Phenology at Duke Estates

When I was home for spring break, I went to a wetland conservation area called Duke Farms that used to be a privately owned estate and is now transformed into a conserved natural area. The natural history of this place is that it was originally a great estate for the Duke family, but once the owner passed, she decided to leave the land to be a wilderness area for the natural species residing here. While I was there, I noticed that there were a lot of Northern Red Oaks and Red Maples in this area which are two common species in my phenology area in Centennial Woods, however, the most common tree species in the estate was large Sycamore trees. Even though I noticed a lot of common tree species between the two areas, my place in Burlington has a lot more pine trees than the Duke estates.

When I was at my phenology spot last time, I heard what I believed to be a thrush but other than that there was no evidence of any bird life. However, at the Duke farms there was a lot of bird life, as well as some squirrels and field mice. I saw robins, bluejays, and even a red headed woodpecker that was carving a hole into a snag. I also saw a group of wild turkeys in the woods and ducks pairing up with a mate in the lake. There was a lot more wildlife here than in Centennial Woods, which is probably because it is becoming spring a lot earlier here. Hopefully, spring will come to Centennial Woods as well and there will be a lot more birds and animals present next time.