NR Phenology Project

During the four-day urban bioblitz, I chose to explore around campus. I thought it would be very interesting to see what kind of wildlife is around us every single day as we walk to and from classes. I found one tree outside the Aiken center that I had never noticed before, and due to the increase in rain, it had bloomed very rapidly! It was very pretty, and although no ID was added, I’m sure I will find out what species it is soon enough!

I had a very good experience using iNaturalist. I think it is very easy to use and it was fairly easy to join the TA group. I love using iNaturalist on my own time to identify plant or animal species that I think are cool. Unfortunately, for the bioblitz, I didn’t have a lot of time to get outside and observe many species because our watershed project was due, and I had to work on it. I may not have observed many species in the four days of the challenge, but I like to observe a lot of species on my own time using the app.

I found it very interesting that some cities that I perceive as very industrial with not a lot of nature were being ranked so high on the leaderboard. For example, New York is a very urban area and I always think of it not having a large or diverse population of plants or animals. However, they were ranked quite high (in hindsight, they have a lot of people, so this makes sense). The number of species observed in all of the cities, even Burlington, was also surprising to me. I guess I don’t really think of a city of having so many species within its border, but they do!

I think the City Nature Challege was a fun way to interact with the environment and the species we have been living in for the past two semesters.

Today I revisited my original site in Centennial Woods. I visited when it was raining, so I got to observe some phenological elements that I hadn’t been able to see before. The forest was very green, and the trees were almost all budding. I saw and heard a lot of wildlife, such as grey squirrels and chickadees. At my spot, Centennial Brook was flowing very fast because of the rainfall and there were a lot of worms in the muddy bank along the river. Because it was raining, I thought it would be best to do my 15-minute sit-sketch digitally.

Grass had begun to grow everywhere around my spot. There was also a new reed like plant that had sprung up on the left side of the path. There had been a lot of drastic changes since my last visit!

My site has changed a lot over time. In the fall, the trees had a lot of leaves that began to change color and fall off. There was some wildlife in the fall, but not much. In the winter, it was very barren with almost no life. When spring came around, life returned to the woods. Trees started budding and plants sprang up from the ground rather quickly. I don’t think there were many human-caused changes, but there were a few storm-caused ones. While walking on the path to my spot, there were a lot of fallen trees. When I got to my spot, I could see that the path made of wooden planks had been destroyed in some places and removed.

I’ve become familiar with the landmarks in the forest to help me get to my spot. Since early winter, there has been one tree laying across the path that has a very sharp branch jutting out of it. I know that once I pass this tree, I need to continue down the hill and I will be at my spot soon. Also, I know that once I can hear the brook, I have only to turn the corner to be at my spot. The sharp bend in Centennial Brook lets me know that I have arrived at my spot.

Nature and culture intertwine in Centennial Woods. In my spot particularly, I think that the brook has a lot to do with it. I can imagine that in the past, when the native Abenaki lived on this land, they would have used the brook for many things. It could have been used as a water source, for cleaning, for hunting, and so much more. Also, there are many plants in and around my spot (like berries for example) that could have been used as food. All the trees in my phenology spot are the type that could have been used to build weapons for hunting or anything else the natives needed. Centennial Woods is a natural area, so it is easy to see how it might have been used culturally long ago.

After all of my time spent in Centennial Woods, I would consider myself a part of my place. We have spent a long time studying the changes that nature brings, and I have spent a lot of time sitting and enjoying my time here. I do not think that humans and nature have to be completely separate to create a healthy ecosystem, so me being a part of Centennial Woods would not be harmful. I think that I am there often, and just as I would consider a squirrel a part of the ecosystem, I consider myself a part of it too.

Today I visited my tree again in Centennial Woods. Not much has changed about my tree since the last visit. It is not budding yet and has not developed any leaves. Although it is technically spring, there are no phenological indicators of the season showing on my tree just yet.

The bark is still peeling and the tree itself looks the same. In Centennial Woods, I felt that there was a phenological change. I could hear more birds chirping than before, and lots of the snow that was piled up during my last visit had melted. Although it was not warm during my visit and some snow still remained on the ground, I could tell that spring was here. I suspect that most of the changes that spring will bring to Centennial Woods will be observed later this month.

