Rayna Herman Phenology Project

Hello, beautiful!

The weather was around 50*F with a light drizzle. Immediately we noticed how much more alive the woods liked like compared to the last time we visited at the end of February. Last time we came, winter was still bustling away, we had to be extremely careful to not slip on ice, however today when we visited, we had to be careful not to slip on mud, instead.

Throughout my time observing the site since September, Norway Maple was the most resilient species having leaves I didn’t observe dropping until we visited in February. While the other trees remained bare, the Norway Maple held onto its leaves for as long as it could! Unsurprisingly, when we returned to my site this morning the same tree was the furthest into Spring bloom. When we travelled further along the Blue trail, I noticed that all of the other Norway Maples were at a similar stage in their leafing out, the leaf shape still small but easily identifiable.

Something that has stayed consistent throughout the time from Fall to Spring was the amount of downed woody debris over the stream. From the beginning of the semester I think that there are definitely more present there now than months ago. These seem fairly young trees, so I wonder if it possible that a factor such as increased soil erosion or flood events have increased the risk of tree collapse in this area. Either way, these fallen trunks have become a crucial part in my identification of my spot.

Landmarks

Additionally, something else that has helped make my spot more easily identifiable is the Eastern White Pine canopy that dominates the edge of the clearing just before reaching my site. Every time we approach it, it feels like an embrace from the forest and I like to stay there for a second and enjoy the immense feeling of peace it brings me.

Because I have spent so much time over the past two semesters at this spot, I definitely feel a part of it in a way. Having watched it change through the seasons, to return almost just like how I met it was beautiful. As the year progressed, when a new Phenology assignment popped up, I found myself growing more and more excited to visit as it really did feel like meeting up with a friend. Before we left our spots, Cate and I both dipped our hands in the water of our streams, which felt like our way of saying “bye, for now!”

Since it was our last trip, Cate and I decided to venture a little bit further along the blue trail than we typically do. We met a cute puppy being trained, it wasn’t Mona sadly.

Okay, Slug!

Nature and Culture

Funny enough, the day we visited Centennial the same day that the Green-up Day was occurring. While we didn’t see the group directly, we passed by a woman who had a trash bag filled with trash she had picked up along the path. After that, two folks we passed mentioned they were from the Green-up Day group and told us that they were here with a larger group. This was an extremely moving moment for me, because it was a rainy morning on a Saturday and community members are so passionate about their place that they gladly set aside time in their busy lives to give back.

Additionally, every time we visit Centennial, there are always students and community members out and about enjoying the space. I appreciate how accessible it is to the public, and how running in to people on the trails and also connecting with the wildlife is such a comforting experience.

Signing off with this little guy

Forgot to take my honorary Cate picture at the quarry so here’s Cate + Mona during lab!

Lab A12 set out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon: rainy and cold with a high of 53*F. Meeting up with Bec and Mona in front of the three big trees on Redstone, we began our descent to our site of exploration: the Redstone Quarry!

Because we were in the middle of the quarry for most of the trip, cell service was pretty sucky, so I took a lot of the pictures to input into iNaturalist when I returned to my dorm. Once I did so, iNaturalist offered me much support in identifying species that I was unfamiliar with.

What I found extremely interesting was the amount of new species I had never seen before just beginning their growth into the Spring season.

Here are a few that I used iNaturalist to identify:

Cyprus Spurge

Shining Clubmoss

Familiar Faces

Ostrich Fern

Northern Cardinal

Common Buckthorn (lots and lots)

Juniper-Apple Rust on a Cedar tree

Interestingly, I took a picture of this tree intending to document it to iNaturalist when I got home, and didn’t realize until after that this was a diseased tree. After this came up on iNaturalist as “Juniper-Apple Rust”, I was interested as to what it was and some research uncovered that this disease occurs in areas where Crap-apple/apple species coexist with cedar species.

Un-pictured, we also saw a Northern Flicker, Mourning Doves, and many Ring-Billed Gulls

In total, I was able to capture 15 observations and 5 different species, and while there were many more species at the quarry, I wanted to make sure I balanced cataloging the species we encountered as well as enjoying being outside during such a pivotal phenological point. Comparing spaces that I visited during the Winter, such as Centennial, Bolton, and even just around the greater Burlington area to the Redstone Quarry, it’s beautiful to watch life slowly find its way back to Vermont even though we have such little time to enjoy it.

