Centennial Woods Phenology

By now, all the deciduous trees besides red oak, beech, and Norway maple have lost their leaves. The red oak and beech have many of their leaves left although they have all turned an orange brown color and some have fallen. The leaves of the Norway maples remain green although a good portion of them have fallen and the color has faded from a vibrant bright green to a more yellow green. Last time I was here, I could see leaves falling all around me with every gust of wind but today, despite the strong winds, I saw very few leaves fall. Like the Norway maples, honeysuckles also still have green leaves.

The fluctuating weather has been very characteristic of November as we had snow just a day or two ago and today it was up in the low 50s. The windiness today and over the past few days also indicated a transition into late fall. Despite the weather not having been particularly wet, the leaves on the ground beneath the top layer are wet and have a slight smell of decomposition.

Fish, J. (Photographer). (2020). [Centennial Woods Photos]

By now, most of the red maples have lost nearly all of their leaves as well as the black cherry. In contrast, the norway maples still have plenty of green leaves and the red oaks have many of their leaves left although they have changed color. Now, the ground is covered in leaves rather than the pine needles that coated the ground the last time I was there. The honeysuckle’s leaves remain green and this makes them stand out against other shrubs that have lost their leaves already. Being able to see them more clearly makes me realize just how much honeysuckle is growing at this site which is really unfortunate.

I saw a number of animal species using this site while I was there. I saw gray squirrels and chipmunks scurry through and saw evidence of them stopping to eat in the piles of cracked open seeds and nuts on the ground or on fallen logs. Birds are active in the site as well and I saw a chickadee, some kind of finch, a nuthatch, and holes pecked in a dead tree. I also heard the sound of crows cawing and crickets chirping.

Fish, J. (Photographer). (2020). [Centennial Woods Photos]

Fish, J. (Photographer). (2020). [Centennial Woods Photos]

I chose a spot in Centennial Woods, not far from the parking lot but far enough that it feels like nature. To get there, you go along the path that goes back from the parking lot and walk for a minute or two until you reach a group of red maple trees that have made a distinct circle at the intersection of two trails. I looked at a few different spots before I chose this one including crescent woods, redstone quarry, and a couple other spots in Centennial but I chose this place because of the proximity to my dorm and the interesting diversity of the understory. The overstory is primarily made up of white pine, red oak, and red maple with some black cherry, norway maple, beech, and elm. The understory contains some barberry and honeysuckle along with a patch of goldenrod and asters and many small shrubby trees that may be some kind of cherry such as a pin or fire cherry and a number of other small shrubs. https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=15sSdb-xryIs0aMJNcVSWqgakFRzlOLIH&usp=sharing