April 28-May 1

During this 4 day urban BioBlitz I explored Centennial Woods and the green spaces on campus. I made observations in a brushy clearing on the edge of Centennial woods and continued to log observations across campus. I enjoyed using iNaturalist to log my observations and species. Initially, some of my observations and species that I logged the first day of the BioBlitz got deleted. I’m not sure how this happened but this was the only problem I had using the app. The app says I made 14 observations and encountered 11 species. By the end of the first day I had made roughly 30 observations but again, some of them got deleted somehow. It was fun to interact with the app and keep track of the NR 2 lab sections, the Greater Burlington city, the United States, and globally.

Some of the top observing cities globally, aside from Cape Town, were Dallas, Houston, Hong Kong, and Washington DC. Cape Town is usually number 1, so that did not surprise me, but the other top cities did. I did not expect Dallas and Houston, TX to be in the top cities. I enjoyed looking at the global participating cities. I never thought of Texas as a place for a large number of nature observations, but I stand corrected. It was also interesting to look at the per capita breakdowns. The greater Burlington per capita observations ended up being 0.087 observations per person. NYC had much more observations than Burlington, however, their per capita was only 0.0018 observations per person, putting Greater Burlington way ahead of NYC!

Sunday April 23, 2023 11:09 am

Raining, cloudy, with a foggy haze

Changes to my site over time:

I have experienced Ethan Allen Park in fall, winter, and now spring. I witnessed the leaves turn from green to red, orange, and yellow as summer transitioned to fall. The trees and other woody plants lost their leaves in the winter and the greenery changed to a white landscape full of snow and ice. I noticed less animals while visiting my site in the winter months, but several different animals’ tracks indicated wildlife activity. The snow and ice began to melt and the landscape transitioned into spring, which brought with it mud and lots of shades of brown. Eventually the trees and plants began to bud and greenery came back into the park. During my last visit I saw the trees and plants starting to leaf out and the grass turning green again.

How do nature and culture intertwine at my site:

Burlington Wildways trails run through Ethan Allen Park, effectively connecting Ethan Allen Park to other areas in the greater Burlington area. The many trails at my site allow people to bike, run, ski, and walk throughout the Park. The open green space at the pinnacle has a clear view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains, which encourages people to stop and appreciate the view and nature as they pass through. Throughout my time at Ethan Allen Park I had several interactions with people passing by, walking their dogs, asking what flora I was trying to identify, or simply expressing their enjoyment of the nature with me. Ethan Allen Park is certainly a place where culture and nature are deeply intertwined.

My time spent at Ethan Allen Park over the past 8 months has made me familiar with my site. I have built a relationship to my phenology spot. I look at the nature that surrounds me much differently now than I did in October. I notice the minuscule changes taking place. The relationship I have formed with my site makes me consider myself a part of my place while I am there.

Saturday April 8, 2023 10:48 am

36°F sunny, clear skies, brisk spring breeze

Changes to my Paper Birch tree:

Other noticeable changes to my phenology site:

Paper Birch Phenology at Ethan Allen Park

Sunday March 26, 2023 4:06 pm

43°F sunny at the pinnacle, slightly cloudy over the outlook, slight breeze

Changes to my Paper Birch tree:

Other noticeable changes to my phenology site:

Most of the snow on the ground is melted or a slushy consistency, causing lots of mud. The lack of snow has allowed the moss and lichen covered rocks and ground to become visible. There is a dense leaf cover on the ground from the fall that will continue decomposing as the temperatures increase. Other plants and trees are making their transition into spring as well. Staghorn Sumac twigs are not as hairy as they were the past few visits. I also noticed an increase in bird activity both at my site and on the trail leading up to the pinnacle outlook. I specifically identified several Robins and a Downy Woodpecker!

While re-visiting my site I could see and feel the phenological changes taking place at Ethan Allen Park. I’m excited to experience the growth and rebirth that spring brings about!

Thursday March 9, 2023 9:14am

30°F cloudy skies with a clear view of the overlook, brisk breeze

Paper Birch- Betula Papyrifera

My tree is not one of its lookalikes, gray, river, or yellow birch, because it has the characteristic peeling white bark with orange-brown colored bark on the underside. The buds on my tree also most closely resembled paper birch buds.

Tree Phenology: The twigs are just starting to form buds. No evidence of flowering.

Identification Process:

I started my identification process by looking for red maples originally, however, I did not find any. I quickly found the paper birch I choose, as shown above. My tree stands out against the other trees at Ethan Allen Park with its stark white, peeling bark. I examined the twigs to confirm my identification and they matched closely with the descriptions of paper birch twigs. Finally, I used SEEK from iNaturalist to confirm my identification before uploading a photo to iNaturalist.

North Beach – Tuesday, February 14, 2023

I choose to go to North Beach to observe wildlife tracks in Burlington. The snow was mostly melted but there were still some tracks visible in the remaining snow and a few tracks in the mud. The iNaturalist app was relatively easy to navigate, however, we had to determine the species we observed ourselves, whereas with the seek app, it helps you identify the species. With that being said, the iNaturalist app allowed us to put our knowledge of animal tracking to the test as we tried to identify the tracks we found.

What I saw:

I concluded that the bird tracks came from a bird and not from a mammal based on the triangular, webbed tracks. I was unable to identify the species specifically.

There was an abundance of deer tracks throughout the woods of North Beach, many of which overlapped as shown in the second picture of deer tracks. I quickly identified them as deer tracks due to the deep indents into the snow and smooth rounded edges that are indicative of deer tracks.