Thoughts on the Challenge as a Whole

I took the time to explore some of the cities near where I live and ones I know of, and also those that are international. The first thing I found interesting, and telling, is that my town, and the first four closest towns that surround mine having 0 participants in the challenge. Disheartened, I decided to look into larger cities and found that New York City had over 15,000 observations! As I explored the world observations, I was surprised to see that the most common species internationally were those that we encounter on a regular basis, for example the most common species were Dandelions, and nearly all of the top bird species such as the Mallard, American Robin, Canada Goose, and the Northern Cardinal are all species that are extremely common in the greater Burlington area. I was expecting to see many more species that I was unfamiliar with, but I think that this is in part due to large percentage participants being from the United States.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed participating in this challenge. I liked having the chance to go out and explore with my friends and be able to encounter new species with each other. I will continue to track my findings until the challenge ends and hope to find my favorite bird species the American Woodcock.

MEEP.

Lab group A12 awakens at 9:00am on Sunday March 30th to begin their trek across campus to complete the Phenology Walk.

An exhilarated Cate Bilbe poses by Red Oak 615

Sugar Maple 618

Lots of buds present on the Sugar Maple, and even some bud breaking can be seen by the tiny string-like pieces coming from the bud in the picture above. The buds seemed to be breaking on at ~35-40% of the Sugar Maple’s buds. No leaves were present on the tree, or around the trunk, although the buds allow a clear sign that this is a Sugar Maple.

White Oak 761

The White Oak was easy to identify as the leaves from last season are still hanging on, few, practically none, have fallen yet. There was no bud breakage yet.

Walk Findings:

After finishing the Phenology walk, there was definitely not as much progress in the phenophases as I thought there was going to be. For one, I thought the warm days that have been coming and going would encourage the trees to be farther ahead than they were. The only trees that we spotted breaking buds on was Sugar Maple 618 and Red Maple 280. Most others, including the White Oak, which still looks just as it did throughout all of Winter, Red Oak, Norway Maple have yet to show any signs of bud breakage.

NPN Findings

I read an article that discussed how the understory plants vs. over-story trees are being affected by climate change. The article explains that recent studies show that over-story plants are twice as likely to bloom in warmer conditions brought on by climate change than the trees in the over-story. Additionally, as you move North, the understory is more heavily impacted most likely due to its extremely fragile nature.

On Sunday, my friends and I tabled at Wintervale, and I spent some time cross-country skiing and keeping an eye out for new wildlife signs.

Cate Bilbe rocking it on Calkins Trail

American Robin

It is hard to tell in this photo, but there were many Robins out and about on the trail on Sunday, most likely as a result of the slight warm-up. The high was 35 on Sunday, and it had previously been sunny the days prior, so the Robins may have mistaken the weather for an early spring.

Pileated Woodpecker

When we visited the site for lab, we were actually able to see a Pileated Woodpecker in action. During Wintervale, I caught side of this wildlife activity, and there are many signs that indicate woodpecker activity. For one, there are small pieces of wood by the base of the tree trunk that most likely fell as the woodpecker was making the large holes to feed. It seems like the wood has been stripped which is a common tool for the Pileated Woodpecker.

Grey Squirrel

The most common track that I found when skiing along Calkins trail was the Grey Squirrel tracks. They were easy to identify because they were much larger than the tracks of the Red Squirrel. When looking closely at the tracks, you can see the galloping pattern that the squirrel took, as the prints make a trapezoid-like shape indicating it was traveling away from the tree.

Black-Capped Chicadee

While I was unable to get catch a photo, I caught the audio on iNaturalist of a Black-Capped Chicadee call. At first, I wasn’t able to identify the call because it was different than the typical “dee-dee-dee”, song, so I researched Chicadee calls, and one was nearly identical to the one I recorded, which allowed me to identify it when revisiting the audio after Winterfest.

