Vermont Woodland Watch

May 12th, 2021

Today I made my final trip to centennial woods for this phenology post. The warm weather reminds me of the first time I went during fall semester. The most noticeable changes are the blooming flowers and growing plants.

This is what the path to my phenology spot looked like this sunny morning. As you can see, it is quite green compared to the winter months

While at my spot and listening for birds I heard what I think is a common gallinule. *picture from INaturalist

I also saw Hazel,

Barberries, and

classic maple.

The big difference between these observations and previous ones is that in the past, these species weren’t as young. Because I am viewing them relatively early in their blooming season, they haven’t matured as much as the same species I saw in the fall.

In terms of the ways nature and culture intertwine at my place, it was clear from the number of people I saw hiking, running and walking at 10:30AM on a Wednesday that Centennial woods is a popular spot for local Burlington residents. The cultural ecosystem services provided by this natural area include outdoor recreation, aesthetic beauty and education. Over the course of NR-1 and NR-2 I have spent a lot of quality time in the woods analyzing everything from the reasons for barbed wire in trees (remnants of the cattle and sheep that were once farmed there) to the soil layers in a hand dug soil pit.

Due to my physical impact on the landscape I believe I am thoroughly a part of this place. As established, I have spent many many hours in these woods, doing everything from analyzing ecosystems to recreating via hammock. This place has also impacted me in more ways than one. I have learned so much about it’s natural and human history, including it’s foundations under a conservation easement and the trees that flourish there. It has also served as a much needed escape from the traditional college campus setting on several occasions for spiritual and mental well-being. This blog is called girl in the woods for a reason- I’m a girl who loves to be outside! I am very thankful to feel like a piece of my place in Centennial and am looking forward to exploring this natural area more in the future- both educationally and recreationally.

After participating in the City Nature Challenge from April 30th to May 3rd and exploring the intervale, the Burlington Bike Path and Salmon Hole for the urban BioBlitz competition, I have learned a lot.

Using INaturalist I was able to document some exciting plants and wildlife. For example, I saw plants such as tulips and violets at the intervale.

These are violets that Rubenstein educator Judy Dow helped us identify at the Intervale on May 1st.

I also was able to capture some tulips on INaturalist when I was there with my friend Jamie.

On May 1st, also known as Spectacular Nature Day, my friend Jamie and I attended the City nature celebration at The Intervale where Walt greeted us with invasive treats and a fun experience. We had Japanese Knotweed Ice cream and other invasive species like pesto made from the invasive garlic mustard plant.

We also got to plant ostrich fern, remove invasive species and observe and document on many different species with the use of INaturalist for the Burlington-Winooski BioBlitz challenge.

This is an American Robin I saw on College St.

As you can see from this map most people in my NR-2 Lab stayed close to campus to document species.

Overall, this was a great experience and i learned a lot about biodiversity across the world by looking at some of the species found in places like Cape town, South Africa. It makes me really excited to travel and go bird watching in some of the worlds biodiversity hotspots.

Back in Centennial Woods at my phenology site, I have witnessed several changes. As the snow slowly disappeared, the flowers started to bloom. I witnessed the beginnings of budding twigs for an American beech tree (as pictured below). I also witnessed a tulip in the initial stages of blooming. To represent this I sketched a diagram of a tulip and the parts that are pertinent to it’s growth.

In addition to changes in twigs and herbaceous species like the tulip, there have also been changes in the wildlife and I saw several species I had never seen at my spot before. These included lower food chain species like fungi in the soil that had been frozen over with snow all winter, worms coming to the surface and carpenter ants. It was nice to see these smaller critters.

Other interesting animal sitings have been a salamander, pileated woodpecker and a barred owl. To be fair I’m not actually the one who saw the barred owl and I’m not 100% confident that the bird I saw was a pileated woodpecker but from data collected by others on INaturalist, it seems like a reasonable assumption. I saw the salamander a short ways away from my phenology spot when I was actually on an unrelated adventure- a trail run.

To connect all these species, we can look at something known as a Species Interaction Diagram which documents the different ways species act as competitors and resources for one another. I placed these species in a diagram seen below and highlighted how each benefits and takes from the other. 4 of the 6 species are actually on the same trophic level. This means they prey on similar lower-level species in the food web, however it doesn’t always mean they are in direct competition at the same time. The dashed lines show species that prey on the same lower food web species but don’t directly eat one another, as is the case with worms and carpenter ants feeding on soil fungi and salamanders and pileated woodpeckers eating worms.

