Plant Changes
This was my last visit of the semester. It was seasonably chilly, but pleasant and sunny. The foliage was similar to last time, but almost all leaves had been blown off the trees, except for a few red oak leaves that are still holding on. The fall foliage that was on the forest floor last time had lost some of its vibrancy and is in the process of decomposition.
Invasive Garlic Mustard- one of the few remaining green plants
Most of the plants have gone dormant or died, but some still remain green, such as the invasive garlic mustard growing under the bridge, and some grasses and ferns. Of course, the evergreen Eastern White pines did not change in appearance since my last visit. The oriental bittersweet berries look the same as the last time I observed them.
Animal Activity
There was a lot of bird activity in my phenology spot today. Entering Centennial woods, I immediately saw several Black Capped Chickadees flying across my path and heard them chirping throughout my visit. I was unable to get a good look at the smaller birds or photograph them but there were a lot of them active.
I did get to take a picture of a Pileated woodpecker. I noticed it after hearing it call loudly and fly into a tree. I observed it eating berries then fly off. I then observed a second woodpecker before they flew off. Later, I saw one high up in an oak tree pecking a hole in a branch, and I saw the larger one flying low to the ground. They were very noisy creatures. It is possible that they are mates. If that is the case then they are bonded for life!
I looked around in the frozen mud by the brook for some tracks. I saw lots of human footprints in the mud, indicating the popularity of Centennial woods with the community. I saw a few dog footprints as well. I also saw what at first looked like a dog footprint, but with closer inspection looked too round to be a dog’s foot. I looked it up, and it resembles a bobcat footprint.
