Welcome back to my phenology blog! This week was spring break, meaning I had the opportunity to explore a new place. I stayed in Burlington this week to go on a service trip, giving me the opportunity to meet new people and see new places. The ecolodge we stayed at in Starksboro had hiking trails surrounding it, so I set out with my new friends to see what we could find.
I could immediately tell that this place was very different from my phenology spot. Our hike moved through an open field and up a mountain, two characteristics that my spot does not have. The adventure started out in an open field with a pond. We saw some turkey’s walking around in the snow, which was super exciting to watch. Every once in a while, the turkey’s would fall through the foot of snow and have to hop to get back up. After they crossed our path, I went to take a closer look at the tracks. When they fell through the snow, there was a big hole mark, but the rest of the tracks were perfectly preserved on the surface of the snow.
When we moved out of the field and into the forested area after crossing a creek we stumbled upon some deer tracks and scat. We did not see the actual animal, but it looked like they came from within the woods to the bank of the creek before moving up the mountain. The diagonal walking pattern was very prevalent in the tracks it left behind.
We then started our ascent to the lookout point we planned on reaching. The bottom started out as mostly conifers such as Eastern Hemlock, which reminded me of my phenology spot which is located in a dense hemlock forest. However as we went up, the forest transitioned into more deciduous trees such as those found in a Northern Hardwood stand. There was especially a large abundance of American Beech. Since this was the species of buds I am observing at my phenology spot in Centennial Woods, I decided to take a closer look. The sapling I chose was still clinging onto some of its leaves from the summer and its buds were a bit larger and more swollen than the ones at my phenology spot, meaning it is closer to flowering!
This week may not have included any Bill or Japanese Barberry updates, but it definitely did not have an absense of wildlife or plant ID. I cannot wait to see what changes took place at Centennial while I was away!