Although the salamander and woodpecker compete for the same resource, they wouldn’t eat one another. Additionally, although they are depleting the same resource, they may do so at different times.

Overall, this was a great time to be out and about enjoying the phenology of Centennial Woods. I’m looking forward to more animal sightings- especially birds- as the weather warms.

My friend Jack and I spent two hours walking around Burlington last week observing all the interesting phenological changes. One thing that stuck out to me were the amount of bird nests and birds.

Other interesting changes in Burlington can be seen at the lake front. As temperatures rise Lake Champlain’s frozen layer appears to be thawing in places.

I didn’t find any exotic tracks in the snow by the water front but definitely saw lots of dog tracks! (and lots of cute dogs on walks by the waterfront).

I have Decided to change my phenology spot in centennial woods this semester. My new spot is through the main entrance and straight over the bog bridges. At the first fork you take a left and then follow the path for approximately 3 minutes. The spot is on the right. It looks out over the (now frozen) stream.

In terms of signs of animal animal life, there isn’t much. However there were several dog tracks in the snow.

Back at my original phenology spot in Centennial Woods, there are some interesting elements of historical human land use that demonstrate the complex socio-ecological systems that have existed there for centuries.

To begin, the woods were originally inhabited by the indigenous Abenaki Tribe of VT who practiced seasonal migration, subsistence farming and banded together to form local governances of the land (Brooks, 2020).

The first Euro-American settlements in the 1600s led to deforestation to support the agricultural economic growth of sheep farms and eventually dairy farming by the end of the 19th Century. Evidence of this can still be seen today by remnants of stone walls and barbed wire (Brooks, 2020).

After the decline of these agricultural endeavors the farmland that is now centennial woods was sold and subdivided in the late 1800s. Over time UVM purchase this real estate and initially owned 216 acres. This land shrunk due the government using Eminent domain and the 5th amendment to take the land for public use (the construction of Interstate 89). Fast forward to the 1970s, UVM sees much of this land and the surrounding areas is being harmed by development of Burlington and the University so it adopts Centennial Woods as one of its 9 “natural areas”. Essentially, in 1997 Centennial was conserved in perpetuity. UVM donated the development rights of the land to the VT Land Trust and gained more of the land under the terms of the conservation easement that limits development except for permitted uses such as digging soil pits for educational purposes and trail maintenance (Brooks, 2020).

Today, Centennial Woods Natural Area serves as an important outlet for locals due to its close proximity to the UVM campus as well as greater Burlington. As stated in the one of the field guides published by the UVM Environmental Program, “It will take on increasing significance as open space in an around Burlington decreases and urbanization pressures increase” (Borie, 1997, p.7).

Borie, L. (1997) Field Guide: The Changing Landscapes of Centennial Woods Natural Area.: Environmental Program, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmsc/Centennial%20Woods/Changing_Landscapes_Centennial_Woods002.pdf

Brooks, C. (2020, September 10).  NR 001 lecture: Centennial Woods.  University of Vermont, Burlington, VT.

This is my Spot in a Prospect Park. It is about a mile away from my home and is definitely very different than the spot I chose in Centennial Woods. It is heavily trafficked, as it is in an urban area. Additionally, it is on the intersection of Prospect Park Lake and a foot trail. The proximity to water has several ecological affects on the focal species of the spot and how they change through the seasons. For example, there are several grasses and weeds seen on the circumference of the lake and there are also many species that grow underwater. According to the New York State department of Conservation, several submerged plant communities are composed mostly of coontail, curly leaf pondweed, elodea, yellow floatingheart and floating water primrose. The lake typically doesn’t freeze in the winter, however these species do go through more drastic phases of decay than those in Centennial Woods.

Additionally, as pictured below, my new phenology sight is home to elm trees and Northern red oak trees, one of which can definitely be found in close proximity to my original phenology spot.

Lastly, the wildlife of this natural area is certainly more limited than that of the original phenology spot in Centennial Woods. This is due to the air air, water and noise pollution of the city as well as the overwhelming amount of people and traffic. There are, however, many duck and geese in the Prospect Park Lake.

My new spot also has Northern red oaks. These can also be found in the areas around my original phenology spot.

by Carly Morris

I walk to my spot and notice a change

The leaves are gone, the trees deranged

That’s ok

New beginnings won’t stay

The leaves come and go away

No matter what happens

The forest will be ok

Created by Carly Morris

Hello and welcome to my blog about a very specific phenology spot in Centennial Woods. This blog will serve as a way to document the changing landscapes, habitats and ecosystems through the seasons. Stop by often for updates!