  • Yellow Birch

Birds Eye Map

Event Map

Autumn

Changes Over Time

As autumn approached and the weather started cooling down there were many changes in the phenology of my location. The leaves on the deciduous trees started to change from green to shades of yellow, red, orange and eventually brown. The leaves gradually fell off the trees and created a layer over the forest floor. Another change that occurred was in the vegetation. Much of the vegetation began to die as it got colder out. It snowed on my sight a few times which killed most of the vegetation.

New Phenology Location – Moose Brook Wildlife Management Area, Barre, Massachusetts

My new phenology location is located about a half mile away from my original location. Because of this there isn’t much of a difference in the phenology. The main difference is in the types of vegetation and the physical environment. My new location is called Moose Brook Wildlife Management Area and it is a part of the Mass Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. This location is a public conservation area, which is very different from my original location which is a private area which is preserved by my family. Hunting and fishing are allowed at my new location which can alter animal population and behavior. At my original location there is no hunting or fishing permitted.

Unlike my original phenology site, the dominant tree species at my new location are black cherry trees. At my original site the dominant tree species is sugar maple. At the new phenology site there is an abundance of oriental bittersweet, which is an aggressive invasive species. This plant was surrounding the trees and, in many cases, it was covering the tree canopies and strangling their trunks. There is very little oriental bittersweet at my original phenology location. Another difference was in the animal habitats. The new site has dense thickets bordering the access trail and the fields on the property. These thickets create a habitat for animals like mice and rabbits. The thickets are comprised of multiflora rose, blackberry bushes, and oriental bittersweet, which creates a perfect, safe habitat for small animals. There were signs of animal life on the trails of my new phenology site such as multiple deposits of coyote scat on multiple rocks. There were also birds like cardinals and robins flying across the path and a red-tailed hawk was flying above the fields looking for potential prey.

Human History

Before my phenology spot became part of my yard, humans lived on it and used it as farm land. There is evidence that the landscape of my phenology location was once a farm, there is a stone well, which was used to retrieve water for the farm animals. There are stone walls which show where the pasture land was divided and where the livestock was kept. Even before all of this it is very likely that there were Native Americans living on this land. Many of the towns in my area are named after the tribes of the Natives who used to live here, so it is very likely that they occupied the area, or at least crossed paths with my phenology location.

CONTACT

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