When looking at the red squirrel tracks, I narrowed the species down to squirrel, chipmunk, or mink. I ruled out the possibility of chipmunk tracks because the tracks were larger than an average chipmunk’s. I then more closely examined the tracks and deducted that the tracks were most likely from a squirrel because of the location of them. It’s possible that a squirrel jumped from the above tree and made the tracks shown above. I stated that the squirrel tracks were from a red squirrel because they were too small to belong to a grey squirrel.

I narrowed the final tracks down to either be raccoon or muskrat tracks. I decided these tracks were from a raccoon because of the faint claw indents in the soil. The overall shape and size of the tracks also more closely resembled raccoon tracks.

Winter is in full force at Ethan Allen Park!

Sunday January 22, 2023 10:58am

31°F cloudy, slightly windy, no precipitation

Phenological changes since my last visit:

• snow covered the ground and trails
• minimal leaves on only a few trees
• twigs and buds on branches are icy and frosted over
• moss on a rock was the last remaining green foliage
• animal tracks in the woods
• human and dog footprints on trails
• Red Fox seen running through the forest

Animal Tracking:

There was heavier foot traffic at Ethan Allen Park then I anticipated. The human and dog footprints throughout the clearing and on the trails made it difficult to distinguish wildlife tracks from dog tracks. Below are some of the tracks I observed in the woods that differ from the footprints of dogs I observed. I could not conclude which animals the tracks belonged to but it is plausible that deer were here. I also spotted a red fox while visiting my phenology spot, so it is possible that some of the tracks are from a fox.

My last visit at Ethan Allen Park in 2022

Wednesday December 7, 2022 3:06pm

50°F low visibility, slightly chilly, foggy, light rain, no sun

Watching the natural world change concurrently with the seasons at Ethan Allen Park has deepened my understand of the natural processes at work all around me. I enjoy the short hike to my phenology spot from the trail head. It gives me time to think and take in my surroundings before visiting my site. The view from the clearing is one of my favorite parts about Ethan Allen Park, which allows me to see Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains. My phenology spot does not have a lot of foot traffic, however, I enjoyed talking with the few community members that I did encounter as I was recording data.

Mountbrooke Pond-

Germantown, Wisconsin

Saturday November 26, 2022 2:56pm

52°F partly cloudy with a slight breeze

This small residential pond is located within my grandparent’s neighborhood, which is about 20 minutes from where I grew up. My parents would take us to this pond when my brothers and I were younger to go swimming during the summers. As we’ve grown up my younger brother and I would fish at the pond and the past couple summers we have introduced the pond to our younger cousin. We take him to swim and fish with us, just like my parents did with us when we were his age. I choose to study the phenology at this spot because of the memories I have of this pond. As I walked the perimeter of the pond I saw the ecology of the natural area in a different perspective than I was used to. When I visited the pond in the past the vegetation was abundant and green, but now, the leaves on the trees had fallen, the grasses have gone dormant, and I saw no fish swimming along the beach. I enjoyed seeing these changes to such a familiar area.

Observations:

• most of the shrubs and woody plants were located around the perimeter of the pond, closer to the water
• Most of the water had a paper thin sheet of ice on the surface. The water closest to the beach had no ice on the surface
• On the farthest side of the pond from the beach there were lots of immature trees growing
• All trees present were deciduous
• There were roughly 6 mature trees, all of which I could not identify

How the ecology and phenology at Mountbrooke Pond compares to Ethan Allen Park:

There are more tree species and a higher quantity of trees at Ethan Allen Park than at Mountbrooke Pond. The vegetation at the two locations greatly differs because the ecosystem at the pond encourages species like cattails and long grasses to grow. Ethan Allen Park has more mature trees and both sites have common buckthorn, however, it is more abundant at Ethan Allen Park. Both places have deciduous trees and similar phenological changes. The winter months in Vermont and Wisconsin cause the vegetation to loose its leaves and for several of the species at both locations to go dormant during winter.

Tuesday, November 1, 2022 5:08pm

59°F very cloudy, no sun, not too chilly

The seasons are changing

Ethan Allen Park has begun its annual transition from fall to winter. The vegetation has changed significantly since my first visit. The ground was covered in fallen leaves on the hike up to the pinnacle and most of the trees were bare. The lush array of oranges and reds that filled the landscape just weeks ago has disappeared, leaving barren branches and a thick brown blanket of leaves on the forest floor behind. The understory vegetation at the pinnacle has died as the temperatures have dropped. The grass that covers the clearing is also starting to turn from a lush green to dull shades of brown as it enters its dormant state for the winter.

A map of my phenology spot:

Engaging with my phenology spot through my senses:

Sitting at the center of the clearing I….

• saw leaves falling from trees
• saw the sun setting over the Adirondack Mountains and Lake Champlain
• heard ruffling leaves as people walked by
• heard airplanes flying from the Burlington Airport
• felt mosquitoes biting me
• heard cars on a nearby freeway
• saw dogs and people walking on the trails
• smelled the brisk fall air
• saw barren tree branches blowing in the wind

As the days get shorter and the trees loose the last of their leaves, I am reminded that winter is fast approaching in New England. The vegetation I saw during my second visit to Ethan Allen Park is vastly different from my observations during my October visit. I look forward to sharing how the ecology at Ethan Allen Park further changes as the winter season progresses.