Phenology Blog Ocasey

Hello, my name is Oliver Casey.  For my phenology spot, I’ve chosen the Beaver Pond within centennial woods.  In order to get there, you follow the main path until you get to the first fork, where you take a right.  At the next clearing, you take left and keep going for a minute.  Eventually you’ll have the choice to continue up a hill into the woods, or turn right to go into the reeds.  If you into the reeds, you’ll get to the spot, which is apparent once you see a series of wooden walkways over the pond.  I noticed that in some spots, the water runoff looked like it had oil in it.  It’s not clear where this came from, but it likely is having a negative impact on the ecosystem.

#2: On my way to the phenology spot, it became quickly apparent that the area had changed quite significantly since the last time I was there. Most all the trees had lost their leaves, and much of the smaller understory vegetation looked quite sickly. However, there was a little area of trees in the woods that had retained their green leaves for some reason. I’m not sure why this was, but I thought it was a very cool contrast to the rest of the forest.

When I got to my phenology spot, I noticed the water levels were significantly lower than they were usually. I also looked like the railing of the walkway had been repainted, though it was unfortunately a pretty garish shade of green. There was also a thin fog veiling most of the swamp. Below is a hand drawn, albeit poorly, map of the area.

#3 – Home Phenology- Bonticou Crag

When I went home for break this past week, the spot I chose for my phenology spot was Bonticou crag, which is a popular location as it is home to a very fun and technical rock scramble that rewards you with a lovely view at the top. It really isn’t very similar to my spot in Burlington, as it is a rocky outcropping as opposed to a marsh, but the surrounding vegetation is really quite similar, with a dense forest consisting of a combination of deciduous and evergreen trees. It is a spot that I was already quite familiar with as it is probably my favorite hiking spot in the gunks (my local mountain range”), which is pretty high praise as there are quite a few beautiful spots in the area.

#4, December 10th

I returned to my phenology spot for my last post of the semester yesterday, and the changes throughout the season were quite apparent. Barely any trees still had foliage on them, though there were a few stragglers, notably cedar, white pine, and hemlock. Most of the vegetation in the swamp area also appeared to be dead, though there were a few examples of some living grasses. Within the forest it was a different story, as there were plenty of ferns and other undergrowth still thriving, but the actual swamp area was quite barren as compared to its previous state. Also, on the day that I went, the water had almost completely frozen over, and in many places the ground was frozen, as the area is usually quite muddy. In terms of animal life, there was noticeably less activity. I don’t think I saw a single animal in the swamp, when previously there were chipmunks, squirrels, birds, and other animals all throughout the area. As this is my final post, I think my favorite aspect of my spot is the views on either side of the swamp, as due to the power lines that are present, there are no trees on this stretch, and I am afforded an unimpeded view of the woods on either side of the clearing.

First post of winter! I’ve kept the same phenology spot as last semester, but as you can see it’s changed quite a bit since the last time I was there. There were numerous tracks present, mostly from small mammals and whatnot. An interesting creature I saw while I was walking to my spot was a woodpecker going at it on a tree, which was very cool to see. In general, I saw a lot of birds while I was there. Another interesting thing about the spot was that although the water appeared frozen at first glance, upon further inspection I could see that there was just a thin layer of ice on the surface, and below it the water was still running. Further down stream as it became more narrow and the flow became faster, there was no ice at all.

Post 2

As the weather got warmer this week and the snow continued to melt, I noticed quite a few changes in the wildlife that I saw and heard. The one that stuck with me the most was the refreshing melody of chickadees in the morning. Whenever I hear them on the way to class, it puts me in a better mood.

The identification was pretty simple as they have a very distinctive song. I didn’t get a picture of one unfortunately but I’m sure they’re around. Though the weather has been warm recently, it is supposed to dip again, and snow is supposedly coming this week, so we may see yet another change in wildlife due to this.

Spring Break Post-Colorado

For part of spring break, I was visiting a friend and snowboarding in Colorado. For part of the trip, we stayed in Breckenridge and went to Arapahoe Basin and Copper Mountain. This trip was a lot of fun, and it also gave me the opportunity to observe an environment very different to the northeast. In terms of what woody plants were up in the mountains, it was almost entirely evergreen trees.

The tree looked about the same as last time, though maybe a little more sickly. There were a few dark spots on the bark and some of the upper parts appeared totally dead. The experience of going to the woods was a lot of fun though, I went with a friend and we just hung out for a while and walked around without a flashlight to get used to the dark. Overall good time.

This was the first time I have visited this tree in the day time, and it definitely looks a lot nicer than at night. However now I could also see the branches at the top, and this tree is definitely dead, which is a bummer. The weather was lovely this weekend though, and the woods are starting to show signs of spring. Lots of grasses, ferns, and flowers popping up, and some trees are sprouting buds.

Final Post!

Today was my last visit to my original phenology spot, at least for this blog. When I arrived at the spot today, I noticed that it had changed very significantly since the last time I was there. The water level in the pond was significantly lower than it had ever been, and the water was flowing quickly, when previously it was nearly stagnant. I soon saw the reason for this, as the beaver dam that previously retained the water looked to have been destroyed. It was unclear what the cause of this was, but I speculated that it might be due to the rain we’ve been having recently, though I don’t know for sure. However, most of the major landmarks I recognize were still there. For example, the wooden walkway over the pond, the power lines, and the large fallen tree over the swamp further up on the trail. Nature and human culture intertwine quite clearly here, what with the powerlines looming overhead and the various signs and bridges littering the immediate landscape. However, I still don’t feel like I am part of the landscape here, I feel more like a visitor, or a guest, just observing the area at a surface level.

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