My Experience with iNaturalist

I appreciate iNaturalist because it gives me an opportunity to test my knowledge and have it reviewed by my peers in a way that feels very low pressure. Because you are not directly engaging with those commenting on your identification it puts less stress on whether you are correct or not. I enjoyed having the chance to get out and put to test the identification strategies we have been discussing in class. Sometimes out in the field it can be difficult to be quick enough to take out your phone and capture the bird sound, or the organism directly, but the experience of interacting with your peers seems worth it.

I have decided to keep the same phenological spot from last semester to have the opportunity to track its complete progression throughout the Fall, Winter, and Spring! My spot is located in Centennial Woods, and is a brook that is situated just to the left of a large clearing about fifteen minutes into the trail.

We visited our spots on Saturday January 25th, and the temperature was fairly warmer than it has been this past week, around 21 degrees with some wind.

I haven’t been to Centennial since before Winter break for my last phenology post and it was so amazing to see the changes that have occurred there over the past couple of months. Some of the changes I observed, one of the most prominent changes, is the fact that there is snow as far as the eye can see covering every surface. Secondly, all of the bodies of water were completely frozen over, whereas the last time I visited I can distinctly remember they were only just beginning to freeze along the edges. Lastly, there were basically no leaves still hanging on as there were upon my last visit, where the Norway Maple tree was practically full of dead leaves.

Me testing the structural integrity of the ice: the top layer of the ice was slushy so it was difficult to tell whether it was just the snow melting on top of the ice or if the ice was not strong all the way through. Would not recommend this brook for ice skating!

There were not many tracks that we were able to catch besides boots and dog prints, but I did catch this just next to the brook. These seemed a little small to be from a dog, so I am going to hypothesize that they might be from a rabbit (?)

A little reminder how life persists even through the harshest conditions

Cate Bilbe reminding us that greenery and colorful blooms will return to the Burlington area in just a few short months!

Honorable Mention of the Mountains: headed out to Centennial on Friday at around 2pm! There was no snow on the ground, but there was tons on the mountains which were a beautiful addition to my walk out to the woods. The temperature was around 25 and very windy, it was clear and sunny.

Signs of Winter

Foliage

Going back to visit in December, is it incredible how different my spot has changed in just one month. For one, the last time I visited in November, there were still a good amount of Norway Maple leaves hanging on, though they were heavily discolored they did not start to dry out. When I visited yesterday, almost all of the Norway Maple leaves had completely fallen off, and those that remained were shriveled from the cold and hanging from the trees limbs as if they would fall at any moment. When I visited in November, there were still bits of green hanging on from the summer, but now the only green is coming from the moss growing on top of the riparian buffers.

As mentioned, all the trees were bare besides a very select few leaves from the Norway Maple’s that will most likely fall any day now. As compared to the leaves from my last visit, the leaves are now void of any color, specifically the beautiful oranges and yellows that were a result of the loss of chlorophyll. Because the leaves were void of any color and extremely dry, it indicates that they have been dead for a long time now. In the picture below there are lots of Red Oak and a small amount White Oak leaves.

There was an increased number of fallen branches on the brook, there was only one last time and now there are three. This is an indication of the increasingly cold conditions that making conditions difficult for vegetation to thrive in. The moss growing along the banks can also be seen in the image below.

As mentioned, there was not a lot of color this time around when visiting my spot, which made the bright red berries I caught sight of very apparent. I was able to identify it as Barberry, which was on the list of invasive species that we discussed in class. There were no leaves still present on the bush, but some berries, which is typical for this time of year. It was interesting to see how this plant persisted in the cold in a way that none of the other vegetation had (except wood ferns).

Japanese Barberry

Wood Ferns

While there was no snow in Centennial (of course it came the day after we visited), there were signs of the cold temperature’s affects on the brook as the edges have begun to freeze over. The brook is not very deep so once it starts to reach even colder temperatures later in the month, or January depending on the weather, I predict that the channel will freeze over at the same time.

The beginnings of the brook freezing over

Animal Tracks?

Because there was no accumulated snow it was difficult to track any possible visitors to my spot. Additionally, there was no scat that I saw at any point from the opening of Centennial to the brook. I would like to return to my spot when there is snow and check for any tracks or scat to see what animals are are and about in the woods.

