On my last trip to my phenology spot, I noticed a lot more herbaceous plants starting to poke through the ground as the weather has warmed. I documented some ferns, as well as moss and shrubs in pictures below. Nature and culture intertwine in the ways people have impacted the location. For example, I have enjoyed watching the change in spray painting on the concrete wall in my phenology spot over the course of the year as more people add to it. The contrast of the bright purple and yellow against the green of the woods is beautiful.

I think centennial woods has a different level of significance for students here and can be a safe comforting place to come and engage with the natural world. I would consider myself a part of it. While I’m not a constant part of the location, I think anything or anyone that comes in contact with it shapes the history of the place and adds to the sense of place of the area. I included a few bonus pictures of other times I have visited my phenology spot to hammock. I plan to continue to visit this spot when I return in the fall 🙂

During the City Nature Challenge, I ended up exploring parts of Centennial Woods, and then walked down to Trinity to observe wildlife across campus. I also ended up heading home for part of the weekend and observed more species that were out and about in Eastern Massachusetts. While I was still in the Vermont area, I noted a lot of birds although I was not able to photograph all of them. I observed seagulls, robins, a cardinal, and a couple pileated woodpeckers. I noticed different buds on maple trees growing and cherry trees starting to bloom back home. It was a little difficult to distinguish animal tracks in the mud since there were many dog walkers out in the nice weather, but I noted a few squirrels and chipmunks. iNaturalist was a little difficult to use but it was cool to look at the other cities. I looked at some places outside the US such as Sydney Australia and learned a bit about some of the species there that are quite different from the ones we observed.

This past week I observed the phenology of the Sonoran Desert in Pheonix Arizona. Saguaro cacti create a habitat for many species including Elf Owls, Hawks, Mice, Cactus Wren, Woodpeckers, and other species. I was able to note signs of woodpeckers (holes in main trunk), and see crows, cactus wren, hummingbirds and a hawk throughout the trip.

I was able to identify the plant species better after visiting a local botanical garden. Aside from the very tall saguaros, the plant life remains relatively short and consists of shrubs, grasses, barrel cactus, prickly pear, and cholla. The rough outer layers and shallow roots throughout the plant species allow for better water absorption and retention. Because their trunks serve as photosynthetic infrastructure unlike the coniferous and deciduous woody species in Vermont, they can grow spines which serve many purposes.

My location is in Anthem just off the side of a main road. Because of urban sprawl, there is significant land in between towns and neighborhoods, so I just picked a spot that was representative of the area.

This week I went to Centennial with my friend to observe Wildlife! We spotted several robins on Campus on the way there by L/L and more scattered around the crab apple trees on the sidewalk past Jeffords.

Once we entered Centennial Woods, we noticed many gray squirrel tracks, and a few hypothesized to be a type of rabbit- it was a little difficult to tell because there was a slight flurry earlier that day. Once we got closer to the water, we noticed some more squirrel tracks across the stream over a fallen tree which was pretty cool!

We heard some crows but were unfortunately unable to see them. There were also several indications of birdlife in the woods. Holes in taller eastern white pines and some shorter, hollowed out, dead branches suggest pileated woodpeckers and maybe some past insects chewing away at the wood.

We had a bit of trouble identifying some dog prints because there were tracks layered on top of each other, but we remembered to look for the angle of the toenail prints and the walking pattern. It was a little bit difficult to figure out how to use INaturalist because there was not a great connection in Centennial, but it was engaging to see others’ observations once we figured it out.

Being back on campus has introduced me to the battle of winter in Vermont. Last weekend I was able to spend some time in my phenology spot in Centennial Woods. On the way, I noticed several birds on the telephone wires just outside the entrance to the trails. Upon arrival to my spot, I noticed a hole in one of the trunks (pictured below!). After doing some research, I would hypothesize it might be the work of a pileated woodpecker which are common in Vermont. I also noticed some moss still alive on the trunks surviving off the moist surface coated in snow and the sun (by photosynthesizing). Not much has changed in the spot otherwise- there are still some berries visible, although most of the understory left alive in December is now dead.

I also was able to find some tracks and scat. I’m fairly certain the scat was from a medium size dog, but the animal tracks were still a little challenging to identify. Due to the snowfall while I was there/on the way, some of the toe prints weren’t super clear. I would guess squirrel for the one in the middle below based on visible toe shape and size, and I thought the spacing on the ones in the bottom left picture suggest those might be rabbit tracks. Overall, a cool (and cold) visit!

