This spot is special as it is generally unvisited and unknown by most DC residents and visitors. It is off of an already little known trail in a quiet neighborhood subsidiary of Rock Creek Park. It is interesting as the spot is unlike anything seen in most of Rock Creek, which generally consists of spread out, old oak forests instead of dense young forest. From what I can tell, the trees have similar bark and leaves to white oak, with some having bark akin to American beechwood, however are skinnier and taller than normal, almost like a teak tree. The only way to really find the spot is to get lost and stumble across it hiding behind a series of oaks and dense buckthorn bushes, as I did earlier this year.
A photo of the dense, young oak/beechwood forest present at my spot
Compared to my phenology spot in Burlington, this spot is far more dense and is not near a major body of water. The vast majority of plants in the overstory are oak and beechwood, compared to the larger white cedar and Eastern White Pine present at my Burlington spot. However, buckthorn and honeysuckle are both present in the understories of each spot, as well as spotting’s of sparrows and squirrels. However, white tailed deer was a very frequent sighting in DC compared to Burlington where most animals spotted were of the smaller variety. The Burlington spot is also likely less planned, as the tightly packed nature of the forest in my DC spot and its inconsistency with the rest of Rock Creek park indicates that the trees were likely planted for erosion management.