Happy 2024! I’ve become sick in the new year and thus, to make things easier on myself, I chose a closer natural spot for my Phenology Spot. Its in Redstone Pines for this semester.
Above is the map of my new spot. You can also go to the direct link here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1KdU8wEjZSmHfrRYoQhKaBnuXd1-fIcg&usp=sharing. If you want to go there, I get there through the Athletic campus. I go down the road between University Heights North and South towards the Catholic Center. I then take the trail behind the Catholic center until I’m next to the Interfaith Center and turn right into the Phenology Spot.
In terms of what has changed between December and Late January, the leaves of the deciduous trees are now completely gone and the ground has been more consistently covered in snow and ice, making the grass go dormant. I obviously cannot get into too much detail, as I didn’t have the same phenology spot last semester. It is certainly less dry in terms of water, especially in the soil.
This spot has less overstory and understory than my previous story, but a larger amount of grasses and shrub layer. The dominant trees are the same though: Eastern White Pine, with a few other species like Black Cherry. The shrub layer has what appears to be Rhododendron and Honeysuckle, along with a few grasses that I don’t know.
Animal Activity
In terms of animal activity, unfortunately most of the snow has melted in my spot, so I couldn’t find any tracks from animals that way, so I instead tried to rely on evidence of animals eating things or brushing on trees.
I found a couple of holes in an Eastern White Pine that were about half an inch long at the biggest. I would imagine they were likely the creation of a Woodpecker of some kind or a bug. In either case, they were likely already there for quite some time given the cold weather. I also found some evidence for either a bird or squirrel eating some acorns in the area, due to the presence of only acorn caps.
Finally, I also found some scat, but I honestly think its dog scat, so I thought I would mention it, but I don’t think its a wild animal.
Pictures