Today I returned to Centennial Woods to observe my birch tree. Nothing had changed much about it since the last time I visited.

Considering the area, there were some changes since earlier this month. There was definitely a lot less snow on the ground and I could hear birds calling throughout the forest. Walking to my tree, I saw a few budding trees and bushes around the woods. Because the snow had melted, more of the ground was visible and I could see a branch of a paper birch tree had fallen off right next to my observed tree.

Other than these few noted changes, the landscape had not changed that much. It is still the time between winter and spring where snow persists and covers the ground. Hopefully soon I will be able to observe changes to my paper birch tree and the surrounding Centennial Woods area.

Today I visited my site in Centennial Woods and looked around for some of the species listed. The species I found was paper birch.

I know this tree is a paper birch and not one of its winter lookalikes because the bark peeled off very easily and it was very clearly white. That, and the fact that the bark did not smell like wintergreen, ruled out the yellow birch. I looked around and saw many other trees that looked exactly like the one I chose. They were all growing along the edge of the trail in Centennial Woods. This is another factor that led me to believe that this tree was a paper birch and not any of its winter lookalikes. The paper birch likes to grow along the edge of trails so it can access sunlight and nutrients.

I uploaded a photo of my species to iNaturalist and almost immediately someone confirmed my identification.

Instead of returning to my phenology spot in Centennial Woods, I decided to explore the campground area by North Beach. There were a lot of human footprints in this area, but also various wildlife prints as well!

The first print that I observed was a gray squirrel print. It has the two smaller front feet behind the two larger back feet. The tracks matched with the 10-14 cm straddle that the Wildlife Tracking book suggests for a gray squirrel, and its track pattern matches with that of a gray squirrel. I saw some squirrels on the branches of trees up above, and they were all Gray, not Red. This, along with the size of the print, helped me narrow down my guess.

The next print that I observed was from a crow. I saw the bird make these prints, so I am positive that I have correctly identified this species. I have included this observation mostly because I found that these were some cool looking tracks.

The next track I observed I was unsure about identifying. I noticed it had a diagonal walking pattern and that the paw prints looked very canine. There were four toes and very little negative space in the center of the print.

My best guess is that this is a coyote print. I am guessing this because of the X shape in the middle of the print. The smaller pad of the foot also lines up with the example in the tracking book. The nails were pretty straight, and in our lecture, we were taught that this is a sign of a wild animal. I am not entirely sure if this is a coyote because I have trouble telling the difference between these prints and domestic dog prints, but they were pretty small, so I think coyote.

I found that using the iNaturalist app was very easy. When suggesting identifications for the track you are submitting, I found that having pictures pop up next to species names was very helpful. The app is fun to use and I’m excited to hear back about identifications of my tracks!

When I visited my phenology spot in Centennial Woods, I noticed that a lot had changed since December. The trees were covered in snow and the woods seemed like an entirely new place! It was so different; I got a little lost trying to find my spot that I had been to so many times before.

The phenological changes I observed mostly had to do with the trees. There were a lot of trees that had fallen down onto the trail and in most of the areas I walked by. I am guessing that this had a lot to do with the winter storms in Vermont. When I visited my spot in December, some trees were clinging to their leaves. Now, I didn’t see a single tree with any of its leaves. Also, I noticed that one of the trees in my spot still had berries on it! This surprised me because I thought that things like that would be gone by midwinter.

I noticed as I arrived at my spot that there was not a lot of signs of animals. I saw no tracks and the fact that the berries had not been eaten said to me that there was not a lot of animals interacting with my phenology spot. I assumed I would have seen a lot of signs of wildlife because the brook is a good source of water, but I saw nothing. The animals living in this area must be hibernating or at least dormant.

When I returned to my phenology spot, I noticed that some things had changed. First, there was no color in the canopy; all the leaves had fallen off the trees. There was no foliage left as far as I could see. All that was left were the needles of the far-off conifers.

