Month: March 2023

While at Rock Point for our most recent lab, my friend and I stayed behind afterwards to visit our phenology spots just a short walk away since we were essentially halfway there already. Since last visiting my phenology spot in early March, the most distinct changes are not necessarily those exhibited in the tree itself, but in its surroundings. That is, although there remains no evidence of flowering or flower budding as far as I can see, the birch’s habitat has undergone a dramatic shift since entering the spring season. As is evident in the photos included above, the majority of the snow covering the ground for my last visit has since receded, and a miniature waterfall of sorts has since replaced the slippery icy that once covered the rock steps leading down to the shoreline. In addition, the water level finally appears to have lowered back down to the level it used to rest at in our earlier phenology visits (see below).

Identification Process: Before heading out for the day, we climbed up the set of stairs tracing the higher ridge of the thrust fault to gain a new perspective on our usual waterfront landscape. Approaching these stairs, a lone paper birch tree caught my eye. I saw the distinctive curls and peels of its white bark, and knew it had to be. Recognizing that one of its lookalikes may have thrown me for a loop, I looked more closely at the gray birch, river birch, and yellow birch online to ensure I was not mistaken. In my investigation, the darker color of the yellow birch’s bark, the lack of peels in the gray birch, and texture change in the river birch confirmed my suspicions that the tree standing tall before me was, in fact, a paper birch.