This weekend I got out to Red Rocks park in South Burlington, conveniently my phenology spot, and explored the plants and animals in the areas I encountered. I enjoyed recording these findings on iNaturalist because it was easy to use, I learned about new organisms, and I felt like I was able to contribute something even as a first year Environmental Science student. In this exploration, I recorded 6 species on iNaturalist (pictured below).
I first noticed the buds of an American Beech. Although they haven’t swelled yet and there are no leaves on the tree, the buds are very distinct so I was able to identify it quickly. To the right of the beech bud, is the bark of a paper birch tree, another distinct tree with a feature that I was able to identify with certainty. As I was making these observations, a bumble bee was buzzing around me and I was able to snap a photo. The next picture depicts polypody ferns followed by a spider I saw on the trail that iNaturalist helped me temporarily identify as “Subfamily Coelotinae.” Lastly, I saw two Mallards swimming together in a small pond.
Overall, it was interesting to track the data coming in on iNaturalist from others in NR 1020 as well as throughout the world. Seeing species that aren’t from around here as well as the different types of biodiversity from different countries being recorded in real time was a super cool way to expand my knowledge about nature.