A UVM blog Phenology Blog

I was unfortunately working three out of four days of the BioBlitz. When I wasn’t working, the weather was out to get me and I was unable to explore as much of Burlington as I wish I could have. But I still had fun doing what I could! My two favorite observations are below. One is a cottontail rabbit I saw in the University Heights green roof complex, and the other is a purple azalea plant Luigi and I found in a short trip downtown on May 1.

I had a bit of trouble using iNaturalist, as I’ve talked about before on here. I was finally able to make an account, but unable to upload until I moved to my computer. My biggest foil was being unable to upload on my phone. I’m not sure if that’s a feature I just couldn’t figure out or if iNaturalist just doesn’t do phone uploads, but I think it would have been a lot easier.

I really enjoyed this challenge, even though I wish I could have been more involved. It was so fun to see everyone so excited to get out and see things, and to feel a part of this long-loved tradition. I’m already planning to be more involved this time next year!

Today, I made my final visit to Centennial Woods. It was funny to me to think about how much it’s changed since I was first there, the ground frozen over with snow. Now it is bright and blooming, fueled by the recent rains.

For my fifteen minute sketch, I drew a red maple bud in bloom. I feel a silly sort of kinship to the red maple I’ve been visiting over these months, and watching it grow has given me a calm peace.

This nature has a rich history behind it. It is rightfully Indigenous land that was stolen during Euro-American settlement and land use. It was then developed into the Centennial Woods Natural Area, and the Native Americans were forced out of their homes.

I think that I am not a part of my place but instead a visitor. I simply come and go. I don’t like to leave a trace, besides maybe footprints, and my disruption of the forest is momentary.

I will miss visiting Centennial Woods for this project. I’m sure I’ll make my way there again, just probably not as often.

I quickly revisited Centennial Woods today in a break I have between classes. As one can imagine, it was a much more enjoyable trip. The sun shone brightly above me, and in stark contrast to my last visit, the ground was bare of snow. Shown below is a picture of my Red Maple. The tree remained mostly unchanged, not yet blooming.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t spend too much time there today. But it was beautiful and I’m excited for one final visit before the end of the semester!

When returning to Centennial after break, I found my tree and its surroundings much unchanged. Besides a bit of the snow melting, the environment remained the same. The flowers aren’t blooming yet, and neither are the buds.

Here is an updated picture of my Red Maple. The twig is noticeably more red than before. Expecting the next visit to reveal more exciting changes than this one.

Right before I left, my friends and I stopped at Centennial Woods for this assignment. While searching for one of the four tree species, we consistently found lookalikes. It wasn’t until we found a true red maple that I even realized the sugar maple we looked at earlier wasn’t a red.

This was a bud from the red maple I identified. The bark of the twig is a dark reddish brown. The buds are rounded and plump, as opposed to the sharply pointed buds of a sugar maple. The buds are also a deep red, whereas they are brown on a sugar maple. Since it’s winter, leaves and flowers were not comparable, but the buds were enough to confirm the species.

My friends and I traveled down to North Beach on our day off, looking for any signs of wildlife. We saw ducks in the lake, but as for tracks, it was hard luck. As for using iNaturalist, our simple minds were unable to figure out how to upload to the group site. (I’m sure it’s super easy and we are just technologically in advanced)

I wish so badly this assignment wasn’t during the one week it was warm, but sadly these were the best tracks I could find. At first I assumed it was just a dog, but after closer inspection landed on the conclusion this was a coyote! I came to this conclusion because of the sharp nail prints. Coyotes have much sharper, precise nails than dogs. The shape was more oblong than a dog print.

Overall, not the most exciting venture but I still had fun!

This semester, I decided to switch my phenology place to Centennial Woods. My last place was Rock Point, and while it holds a special place in my heart, it was too time-consuming to go there every week. And Centennial Woods is beautiful. I walked through campus, and found my way by following Catamount Dr. I immediately felt transported to a winter wonderland.

But I couldn’t just admire the beauty, I had to find animal tracks! Here’s what I found:

There’s no way of telling what this is. It could be any number of woodland critters, but most likely it’s a dog. The animal tracks look dog-like in the shape of the paw, and there are human tracks next to it, suggesting that this was a dog’s afternoon walk.

Overall, I’m excited to see the range that Centennial has to show me. From dog walking to deer to any number of other wildlife interactions, I hope to keep this blog exciting and eventful!

I have enjoyed these visits to Rock Point throughout the semester, but this one was cold and sad. It was upsetting to see the change, trees barren and colors muted, because I have felt that as I’ve been visiting Rock Point, it’s begun to reflect my journey through college. And now the first semester is over. The overall trip didn’t show many changes, besides the deciduous trees had not only lost all their leafage, but the brilliant colors from fall were absent. As always, my favorite Northern White Cedar remained, with its needles mostly intact. The grass was mostly gone, and the patches that remained were completely dead. The forest floor was mainly covered with dead leaves. Sadly my phone died, so all I have is this drawing I quickly sketched so I could head home.

It has been an interesting experience to watch the leaves fall, the ground frost over, and the flowers shrivel up. I have loved being able to have this excuse to escape to the wilderness every few weeks. While I know I don’t NEED an excuse, it held me accountable and got me outside. I would always walk over there begrudgingly, but then find myself feeling happier and more content to be in nature. I am excited to see what next semester brings for me. No matter what, I will be going back for my Northern White Cedar.

Over Thanksgiving break I had the very lucky opportunity to go to Roatan, an island of Honduras. The flora and fauna were beautiful, and that’s where I found my new phenology spot.

Above is a google map of Roatan, and a picture from the place where I stayed. The tropical forest was bursting with plants of all kind, including Coconut Trees, which dropped coconuts in front of our house. My grandfather started a collection. Roatan and Rock Point could not be any different. Roatan was full to the brim of color and warmth. Regularly, Scarlet Macaws would fly overhead, or a Central American Agouti would run across the beach. The plants that make up the ecology include Ferns, Bamboo, Orchids and Palms. This in comparison to the Northern White Cedars, Birches, Clovers and Woody Blue Aster that make up Rock Point in Burlington is stark. The temperature is likely a large contributor to the stark differences in flora. While I was in Roatan, the high was 89 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s only winter. When I arrived back in Burlington, it was 28 degrees Fahrenheit. That alone shows the change in climate.

I’ve included two more photos of the beauty of Roatan. One shows the tropical forest, and the other a mangrove grown in the water. The mangrove particularly interested me, because I haven’t seen anything like it in person before.

As for the gift, I chose my gift to be not leaving anything at all. I was trying to think of something I could do to give back, and I decided the island has been through enough. There is a lot of tourism, and there aren’t many parts of the island left untouched. I decided to pick up trash when I saw it, and leave no trace, as to not further the harm done to the island.

On Saturday, I ventured over to Rock Point with my friends Amelia and Luigi. We had a great time, noticing the changes of the landscape together. We had so much fun making leaf piles to jump in. Nearly all the trees had dropped their leaves at this point, save for a few stragglers. Maybe it was the time I was there, but I noticed a distinct lack of birds singing. And the lake was much more rough, sounding almost like the ocean. That was due to the high winds of the day. My birds eye view is.. subpar.

You may notice an odd, octopus-like blob in the top right. That was actually this beautiful northern white cedar, which was spindly and curved at odd angles. I don’t know why I tried to capture it from above, but that was my attempt. This has been my favorite trip to Rock Point so far, and I’m really excited to go there again.