Home Phenology Site – Cutler Park – Arms Forest Phenology

The phenology site I chose at home is called Cutler Park. This is a place which is used heavily for recreation such as walking and mountain biking. It is tucked away surrounded by the Charles River on one side, a highway on the other side, suburban Needham and an industrial park closing it off. One of the center pieces of the park is Cutler Pond which is located in the middle of the main walking trail, a 1.5 mile loop.

Here is a map of Cutler Park. I have outlined the general boundary of the park in a light red line. To the left of the park in this picture is a portion of Needham (my town), and to the right of the park is the town of Newton.

Cutler Park is very similar to my Burlington phenology site, Arms Forest. They are both relatively diverse wooded areas used for recreation, closely surrounded by development on all sides. Cutler Park is larger than Arms Forest, and includes more diverse kinds of ecosystems. Arms Forest does not have many distinct or unique features, whereas Cutler Park has more features. Cutler Park contains more changes in elevation, none significant however. It is also along a river and surrounds a pond which provides habitat for fish and waterfowl such as ducks and swans. Cutler Park also has a significant amount of marsh land filled with reeds. There were many of the same kinds of trees in Cutler as in Arms Forest such as Northern Red Oak, White Oak, Eastern White Pine, Red Maple, and some Norway Maple. Cutler Park, however, had a significant amount of Red Pines which were very sparse in Arms Forest. Additionally there were some trees which I was not able to identify for certain, but I think they could have been White Ash and Scarlet Oak. As for animals, I am not familiar with birds, but I believe there were some of the same kinds of birds in both areas. They are also both home to many squirrels. Overall, Arms Forest and Cutler Park are similar in their general location and uses, however contain some different kinds of lands and tree species.

Here is a picture of an unidentified tree. I particularly like the bark of this tree.

Here is a beautiful cluster of the Coprinellus micaceus mushroom at the base of a rotting White Oak

Here is that same rotting White Oak in which the mushrooms were growing on. This tree seemed to have been taken over by this sort of vine making its way up and around the tree. This vine like thing was relatively common to see in the park.

Here is a picture of the Charles River through the brush

I believe Cutler Park is special because it is central place of recreation for two towns, and has a wide range of habitats and vegetation species which makes it very ecologically important for the area.

Works Cited

Micah Bernat (Photographer). (2020). Cutler Park Map [Photograph].

Micah Bernat (Photographer). (2020). Unidentified Tree [Photograph].

Micah Bernat (Photographer). (2020). Mushrooms [Photograph].

Micah Bernat (Photographer). (2020). Vine [Photograph].

Micah Bernat (Photographer). (2020). River [Photograph]

A UVM blog Arms Forest Phenology