As this semester draws to a close it seems that spring in centennial woods has slowed to a crawl. Ever since the warm spell we had a few weeks ago new growth in centennial is reluctant to show itself. The past couple of days of overcast weather and cooler temperatures seem to be limiting what is able to grow and as a result, centennial woods has remained relatively barren. The one exception is the moss, which appears to be loving the cool damp weather as it covers everything.

To me it seems like many of the plants and animals of my phenology site are waiting for a change in the weather to break out from the grasp of the lingering cold. The forest is ready for change, and as I prepare to head home, so am I. Centennial brook is a fascinating ecosystem as it supports multiple thriving ecological communities while also constantly being interacted with by humans. Somehow this ecosystem is stable enough to allow for the presence of thousands of students who come to the woods for research or relaxation while also being able to provide ecological services to the surrounding communities. The combination of Centennial brooks ability to be resilient to human interaction and the sustainably minded students of UVM allow for delicate ecosystems such as vernal pools to exist in Centennial woods.

While I wish I could be around for spring and summer in my phenology site, soon it will be time for me to head home. I do feel that I have become a part of my spot as I now understand the complexity and depth of the interactions that occur there. While I may only be a temporary part of this ecosystem, the interactions I’ve had with the separate parts of it have left a lasting impression on myself and hopefully not so much on the environment. With the changing seasons its my time to leave, but I’ll be back next winter.

Returning to centennial brook on Tuesday, I was excited to see that spring was present in full force. Every step was a challenge as the trails to my phenology spot had transformed into bogs of deep mud. The spring peepers didn’t seem to mind though as they were very vocal when I was walking in. I ended up taking a detour to follow their cheeps to a small vernal pool where they were gathered. As I got closer they scattered and I unfortunately wasn’t able to get a good photo of it. Arriving at my phenology site I found that the entire area had become very saturated and swamp like. A variety of mosses and small wildflowers were present in and around my phenology site, though many of the larger plants in the area showed no sign of greening. I did notice that some of the buckthorn and oaks in the area had larger and lighter colored buds than in the winter, suggesting that soon leaves may emerge.

Returning home for spring break, I was pleasantly surprised by the comparatively warm weather of Massachusetts. I found that 60 degree weather makes it much more enjoyable to spend time examining a phenology site. For my new site over break I chose to study a local nature reserve where I often walk my dog. Specifically I wanted to examine a vernal pool surrounded by hardwoods which I knew to be hunting grounds of great horned owls. I ended up not seeing any owls but I did find signs of them and many other animals in and around the vernal pool. Due to the warm weather and a recent thunderstorm, nearly all of the snow in the area had melted leaving a muddy mess that was a pain to walk through, but made finding tracks easy. I was able to identify squirrel, deer, dog, and racoon track in the mud of the vernal pool. After some more investigating I found droppings and owl pellets at the base of a black oak tree. This area is ideal habitat for owls as it offers them easy access to prey as the come to the vernal pool for water and food. They tend to nest nearby in a grove of white pines only 100 yards away. Other than these pine trees, the majority of the forest surrounding the vernal pool are hardwoods including black oak, black locust, buckthorn, and red maple. Over all it was really interesting to see how the phenology of this site differed from centennial brook. Many of the trees surrounding the vernal pool had much larger buds, there was also far more animal activity here compared to my Burlington site. It definitely feels a lot more like spring here than in Vermont and it seems like the woods are preparing to come alive with new life.

Today was the first day in a while that I had the opportunity to visit my phenology site. I was excited to finally be back in Centennial woods and for the challenge of identifying the natural community of my site, to my surprise it was not nearly as hard as I thought. Arriving at my phenology site I began taking note of the species of trees surrounding the steep bank of the brook. Looking around I noticed just how diverse the plant life of my location was. Many of the surrounding tree species were common hardwoods such as red oak and sugar maple along with some buckthorn and beech, but there were also conifers such as white pines and more importantly, hemlocks. The mixed assortment of hardwoods and conifers along with hemlocks was a dead giveaway that I was standing in a Hemlock-northern hardwood forest. The presence of semi sandy soil and the lack of moisture in the soil also aided in the identification.

