Since I last visited my phenology spot, (prior to winter break), lots has changed. There is significantly more snow on the ground, as January is almost always below freezing so snow has less of a chance to melt. All of the coniferous trees, except for one, have pine needles on them while the one other has dead brown leaves on it. All the deciduous trees have a few dead brown leaves on them. The only sign of wildlife, outside of animal tracks and crushed sticks, are hearing birds singing as I was exiting my phenology spot. These bird’s songs could be them warning each other that potential pray could be in the area. The snow on the path and understory are flattened from lot’s of humans and animals traveling on and along the path.
I was able to identify two twigs. The first one is a paper birch twig as it is slender with reddish brown color and more than three bud scales. The second one is white oak as it is reddish brown and has multiple terminal buds which are small and round. When looking at the snow, I noticed cottontail rabbit tracks, coyote tracks, and gray squirrel tracks.
Levine, Lynn (2014). Mammal Tracks and Scat Life-Size Pocket Guide. Heartwood Press
