Over Thanksgiving break, I’m visiting some friends of mine at McGill in Montreal and Mount Royal, located right in the city just a 20 minute walk from campus, was the obvious choice for a phenology spot here.

I paused to look more closely at the ecology of the place just near the official summit, at a modest 764 ft. elevation (45°30’26.9″N 73°35’25.3″W).

The first thing I noticed was the abundance of sugar maples, the fallen leaves (mostly green, interestingly) making up most of the organic matter on the path- there are only a few at my spot in Burlington, though their colors were more vivid. Some snow left from a couple nights ago, pretty much slush by now, also covers the ground, speeding up decomposition and sinking into the soil. Other trees in the overstory here include white oaks, a few paper birches, and a patch of tall black cherrys, all bare of leaves. The understory is composed mostly of buckthorn, which this place has in common with my spot in Burlington. I could not find any basswoods, however, which are the dominant tree back at my spot.

This is a distinctly interesting urban natural area- a mountain (more like big hill) right in the middle of the city. The foot traffic from students, residents, and visitors is heavy to see attractions like the Mount Royal Cross, Chalet, and overlooks (and feed the squirrels), and paved paths and maintenance roads cut up the forest into sections. Most people stick to these routes, but trampled trails (used for cross-country skiing/snowshoeing when the snow is thicker) weave through the plateau at the top of the mountain- many areas are marked off, however, with fences and signs designating them “Zone de Plantation”. Despite the stress of thousands of visitors and a somewhat isolated location in the city, this natural area is clearly valued and efforts are made to preserve and maintain it regularly.

Prompted by Honorable Harvest, I decided to leave a little rock stack with a pretty maple leaf at a fork in the trail to signify the path I enjoyed most and ended up taking, and to thank the park for providing a little respite from the loud city.