After feeling satisfied in my identification of the natural community of my site I began to examine the changes that had occurred over the past couple weeks. There was more snow on the ground than the last time I visited along with more tracks. The snow wasn’t great and the tracks were old but I was able to clearly identify deer, rabbit and coyote tracks. I was also interested when I noticed that the brook water was much dirtier than it was when I last visited. It was a muddy brown, possibly from snow melt washing soil down into the water. As spring approaches I’m excited to see how Centennial Brook will continue to change. Enjoy break yall!

After a couple weeks off it’s time to get back onto that Phenology grind, this time with a new site at Centennial brook. After studying the phenology Salmon Hole last semester I wanted to downsize a little bit and look into the phenology of a smaller water system. To my surprise Centennial Brook was not iced over and was still a reliable source of water for the local wildlife. At my phenology site I found a plethora of animal tracks including but not limited to mice, deer, rabbits, and what I believed to be crow tracks. There was also a variety of different size dog tracks that I noticed along the trails nearby. In addition to an abundance of animal presence, my new Phenology site also has a wide variety of plant life. Using the Winter twig guide I was able to identify common buckthorn, silver maple, black oak, and sugar maple around Centennial Brook.

I’m excited to start fresh with a new phenology site, especially since it’s so much closer to my dorm. Hopefully it will be just as fun as last semester!

As this semester draws to a close, I’m left to reflect on my phenology site and its history. After doing some digging, I found that Salmon Hole has a vibrant past of human use. I personally was really interested by the rich Native American culture that use to be present at the Hole. Salmon Hole originally got its name from the native American people that would frequent the spot as a source of food. The river came together just right to create a deep swirling pool which was perfect for salmon to spawn in. The rich soil on the shore was also the perfect habitat for wild onions. Its said that Native Americans would come to the pool and when they caught a salmon, they would filet it and stuff the fish with onions from the shore and cook it over a fire right there. Sadly, the creation of a dam and construction up river have changed the hole, however it still serves as a spawning place for many species of fish. It is also still a popular fishing spot which I think is really cool that Salmon Hole’s history of fishing still lives on today. Over all, I feel really privileged to be living within walking distance of such a beautiful place with a vibrant history.

My Uncles Cabin In The Woods

I arrived at my uncles cabin in the early afternoon as the sun was just beginning to fall behind the highest branches of the barren Norther Red Oaks and Red Maples that surrounded the clearing. It was a crisp 20 degrees and dropping fast, but the squirrels and chickadees didn’t seem to care. Hopefully the deer wouldn’t either. I had been playing in these woods for all my life but only recently has I started hunting in them with my uncle. We quietly slipped into the woods and headed for our hunting spot. As I hiked to my tree stand the woods fell quiet , the only sounds were the deafening crunch of leaves under my boot and the whistle of the cold wind which bit into my skin like tiny knives. As I reached my tree stand I grabbed onto the little pegs that were screwed into the old oak and climbed to a small platform suspended 30 feet above the forest floor. This is where I would spend the next three hours, observing the forest, waiting. Once I stopped moving, the first thing to hit me was the silence followed quickly by the cold. It felt like the whole forest was holding its breath. Slowly, the forest began to move again. The birds started chirping, the squirrels continued to rummage through the leaves, and in the distance the crows resumed their chorus of caws. The woods were once again full of life, only this time I was a part of it.

My uncle’s brother at the property with the deer he harvested for Thanksgiving dinner and some pictures of the property from when I was younger.