Highlights of my Project

Going out to Centennial was an extremely beneficial way for me to clear my mind when I had a stressful week. I loved the fact that visiting a place on a periodic basis was an assignment because it is something I would have enjoyed to do in my own time. My favorite memory was going with my friend Cate each time to visit our spots together because we would spend time at each to decompress and just admire how the beautiful the natural world at Centennial is. Additionally, something that helped me greatly over the course of each assignment was taking a picture at exactly the same point so I can line them up and really get a grasp of how things have changed, and also have a beautiful way to capture what I say playing out each visit.

Murphy and I bundled up and headed to the bike path near my house. The weather was beautiful: sunny and around 45 degrees.

My Location!

Near the bike path, there is a lake that people often use to fish, and this was the spot I chose to explore. This place is very special to me because I stumbled upon it a couple winters ago after we had a really big snow storm. I took Murphy out to sit by the water, and it was such a peaceful experience that I wanted to go back and visit to see how it was doing. I will refer to the spot as Miry Run!

KEY DIFFERENCES

SIZE

The first key difference difference was the fact that Miry Run is surrounded on two sides by neighborhoods and the other side by a street which most likely has an extreme impact on the biodiversity that can thrive there. While people go to Miry Run’s pond to fish, the species population is heavily effected by run-off pollutants (car oil, salt, litter) from the street, as well as pesticides/fertilizers, sewage from the neighborhoods entering the soil and contaminating the water’s quality. It is clear that my spot in Burlington is also negatively impacted by pollutants but it is located in a much larger woodland area that’s security is protected by UVM in a way that my spot at home is not regulated. Miry Run was just the pond and a small forested area but nothing close to the size of Centennial woods.

TREE SPECIES (POND)

All of the leaves were already fallen off the trees, so I had to look through and identify what I could, and found large Red Oak leaves and small goose-foot shaped Red Maple leaves.

As learned in class, Red Maple thrive best in nutrient poor areas which can also indicator of the poor water quality. All of the tree species at my Centennial spot are indicators of well-drained soil (Yellow Birch, Northern Red Oak, Eastern White Pine), which was also indicated by the tree species at the pond.

TREE SPECIES ON THE BIKE PATH (NOTABLE MENTIONS)

Basswood

Spruce

River Birch

Eastern White Pine

Unlike my spot in Centennial, the bike path had a lot more diversity in tree species, including a species of birch I was unfamiliar with before further research, called River Birch. It was clear that most of these trees were not naturally occurring

HONORABLE HARVEST

While I didn’t leave a gift at Miry Run, I did take the time to stand and observe the people as they were fishing and watch as they participated in an activity that brought them peace, as walking my dog did for me. I took a couple of minutes to sit with Murphy and appreciate the beautiful natural area before continuing on with our walk.

Murphy posing on the bike path

November 3rd, 2024

Observations:

Vegetation Changes:

Compared to my last check on my spot, which was just a month ago, there are a lot of significant differences. The first obvious change in vegetation were the the leaves, as virtually all of them have fallen onto the brook and have collected along its bank or in large clusters caught on rocks. The only trees that still held leaves was the Norway Maple, whose leaves were yellow and branches still almost completely full. The shrubbery around the brook which had been green and full of life last visit, changed very drastically and were wilted and seemingly dead. The last noticeable vegetation were the riparian buffers along the bank, which sat just above the eroded banks. These buffers were the only thing that did not change much between the two visits, they still contained bright green grass and other lively aquatic plant species.

October

Dissolved Oxygen

Something I noticed while observing the area was that there was a high level of dissolved oxygen in the water which was indicated in the fact that the water was bubbling as it flowed. When the water would stop running as it collided with a rock, the bubbles collected and formed a puddle-like shape in the water. While visiting the brook, I did not see a lot of aquatic life which could potentially indicate that the increased level of oxygen is affecting species within the system.

***Dissolved oxygen bubbles collecting against the bank

Along the bank, there was a large population of plant species that made up the riparian buffer. Some of these species that I was able to identify were grass, many different types of ferns, primarily wood ferns, large-leaved avens, and American Bittersweet, pictured below. Additionally, due to the high level of moisture by the the brook, there were a number of moss-covered rocks.

American Bittersweet

Broom Fork-moss

Large-leaved Avens

*****PictureThis app used for specific plant name identification