A UVM blog Phenology Blog

NOW it’s my last blog post and last visit to Centennial Woods. For the City Nature Challenge, I logged an Eastern Grey Squirrel that I saw on campus and then went to Centennial with my friend Annie to find more species. We saw a Water Glider, a Gray Garden Slug, and lots of fungus. That was the extent of my BioBlitz but I appreciated that the iNaturalist app automatically included my posts after I joined my lab section’s group.

It’s pretty cool that Burlington was 78th out of 600 cities/locations around the world since we’re such a small urban area. Our NR groups contributed more than half of the city’s total observations which is impressive but means that the rest of the community should get engaged. Some of the cities were incredibly diverse which surprised me because I often think of cities as having no wildlife activity but Hong Kong had over 500 species logged I think. I’m excited to see how much this event grows in the future!

It’s sad that this will be my last visit to Centennial for this class but I will definitely visit many more times over the years. This class and these blogs have taught me to have a sharper eye for ecological features and to appreciate the details of nature. Some of my favorite things in Centennial are the huge evergreen trees, especially the isolated one that splits the hiking trail as you get deeper in the woods, and a huge rock that almost looks fake sitting right next to the river. I sat on this rock while observing, drawing, and reflecting.

I think back to the beginning of the year and Centennial was drier and warmer, with full trees and maybe some fallen leaves. Then, the trees became bare and we had the first snow fall. The forest grew more quiet and sparse and was eventually enveloped by a thick blanket of snow. Now, the snow has melted and Centennial is sprouting green, damp, and alive. The birds are back and the forest felt alive.

After getting to know this forest so well, learning about its history, and even helping to collect data for conservation efforts, I feel a connection and responsibility to Centennial. I’ve noticed that people have installed some bird feeders which was attracting several birds when I passed it and there was a large pile of collected tree branches near the river. Other people have also felt a connection and are taking care of this wonderful park. There is a culture of stewardship and environmental appreciation at Centennial that I hope to learn more about and contribute to.

Rosie has been enjoying the warmer weather but her buds still aren’t flowering any more than a couple of weeks ago. I’ve noticed other red maples that have more stems sprouting from the buds than Rosie so maybe she isn’t in ideal soil or positioning for sunlight. She is isolated unlike most other trees around campus or the city so maybe that’s a factor. I’m guessing in the next week or two with even more sun, Rosie will be fully flowering!

I returned to the Red Maple tree which I’ve decided to name Rosie after meeting her a second time. She was much more red this week with blossoming buds all along her branches. They were significantly larger and had more in each bunch. The picture below shows one bud that is beginning to flower, sending little green shoots out. There were only a few of these on the whole tree but I’m guessing in a week or so most of the buds will join in. The weather is getting significantly warmer and maples will be one of the first to grow leaves and flowers.

I was leaving NR 2 and headed to Centennial Woods in search of a tree to identify when I saw a medium deciduous tree just next to the Grossman School of Business. Its clusters of rounded red buds stood out from all of the other bare trees around and I immediately recognized it as a Red Maple. We had just learned that this species had the earliest budding stage unlike its lookalikes, the Sugar Maple and the Norway Maple. I grabbed my handy dandy iPhone and logged the tree on the iNaturalist app. The app itself reaffirmed my initial identification when it suggested Acer rubrum as the subject of my photo.

My friend Annie and I walked to Chruch Street over the weekend and kept an eye out for tracks or any other signs of wildlife. Since it was the heart of the city, we only caught sight of a couple birds and I was able to identify one as an American Robin. I took a picture and uploaded it to iNaturalist a couple hours later but the app automatically uploaded the location, time, and date of the photo which was nice. It was a little bit disappointing that we didn’t see any other animals like squirrels or other larger bird species.

Annie and I were joined by our friends Bryn and Anna later that day to explore Centennial Woods. It was incredibly muddy but not all of the snow had melted. We found tracks and scat in both snow and mud but most of it appeared to be from domesticated dogs. We did find some 2 cm prints which Annie suggested might be a weasel due to the diagonal walking pattern. Bryn and I flipped over a log and found a spider which we believe was a Barn Orb-weaver since the body shape and pattering on the legs matched online references. The forest obviously had more biodiversity but it was still difficult to find evidence of wildlife.

While I’ll miss Winooski Gorge Park, it was a trek to get to and I felt more inclined to explore Centennial Woods since we learned about its natural history and current conservation efforts. It’s a quick walk from UVM’s central campus and there are a few trails to access the park. I’m excited to see the differences between my two phenology spots since Winooski Gorge had mostly cedars and pines while Centennial Woods seems to have a bit more deciduous trees and biodiversity in general.

As I set off on my walk to the Woods, I was expecting to find squirrel and rabbit tracks and perhaps some scat. I did not expect it to be so hard to find any signs of wildlife. The tracks that I had no problem finding at all were human boots and paw prints. I could imagine clearly an excited pup running around and sniffing any exposed trunks or shrubs while the owner held on for dear life.

Within the first 10 feet of entering the forest, I was already analyzing snow further from the path for tracks but found nothing obviously animal. I let myself wander deeper into the woods, closer to the creek where animals might go for a drink, and still found no tracks. My hopes were dwindling until a noticed a perfectly circular opening into the snow under a fallen tree trunk. It was quite a little home and evidence of the resident’s lunch was right on the doorstep. The nut – I wasn’t able to identify it – was likely broken open by a squirrel or chipmunk.

This was the only up close and personal evidence I could find, however, I did see some drilled holes in the tree on the left and a large bird’s nest in the middle of the photo on the right. These signs of bird activity are likely from the fall before most species migrated South. The abandoned forest was so quiet some of the only noises were the creaking of large trees in the wind and an occasional caw from a crow.

I was excited to return to Winooski Gorge, but I’m also sad it was the last time for this semester. I made the same trek from the nearest bus stop and the biting wind stung any exposed skin. I couldn’t imagine how the trees on those high clifftops were faring in these conditions day and night. It makes sense why 80% of Vermont’s birds migrate – their little bodies couldn’t possibly stand the cold. However, when I finally walked through the forest again I saw evidence of some determined inhabitants.

I hadn’t really explored Turkey Foot until my friend and her family moved right across the street from the trail. It’s somewhat similar to my site in Burlington since they are both right next to a major road and a river. Both areas experienced similar weather recently with falling temperatures and a bit of snow but Indiana’s winter will definitely be less harsh than Vermont’s with less precipitation and more sunlight. The ecology of the sites were starkly different since Turkey Foot had no coniferous trees which meant that there were no differences between under and overstory. I’m sure Indiana doesn’t host as diverse a range of species as Vermont and likely suffers from larger amounts of water pollution with highly developed lands and golf courses nearby… Burly > Indy

As I entered the forest, I noticed a clear change from just a couple of weeks ago. The floor was a sea of fallen pine needles and leaves that had turned their colors and called it a day. Only a few trunks still held onto the greenery at their highest branches. The white oaks and paper birches were completely sparse making the overstory a patchwork of sky, sticks, and needles. The only color on the forest floor was the rich green lichens on exposed rocks.

I sat for a while near the edge of the cliffside facing the river and the other side of the gorge. In front of me, a few commendable trees grew from the steep rockface and thin soils with emerging tree roots and slippery rocks surrounded with lichens, mosses, and small grasses. After sitting for just a bit, my face was red from the relentless wind. Behind me, a row of thin cedars slowly opened into the full forest with hemlocks, oaks, and birches. At first glance, I took these small cedars to be youngins but the harsh conditions hinted at the species’ ability to adapt and survive by staying small. I’m excited to see how they fare in the wintry weather!