This spring break I returned to my hometown and visited the same relative spot as I did first semester, in Eastern Vermont. Since this spot is in such close proximity to my home, I am going to refrain from posting a map. The spot is an organic sugar bush, which has been maintain for several decades. Quite a long time ago, it was pastures and farmland, according to the numerous stone fences.

I visited this spot after my region got a foot of snow. It was very sunny out with little wind. The woods were almost silent. I did not see signs of many birds, but it was prime animal tracking conditions.

The most remarkable set of tracks that I was able to observe were a set of snowshoe hare tracks, relatively fresh in the deep snow, headed north.

The first set of tracks that I came across were either coyote or fox tracks, heading east. They appeared quite clear and undisturbed, making me think that they were also relatively fresh.

Since this was a sugar bush, I made sure to make note of if the sap was flowing through the tubing. Unfortunately, on this day it wasn’t, because it was in the 30-degree range and therefore a little too cold. The woods were mostly silent, as I stated previously, little sign of birds. This is especially strange, because the sugarbush is usually home to a lot of bird life. The silence of the woods was incredible. I was hiking with my mom, and we both were amazed at the absence of noise. It wasn’t an anxious quiet, or a dormant one. It was just that we happened to be alone in a sugarbush, which was quite the experience. It would have been nice to see some of the creatures making the tracks that we observed, but seeing the tracks alone was pretty interesting.

One thing that I noticed was how the snow truly blanketed the forest. It is rare to see mostly intact snow cover an area. The animal tracks were really the only thing to disturb the snow.

Another thing I noted was that several trees had fallen down or were cut since I visited this area last. One particularly remarkable maple that I did not take a photo of was completely toppled over, roots and all. The tree was quite large, leading me to think that it must have been rather old. This is a rare sight, especially in a sugar bush. I have no speculation as to why the tree was in this state.

This past Sunday I ventured to my spot at Oakledge Park. It was a very sunny, cold day with considerable wind gusts. There was little-to-no snow on the land and buds were starting to become evident on the trees. There were also quite a few birds all around my spot, my favorite of which being a fat female cardinal. I was not able to get her picture, but she was along the trail leading up to my spot, in a tree.

There was a new, impressive, possibly man-made hole in one of the trees on my spot, which baffled me. I have never seen a bird make a hole this big. My best guess is that maybe a bird started the hole and it was then worsened by a human. It was a surprisingly aggressive new sight.

Another interesting thing that I noticed, although not part of my site, was the ice on the lake. There was a thin sheet that extended out from the shoreline that moved with the waves. I am wondering how this formed, if it was water that froze quickly and then had snow accumulate on top of it, or if it is some sort of receding ice melt. This was a really neat phenomenon to witness.

After paging through Wetland, Woodland, Wild, I decided to classify the natural community of my place as an Upland Natural Community, specifically as an upland cliff. I am not entirely sure if it is a Temperate Acidic Cliff or a Temperate Calcareous Cliff, but I am leaning more towards the Calcareous option because they are more abundant in the Champlain Valley. There is also ample shrubbery, which is a key habitat aspect of the Calcareous cliff.

After plugging Oakledge Park into Biofinder, I learned that there is actually had quite a lot of rare plant species throughout the area. There also seems to be some high-priority animal crossings around the park’s edges. In my area specifically, both of these things seem to be existent. I would say that according to Biofinder, Oakledge is a very ecologically special place worth protecting. I had no idea that it had particularly rare or uncommon species present, and knowing this now makes me even more excited about my spot. It is funny how we go about our lives visiting areas with little-to-no information about the species that live there.

Wetland, Woodland, Wildland Source: http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=245022