Owen Deane’s Phenology Site

For my city nature challenge I recorded species while I went fishing in Shelburne Friday. On our drive to the fishing spot we encountered some Wild Turkeys in a field. We watched the male strutting for the females. Then we passed some geese in a corn field. My last observation was the rainbow trout that I caught at Laplattes brook. Overall it was a very nice day and I enjoyed fishing a lot. My experience using Inaturalist was the same as every other time I use it, confusing. I wish they’d make the group postings make more sense. I hope that my observations got put into the Bioblitz. The most interesting thing I found when looking at other cities observations is the great diversity of species in cities you wouldn’t think as natural areas. It was interesting to see all the bird species they were able to photograph there.

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For my at home phenology site I picked someplace I was very familiar with, the forest behind my house. I’ve spent many hours here and when I was younger even built a fort that still is standing today. I picked this spot originally because it had many small pines that were easy to cut down. This was most likely because the area must’ve been cleared 10-15 years prior. Now that I’ve stopped cutting things here, they are slowly starting to come back.

To get to this spot I had to walk down the train tracks that cut through the swamp that surround it. It was snowing, but I came across some coyote tracks crossing over the train tracks.

While walking down the tracks I heard rustling to the left, so I cut through the woods to see if I could find any tracks in the woods. I walked through the forest and got to the edge of the swamp. I walked along there until I found a deer trail. All the lower branches were broken and the forest floor bare. I then walked up to my tree stand and walked back to where I originally planned to go.

I stood here for a while and looked around. The logs I had cut and turned into this little shelter were rotting, and the whole thing seemed almost on the brink of collapsing. The big pile of sticks were stacked up in preparation for a fire that never came. Many old stumps stood up through the snow. I did not see any notable birds on my trip to my site. I assume most of them were hiding from the snow that was falling. Here is a map of where I was

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For our phenology walk a couple friends and I went and explored the strip of woods that separates Redstone campus and the golf course. Yesterday, a thin layer of snow had fallen over the frozen ground. Although it was very slippery, there were some great prints in the snow. The cold and wind made our trip short, but here are the prints we found.

Above we see a small track I believe to be house cat, although it could also have been a smaller sized bobcat. The tracks were on the small size but I forgot to measure them when I encountered them.

Above we see some squirrel tracks that we came across, we saw a squirrel in the trees walking to the area we explored. These particular tracks led to a tree the squirrel had climbed. Since we got fresh snow yesterday, we can assume these tracks were made today or last night. They definitely are the best example of prints I’ve seen this winter. The front feet pads are very defined here.

Also, on my way back to my dorm late Friday night, there was 2 massive flocks of birds in the two trees. It was dark, so I wasn’t able to identify them. There were hundreds, and at first I thought they were leaves being blown out of the tree. If I had to guess, these birds might have been crows, who group up during the night time. The next morning there was more than enough sign of their presence on the side walk below.

My experience using the Inaturalist app was slightly confusing. I found the wrong NR group but after looking back at the slides I found the right one and was able to post the squirrel picture. It was interesting to see what others had posted, especially all the beautiful birds posted by catrionagoering. The most surprising thing to me was how many fisher sightings had been reported.

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For this semester I decided to choose a new phenology spot. I did this partially to explore a new wild area in Burlington and to chose a closer spot in response to the cold. I ended up picking the Redstone quarry. I had never been there before today but had been wanting to explore it for awhile. I went with a friend and we followed this route shown in purple:

Today was 4 degrees and by the time I got to the quarry I was already cold. The first thing I saw up on the ledge was a bright red cardinal. I didn’t get a great picture before it flew off, but you can partially see him here. (Red dot, right above ledge, middle right)

I kept my eye out for tracks but most were hard to tell what they were. We had fresh snow a couple days prior, but I think the wind had destroyed the details of the tracks.

If I had to guess, I would guess coyote or fox. They looked semi similar to dog tracks, but were off the trail leading into the brush. The only other sign of life seen was my friend Kari and 2 kids who had made a snow slide and were playing outside their nearby house.

Here are a few more pictures I took today:

Overall I’m excited to track this spot for the rest of the semester and especially the coming spring!!

