Fall – phenology fieldnotes & blog

December 2, 2024April 24, 2025

November 30th, 2024

Over break, I promised my little brother I’d drive him where ever he wanted to do some photography. He has been getting into nature photography, so we drove 20 minutes and a few towns over to get to Tinker Nature Park. A perfect spot to compare to my phenology place here in Burlington. Located a short drive from the heart of Rochester, NY, Tinker Nature Park features “fairy houses” and a few nice walking trails.

Above are a few maps showing the land and location of Tinker Nature Park compared to the Greater Rochester Area and Burlington, VT.

The ecosystem is similar to that of Rock Point, however the seasons have changed drastically since I’ve last been to my location in Vermont, making this a bit difficult. I selected a place surrounding a small segment of the trail, similar to my place here. There were only a few leaves remaining, standing out in the greys and browns of fall. The most common trees which kept their leaves looked almost like immature black cherry trees, the branches speckled with little black berries. There were also barberry bushes scattered around and caught our eye for photos with their bright red berries and red-orange leaves. I am not too great at identifying trees from their bark, so I had a tough time deciphering the overstory species without their leaves. There was an abundance of coarse woody debris, much of it covered in “scales” or shelf fungi. I also noticed some burls on trees, which was super cool to see in person after hearing about it. We came across this one tree stump missing some of it bark to reveal a swirly pattern carved on the wood inside, likely from an Emerald Ash Borer.

I used to visit Tinker as a kid on field trips as they have a little nature center on the property too. I really enjoyed my time outside with my little brother, even if my toes were frozen and I couldn’t really feel my face. I pointed out the things I recognized from class in the ecosystem, and the things which I had no idea about. Being with family this past week has helped me understand how truly grateful I am for my opportunities here in Vermont.

Super cool stump covered in shelf fungi–likely *Trichaptum biforme*, violet-tooth polypore, which decomposes hardwood stumps and logs

Regarding an “Honorable Harvest”, I chose not to leave anything behind as the location is a shared space. There is a sign at the head of the trail saying “leave only footprints behind and take nothing but photographs”, and I wanted to respect that wish. The land’s gift to me was a lovely day spent with my little brother.

They had planted maybe a dozen sapling at one of the forks in the trail and each was protected with a stake and tube–similar to the ones we looked at in Centennial Woods at the beginning of the semester

Vines! Either Virginia Creeper or Poison Ivy, possibly both

November 4, 2024April 24, 2025

November 3rd, 2024

It has been quite the fall. There has been snow, 75 degree weather, and plenty of rain all within the span of a few weeks. As I sit in my place in the trails of Rock Point, it is around 40 degrees and a bit cloudy. Most of the leaves have fallen from the woody plants surrounding this area, and any remaining flowers have mostly died off. It is turning much more brown as the ecosystem prepares for winter. There are no people walking by, compared to the one or two I have passed while out here in the past. I am curious to see how the snow settles in here, how it coats the ground and blurs the line between trail and forest.

Instead of a simple birds-eye view look at the land, I chose to look a little deeper (literally). I chose to depict the layers of the landscape and foliage.

Within the Canopy, the dominant species are mature trees such as Ashes and a few Maples. There is also an occurrence of grape leaves which shadow the lower levels as they climb the trees and brush.

The undercarriage consists of shorter, less mature saplings like Black Cherry and Sumac, as well as taller shrubs like Bittersweets and Brambles.

The Ground cover is made up of predominantly weedy, herbaceous species, with not much appearance of grass due to the shape of the landscape. There are Lady Ferns, Asters and Wood Sorrels among many other ground-hugging plants. There is also some coarse woody debris in the form of twigs and other organic matter like fallen leaves.

At Rock point, the reverse thrust fault consists of two bedrock types: Iberville Shale and Dunham Dolostone. The Dolostone is an older rock, however it appears on top of the Shale in this region.

October 10, 2024April 24, 2025

October 8th, 2024

First venture out for the phenology project!

I chose a spot off of a main trail in Rock Point Natural Area. The exact location is a few feet down where the the Marsh Beach Trail meets the trail access road.

To get there from campus, you take the GMT from the University Heights stop, #1 to Williston, downtown to the transit center. From there, you take #7 to North Ave and get off at the Burlington High School Stop. After getting off the bus, you cross the road, walk down to the Rock Point entrance and continue straight down, past Rock Point School and the gardens, onto the trails.

This shows the relation of my location to Burlington and the UVM campus

Due to the fact that we were on a trail at the edge of the woods, the majority of vegetation consisted of ground covers, bushes and young trees. Among other ground hugging plants were a few scattered ferns, differing species of brambles, American asters, maple saplings, and wood sorrels.

Dominant tree and woody plant species included Sugar Maple, Green Ash, Bittersweets, Sumac (not pictures), and a species which I identified to be Beech but will require further investigation when I return.