On March 31, I went out to collect my data for the phenology walk. Generally, it appeared that all 5 trees were in a dormant phenophase, with no buds breaking, flowers, expanded leaves, or pollen visible. Looking at the National Phenology Network’s website, something that sticks out to me is how spring started earlier than …
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Final Phenology Post
The biggest phenological change I have noticed at my site in the springtime is the dramatic increase in wildlife activity. In my past blogs, I’ve written about how birding at this spot has been relatively uninteresting, with me only observing a few individuals of common species like black-capped chickadees, robins, and crows. During this visit …
Burlington BioBlitz!
For my participation in the BioBlitz this weekend, I decided to go through Centennial Woods and the surrounding area. I was particularly looking for birds, for I was helping my friend identify them for her biology assignment, but I also observed plants and invertebrates. The plants I observed were staghorn sumac, boxelder, Norway maple, and …
Exploring Burlington’s Wildlife
For this month’s phenology assignment, I explored East Woods as well as around the downtown Burlington area and campus. With the new knowledge I have gained from the reading, lecture, and lab, I realized I felt much more knowledgable not only about what wildlife was around me, but also their behaviors and how to identify …
Centennial Woods in January
For my second semester phenology spot, I decided to return to where I had visited previously in Centennial Woods. Pictured below is the spot, which is at the bottom of a hill by the brook. The most obvious and consistent sign of animal activity I observed during my visit to the Natural Area today were …
Final Dutch Fork Expedition
Today, I conducted my final exploration of the phenological changes in Dutch Fork Wetlands. The most significant changes I observed in the flora were that most of the last leaves that were clinging onto the alders had dropped to the ground. The rest of the leaf litter has also started to darken and break up, …
Bird’s Eye View Reflection
Above is my bird’s eye view of my spot, which is highlighted by the X in the center. Divided by the trail, there are 3 wetlands surrounding my spot, protected by common alders and black willows and bordered by grassland occupied by indianagrass and goldenrod. Sitting still for 15 minutes in my spot really helped …
Observing My Burlington Site
The spot that I chose in Burlington to compare to my spot at Dutch Fork in Ohio is in Centennial Woods next to Centennial Brook. I thought that this spot would make for a good comparison because the brook provides an aquatic environment in the Woods ecosystem like the wetlands of Dutch Fork. The picture …
First Visit to Dutch Fork
Dutch Fork Wetlands is an incredibly interesting spot in rural Ohio. Despite the fact that the majority of Ohio’s “natural” lands are now forested, the pre-colonial landscape was dominated by swamps and grasslands. Currently, 90% of Ohio’s wetlands have been destroyed, largely for agricultural purposes. The wetlands at Dutch Fork were destroyed for road construction, …