I had quite an adventure as I walked to my phenology spot today. I was met with frozen, muddy, and slippery ground that slowed down my pace. As I walked in further, I noticed a lot of down trees which were probably caused by the massive amount of wind we had this morning and throughout the rest of today. But what I was amazed to see was an owl swoop down in front of me. I had just taken a picture of down tree when as I was putting my phone in my pocket, a barred/screech owl appeared. I’m not too up to date with my owl identification but based on my memory of the markings, naturally curious, and the internet it is most likely barred or screech.
In regard to the woody plants, the pines were holding up well growing in their needles. Some red oaks were barley holding on to their last few leaves. The trees all swayed, cracked, and bent in the wind. There were lots of branches scattered around the forest floor as well as downed trees. One tree in particular had some squiggles in the bark which I thought looked interesting. Another looked like it may have had some bark rubbed off, but I am unsure if this was cause by an animal or just on how the bark has fallen. The understory vegetation was made up of low forest floor plants like wood ferns that all seemed to congregate in big clumps together.
The snow had unfortunately almost all the way melted by now, so I was unable to see any animal tracks. I did check in on the piles of bones which were still there in the muddy tree area. There were birds flying around, some crows and smaller birds that I heard through the wind and rustling of the trees. On the way out I did spot a considerably large squirrel who had a fat winter body.
Although I am excited to go back home, I will be thinking about my phenology spot and the changes that will happen when I am gone. I am excited to come back and see how centennial has transformed. But for now, I say goodbye to this place.
