Month: October 2019

3:56 pm

63 degrees + sunny

Plants:

• About 80% of the area is still green (with it being Fall that should be changing soon)
• Observed: Dwarf Honeysuckle with red berries, Ferns on and around the banks of the brook, Northern Red Oak, Maples with black tar spots on the leaves, Buckthorns, and a couple Eastern Hemlocks
• Good amount of pine needles on the ground
• There are three fallen trees that extend over the brook. They have moss growing on them, the wood is splitting, and there are small holes. After some research, I believe the holes were made from a Sapsucker bird. When a tree is under stress (which these fallen trees very well may have been) it concentrates its sugars to help fight disease and repair damages, Sapsuckers are able to pick up on this and take advantage of the available sugars.

Stream:

• Some areas have a higher velocity than others due to factors like: the shape of the channel, the gradient of the slope, the volume of water, and the amount of friction caused by rough edges within the riverbed. Overall, the stream is fairly active.
• Varying depths ranging from about an inch to a little over two feet.
• A couple of logs in the stream which has caused some sedimentation buildup.
• The banks are slightly eroded as seen in the exposed roots of trees and plants.
• Lots of riffles
• Many rocks embedded in the bottom of the stream, slimy and slippery to touch which indicate a build-up of algae.

Animals:

• Within the stream, we saw countless water striders- which can tolerate moderately polluted systems.
• A couple squirrels and chipmunks were spotted collecting food to help get them through the winter
• Some snail trails were seen on the algae-covered rocks which led me to believe they were present in the area

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For my NR01 class I was tasked to choose a ecological location around Burlington and visit that site over the next couple months, journal pieces and patterns that I observe, and ultimatley track the phenology of the area; I decided to choose a brook in Centennial Woods. My site has land vegetation, a stream, and a decomposing tree that extends across the width of the bank.