I chose the forest that I hunt in Connecticut with my family as my phenology site because I knew that I would be spending a lot of time over break there. Its also a place that has been a part of my family almost my entire life and where I got really interested in the outdoors. The biggest difference between this phenology site and my Salmon Hole phenology site is the watershed of each area. At my uncles cabin, there is a mixture of small brooks which flow year round and vernal pools which fill up with water in the summer time and dry up in the fall and winter. All of these flow into Lake Poacatapaug. On the other hand, Salmon Hole is made up of the Winooski river which is the congregation point of multiple rivers and streams. While both locations have an abundance of water, Salmon Hole has much greater amount and this impacts both the wildlife and the plant life present. In both locations the majority of plant life are deciduous trees and shrubs. However, in my time that I’ve spent at both sites, I’ve noticed that in comparison there are more large hardwoods present at my uncles cabin then at Salmon Hole, I believe that this is due largely in part to the periodical flooding of the Winooski that Salmon Hole experiences. In the woods of my uncles property, one of the most common hardwoods is the Northern Red Oak. This abundance of oaks creates excellent habitat for deer as acorns are a favorite food of theirs. What really surprised me was how barren of leaves the trees were compared to Burlington, in fact there were hardly any left. Despite their differences, both locations are meaning to me and it was really nice to reconnect with this place and my family over break.

Early this afternoon as I walked down the trail to Salmon Hole, I was shocked by what I saw and quickly realized that the fishing rod that I had brought wasn’t going to be used. Because of the rain over the past couple of days I knew that the river would be larger than the last time I had visited. However, I had not expected to find most of my Phenology site underwater. I was really interested to see that the tree growth matched up with areas that were above the high water level. Just another example of a pattern formed by environmental interactions. I was also excited to see that many trees still had vibrant fall leaves. As it gets closer to winter, I’m excited to see what other changes will occur on the riverscape.

Here are some of the photos I took of my Phenology site today…

Aerial Map of Phenology Site

Over the past week and a half as the weather has gotten cooler I’ve noticed some impressive changes at Salmon Hole. Many of the surrounding trees are now displaying bright fall leaves mixed with some lingering green. In addition to the fall foliage there is noticeably less non-woody plants in the area. Much of the wild grasses and flowers have browned and wilted, leaving the area more open. Despite the cold weather, there is no shortage of wildlife present at Salmon Hole. To the excitement of many fishermen, including myself, there is an abundance of aquatic activity in the Winooski. Salmon Hole is no exception with the presence of brown trout, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, and of course, landlocked salmon. During my time spent there I saw an assortment of bird species including chickadees, robins, and even a blue heron. I also observed multiple squirrels and chipmunks as well as finding signs of racoon and fox in the form of tracks and scat. I’m excited to see what the next few weeks will hold ass the temperatures become even cooler. Until then, I plan to get outside and enjoy the nice weather!

10/7/18

Hey there everybody! Welcome to my phenology blog! For my Phenology Spot I chose to blog about Salmon Hole in Winooski. Underneath Winooski falls, Salmon Hole is widely known as a local fishing spot especially for landlocked salmon. It is also an important spawning ground for lake sturgeon, an endangered species in the Lake Champlain region  The main reason why I chose this location is that I am an avid fisherman and outdoorsman so I wanted to blog about a place with both forest and water.

To get to Salmon Hole from Campus is pretty simple and only takes a seven minute car ride or a leisurely 20 minute walk. From Trinity you simply follow Colchester Ave down to the stoplight before the bridge into Winooski and take a sharp left onto Riverside Ave. Once you see a sign for Salmon Hole look around the corner for a trailhead that leads down to the waters edge.

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The vegetation at Salmon Hole changes drastically as you approach the waters edge. Walking down towards the Winooski river through the forest, there are an abundance of Sugar Maples, Silver Maples, Red Oaks, Paper Birches, and American Elm. However, moving closer to the water tree growth becomes scattered and the terrain becomes more shrubby, dominated by common buckthorn and wild grasses. It is interesting to note that the majority of trees closest to the waters edge were predominantly Silver maples and American Elm. I noticed that there were a few leaves that were starting to show a change in color and that the river was flowing pretty fast and high comparatively to when I last visited.

Most common woody plants:

• Silver Maple
• American Elm
• Common Buckthorn

I’m extremely excited to see how the changing seasons will impact both the river and the vegetation of Salmon Hole and am looking forwards to my next post. See you all around!