Visiting my phenology spot in McKenzie Park again after two weeks, I noticed how quickly fall is turning over to winter. Many of the trees in the Silver Maple Ostrich Fern Floodplain Forest have shed their leaves, including the cottonwood and boxelder trees. The silver maple’s leaves have all turned a bright yellow, indicative of the changing seasons. The milkweed seedpods I observed last time have all turned brown and released their seeds. The Winooski’s water level was slightly lower than before, maybe because it rained hard before I came last time.
I also saw signs of wildlife that inhabits the floodplain. Making my way down to the river, I saw a cardinal take off and I continued to observe birds flying overhead the rest of the time I was there. Rodents rustled up and down the canopy nonstop. As I was leaving, I passed a small pile of scat that gave me hope that I may one day encounter an animal larger than a squirrel or bird at McKenzie Park.
Citations:
Beckett, S., & Ford, S. (2016, December 3). McKenzie Park. https://enjoyburlington.com/mckenzie-parkland/.