Where I Explored:
I decided to walk from Wing-Davis-Wilks to South Prospect Street and then down Maple Street to Perkins Pier Park and Roundhouse Park by Lake Champlain and observed plant and animal species on my walk. On the way back, I wanted to go through the more suburban area on South Willard Street and Cliff Street. I looked at how this area that is mainly houses differed from the more developed and business-based part of downtown Burlington. I found that there were a lot more trees and plants in the neighborhoods and a larger population of squirrels and small animals.
Species I Encountered
The first animal I saw near my dorm was a groundhog. I haven’t seen any so I was surprised to see him running around and going back into his burrow.
On Maple Street I saw an American Robin sitting in a nest on someone’s porch. I haven’t seen a bird in a nest in a long time so it was interesting to see it calmly sitting up there. I also saw some grey squirrels in the area but could not get a picture of them before they ran away.
I saw a lot of White Oak trees on my walk downtown and as you can see in the image the leaves are beginning to sprout as the temperature rises and we move further into spring.
I saw a line of Norway Spruces in front of the Willard Street Inn on my walk home and in that entire area up to the houses on Deforest Ave there is a larger population of other coniferous trees like White Pines in people’s backyards. I can conclude that the soil is acidic and moist in these places. I also saw Red and White Oak trees, and Sugar Maples in people’s back and front yards.
I found a lot of Siberian Squills in people’s gardens as well as growing by the road on my walk. This is a hearty and cold tolerant spring ephemeral that blooms shortly after snow melts.
My Experience with iNaturalist:
I encountered about 10 species of plants and animals that I could identify quickly on my walk. This included various animal, plant and tree species such as those mentioned above. Using iNaturalist was easy and a fun way to interact with my classmates and see what they were finding on their own journeys. I also enjoyed seeing the reports from other cities and observing how different their “phenological clock” is from ours in Burlington. In many cities the trees are all green and more flowers have bloomed while we are just starting to see buds on trees here. Overall, I enjoyed seeing all of the posts and it gave me a wider view of how different places are changing as we shift seasons.