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Today was my final visit to my phenology, and it was clear December had hit it with full force. I arrived to a snowy, quiet landscape. Ice had started to accumulate in the slower parts of the river. Tracks littered the snow.

Above is what I believe to be raccoon tracks

Without all the leaves on the trees I noticed way more bird nests exposed on my walk to my site. The weather today was 35 degrees but the wind made it feel even colder. No animals were seen today, and if I hadn’t seen the tracks I wouldn’t have believed there were any around. It was sad leaving my site for the last time, but I was happy I wouldn’t have to walk over in the coming colder months.

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For my home phenology spot I picked my hunting stand. I picked this spot because it was somewhere I was planning to travel and I knew I would be be spending hours in silence here. I really enjoy this spot more than my spot in Burlington just because of how secluded it is. This is an area I’ve never really run into anyone else at. That being said, I can still hear the sound of route 91 from my stand. This area also has many great memories connected to it. I’ve sat hours here with my dad. I shot a doe here youth day 2020, I’ve walked this land in the summers. I’ve watched the forest darken many nights from the top of my 2 person stand. One thing this spot did lack the Saturday I visited was deer. I did see a few squirrels chasing each other around. This spot, unlike my Burlington one is not on the shore of a river but on a knob. It’s about a 20 minute walk to this spot, but this day I took my dads truck and drove up the hill to cut some time and sweat off the hike. Overall I really enjoyed this spot and hope to return to it when I go home in the winter.

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For my walk I started at my dorm, Wilks, and headed towards the manmade pond used for filtering runoff water. I cut through the woods and stopped at a log across the trail for a little rest. Then I continued to the path by the athletic fields and went down the bike path on the right when I reached it. On the bike path I walked past a snag, and then stopped to knock down an apple from the apple tree. Munching on the apple, I came across a massive mushroom on the edge of the golf course. By this time the moon was bright in the sky and I had reached the UVM farm where a horse was neighing at the edge of the pasture.

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Fifteen minutes of quiet: Sitting in my spot for 15 minutes was an interesting experience for me. I didn’t try to stop my mind from wandering and let any thoughts drift in and out of my consciousness. My attention drifted between objects in the rushing water and the changed flora surrounding me. I honestly can’t remember the last time I spent 15 minutes doing absolutely nothing. Any time I’m bored I always have my phone, and within 5 minutes I felt myself resisting the urge to check it. My gaze also kept wandering to the water fall at the dam which all of the rain water accumulated from the last two days shot over.

Since last time: There were many big differences in my phenology site since I had last visited. All the trees had lost their leaves or turned to a yellow color. The short bushes around were the same, all either bare of yellow. I was very surprised not to see any colors of red or orange. The grass around had also dried up and turned yellow. The biggest change since the last time I had came was the water level. The past two days before I visited It had rained and the water level had risen substantially. The peninsula that jetted out into the river had turned into a island and was inaccessible. My log I had sat on was 3 feet from the water opposed to 15 like last time. The water was also had sped up and was full of foam as result of this. Many logs and sticks had washed up on the shore and created a place to walk on and keep my shoes dry. It was physically colder as well, (my phone read 54 degrees) and the birds I had observed last time were no where to be seen. The sky was clear and full of fluffy clouds. Overall I really enjoyed my trip today.

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My phenology spot is located at Salmon Hole on the Winooski river. To get here I take the campus bus to Trinity and walk down Colchester Ave, and then take a left onto Riverside Ave. I chose this spot because of the draw of the water and the rock formations that can be found here. This spot is a great fishing hole as well. My first trip down here I met a man kind enough to let me try fly fishing for the first time. My specific spot is located on the corner of the first bend of the river. The vegetation found here was mostly grassy, with shrubs like buckthorn and burdock as well. Trees like basswood,American elm, and black locust are on the bank behind me. There were grape vines growing on these overhanging trees. To my right there is a 40 foot ledge that towers above my spot. Many ducks and geese were surrounding the area, and there were goose tracks on the muddy bank of the river. This spot had a ton of human impact as well. Lots of trash littered the area, the noise of the road was nonstop, and the water in front of me had an oil like slick on parts of it.

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