When I looked closely, I observed that there was a small tree that still had fruit on it. There were small red berries near the top of the tree. Because they were near the top and the tree had empty branches near the bottom, I am led to believe that some animal ate the low hanging berries. Other than this, the signs of animals were limited, although I did see two woodpeckers! I tried to get some pictures of them, but it was difficult since they were so far away, and also because someone came wandering into my phenology spot while talking very loudly, which scared the birds away. Animal activity in my spot has decreased significantly since the fall. Where there once used to be a chorus of bird calls, there is now silence.

The fall leaf litter has begun to decompose in my area. It is very muddy along the brook, and I think this has helped in decomposing the leaves a lot. The leaves have sunk into the mud and become buried, where they will provide nutrients for the soil and decomposers.

Of all the aspects of my phenology spot, the one I enjoy the most is the brook. When I first visited Centennial Woods looking for a special location, I knew as soon as I arrived that I would make this one mine. The brook was flowing loudly, and I thought that the noise that it provided was very calming. Watching the water flow over the rocks in the stream was relaxing and I could see the area being an essential one to a lot of wildlife because of the brook. My phenology spot is a beautiful section of Centennial Woods and I’m glad I got to explore it so deeply.

I spent my break in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It is about an hour north of Boston. I chose for my phenology place to be in Ravenswood Park, a quiet reserve near my house. As soon as you walk into Ravenswood, you notice boulders lining the edge of the main path.

These boulders are the remnants of what used to be an old main road through farmland. The boulders marked where the road ended, and farmland began. There were a lot of these boulders around the trail where we hiked. About a mile into the main trail, I found where my phenology spot would be. It is the former site of the cabin of the Hermit of Gloucester. He was a lover of nature and lived secluded in the area for thirty-three years. He lived in Ravenswood until he died in 1917. I found this story very cool so I chose for my spot to be at the remains of his cabin.

Link To Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/AH94m4u91u4MhmTU6

Behind the boulder, you can see the stones that mark where his house was. I think that this location is special because it is a prime example of someone who enjoyed nature and worked the land. I think it’s very cool to imagine the farmland that used to be right near my house. After learning about the stone walls and land-use in class, it put my hike into a totally new perspective.

The ecology and phenology of my spot at home were similar to my spot in Burlington. There were many oak trees that had lost their leaves, and American Beech trees clinging to their last leaves. In my home place, there was a stream nearby that I could hear, but not locate. My Burlington place has a stream very close by. Both places had pine trees and other evergreens giving the area a little bit of color, but other than that, they were both pretty cold, dark, and colorless. However, my two places also have their differences. At my Ravenswood, I didn’t see a single maple tree. This is very different from my place in Centennial Woods, where maples are definitely the most common tree. There was also snow on the ground in Burlington when I left, and my hometown has not gotten any snow yet. Needless to say, Burlington is much colder than Gloucester.

In the passage Honorable Harvest from Braiding Sweetgrass, the guidelines for an honorable harvest are listed, one of them being “share”. I think that sharing is an important part of not just harvesting and consuming food, but an important part of land use as well. I am very lucky to have an easily accessible public hiking area right near my house. Whenever I hike there, I feel the beauty of nature all around me and I wish to conserve and help the land. I think that hiking and having this feeling is amazing, and something that should be shared with the entire public. Sharing experiences like this is important in getting people to care about conservation. In this way, “what’s good for the land is also good for the people”, as is stated in Braiding Sweetgrass.

While sitting in my Phenology Place, I noticed many things about my surrounding environment. First of all, it was very quiet. I could barely hear the brook; it was flowing so quietly. There were no bird calls as there were last time I visited. I heard the wind rustling in the tall shrubs and grasses, and I everything seemed very still. I noticed that my area seemed less alive than it had last time.

I noticed a lot of changes to my location. The limited trees in my area had all lost their leaves, except for the Norway Maple, where a few leaves were still hanging on. The tall grasses were wilting slightly, and the shrubs were more woody than leafy. I was observing brown more than any other color when I looked around my area. The water level in the book seemed to have decreased, and I could only really hear the water flowing if I was standing right next to it. This is very different than last time I visited, where I could hear the brook from pretty far away. Lastly, the ground was covered in lots of dead leaves from the trees. When visiting my Phenology location, it was very evident that the seasons were changing.