Just a short collection of photos I’ve taken of the changing phenology over the course of the semester. Some are from my phenology site, some from the greater Burlington area, and some are from home. Featuring my friends Del and Madeline and my dog Daisy!

Over the past week, I took a few visits to my phenology spot and observed the changes of winter. The leaf cover on the ground has continued to grow as the rest of the leaves have fallen and turned an orange-brown color. They are now covered in about an inch of snow in some places. I was able to note some human footprints on one of my visits and what I guessed to be dog footprints- which was proven to be true when I ended up spotting a lab walking around with a group of people on my way out. Not as many birds were visible given most have migrated south for the winter, but I was able to see a small garter snake that was moving around and underneath some of the leaf cover. I also noted some of the trees looked to be chewed by beavers, one of which is pictured below. The plants of the understory were mostly dead aside from the ferns and some berries on some barberry bushes. They were a beautiful bright red and green in contrast with the snow and brown predominantly maple, birch, and beech leaves. The ground itself was a mix of mud and ice on one of my trips as it had rained a bit during the morning, so it was a little slippery of a walk that day, but I was glad I made it out there to see the winter phenology changes!

Over break I spent some time in the woods near my house in Holliston Massachusetts. It’s pretty quiet and a very peaceful place. I usually walk or skateboard there depending on the weather. It’s a good place to relax or ground myself if I’m feeling overwhelmed. Since I don’t live on a busy main road, there isn’t as much of the typical noise pollution from cars/busses/trains you might hear around the Burlington area, and I definitely didn’t encounter as many people as I would walking to my phenology spot here.

In the spot I chose this past week there were mostly Norway maple and Eastern white pine trees. The pines looked to be mature and the maples were still in the relatively young growth phase. In the winter, branches of the pines fall all the time with the weight of the snow and wind. My phenology spot in Centennial had much more variance in the tree types such as sugar maples and red maples. It also had more of a notable understory, whereas my location over break had minimal shrubs, although if I do recall correctly there is some cabbage further into the woods.

I noted a few squirrels and birds in both places and while I didn’t see any while I visited this week, I do know there have been deer and coyotes in parts of the area before. While it was a bit warmer in Massachusetts, we did still get a dusting of snow over the past weekend.

This week I chose to adventure to downtown Burlington to explore the area and check out some of the phenology apart from my chosen site in Centennial Woods. I started my journey by the entrance of the Davis Center tunnel near a beautiful maple tree. I walked down to main campus and then turned just before Old Mill to cut across the green space where I recognized some of the trees assigned from our tree quiz . I then continued down College street and turned on to Church street. 

On the way, I passed and observed a beautiful red maple and several paper birch trees where I stopped briefly to sit at a few points and figure out where I wanted to go from there. It was interesting to see the amount of leaves that have changed color since our last time walking past them at some of the previous labs, as well as the amount of fallen leaves littering the sidewalk and streets. I forgot the sun would be setting so much earlier this time of year, so I was glad I left early enough in the afternoon where I had enough time to get back before sunset.

 I ended up stopping in a bookstore downtown before walking all the way down to the waterfront and checking out the swings on the pier. I was going to walk down to the small beach area but noticed a sign indicating the area was closed due to cyanobacteria. After sitting and completing a sketch of my event map so far, I ventured back towards campus. On the way I stopped in a coffee shop and got a little snack. After finishing my walk back to the Davis Center, I sat at one of the tables outside and caught a bit of golden hour before the sun set. Even though I have lived here for a few months now, I feel like there’s still so much I haven’t explored even just in the downtown area, so this was a very enjoyable assignment.

Over this past weekend I spent some time in my phenology spot while it was raining. It was very peaceful to be alone in the space with the steady sounds of falling rain, some birds, and a light breeze. It was interesting to see the stream full of rainwater as the other times I had been it was more stagnant in some areas. The overstory has fallen significantly since my last visit- a decent layer of leaf debris along with some branches and trunks cover the ground. The leaves were predominantly from maples and birch trees both and located both on the ground and interwoven in some of the shrubs in the understory. I also noticed some foam on a few of the trees which suggests some levels of air pollutants.

Birds Eye View Map: