Wildlife Activity

This track was left behind by a squirrel. I have seen a lot of activity from squirrels at my location which is the Centennial Woods. During the winter squirrels spend less time foraging for food and more time in their den. Because they spend less time foraging they usually put on some extra fat. This fat also helps them stay warm through the winter. Now that the ground is covered with snow and it is hard for squirrels to find food they have to make a food reserve that allows easy access for them to get the nutrients they need to survive. The squirrels diet consists of nuts, berries and greens. During the day squirrels are active and at night they sleep. Squirrels have to watch out for predators like eagles, owls, hawks, coyotes, minks, martens, dogs and cats.

Squirrel Interactions

These tracks where heading up to a large pine tree. This could mean a few different things. First, either the squirrel was going up the tree because that’s where it’s den in. Next, the squirrel could have been running away from a predator and it was getting some cover in the tree. I have noticed that when I see a squirrel on the ground and it sees me it is startled and it will run up into a tree because it feels safe there. I there is a high possibility that this happened because Centennial Woods is heavily used by humans.

Phenological Changes

It’s been about a month since the last time that I have visited my location. I noticed that a few things have changed. First, there is less snow because it has rained recently. Next, the rain and melted snow has caused the river to rise and flow faster. Lastly the river banks are starting to get muddy and slowly expand. I predict that the next time I come to my location the snow will still be melting and the river’s width will still be expanding.

Field Notes

Wildlife Activity

Winter Twig Identification

Phenological Changes

I have not been to my cite in over two months so when I returned I noticed many changes to the landscape. First, the snow melt has caused the river to flow faster and higher. Also, the river banks are starting to wash away because of the fast flow of the water. Another thing that was different is the animal activity in the area. Usually I see a few different birds and some squirrels or chipmunks. During my visit I only saw one bird.

Field Notes

Over Thanksgiving break I visited my home town of Pittsford, Vermont. Pittsford was discovered in the early 17th century and is located within the Rutland county. I would describe the natural setting as rural, as Pittsford has quite a small population and the center of town consists of a few establishments, such as gas stations, a library and a handful of other buildings. The demographics of the town have stayed relatively consistent over the past several decades. The majority of the population consists of white, older generations that have lived in the town forever. There’s definitely a lack of diversity in Pittsford, regarding economic, cultural, and social values. The uniformity of the town is reflected in the environment and man made landscape. 

I would describe the natural landscape as bountiful. Because the setting is so rural, I’ve always been surrounded by nature. When I wasn’t in school, I spent the majority of my free time outside skiing, mountain biking, canoeing, camping with friends, and cliff jumping. I would consider myself in tune/strongly connected to the outdoors, a characteristic which I recognize has developed with time. I credit my small town for developing and strengthening my sense of place and admiration of nature. Besides the limited amount of development in the center of town and the human interactions with nature through outdoor activities, a strong human presence does not and has not existed historically in Pittsford. 

Since I’ve come to school, my perception of home has changed. Compared to Pittsford, Burlington feels like a city, with a diverse spectrum of economic, cultural, and social values. I haven’t lost appreciation for where I grew up, but the difference in settings has made me reevaluate my sense of place. Coming home almost feels like a break from the chaos in Burlington. When I arrived home I felt a sense of relaxation that I have never felt anywhere else.

My sense of place is the strongest at my house. I think this is because all of the memories that I have here. I remember playing hide and seek with my brothers in the woods. I remember cold mornings in the woods hunting with my dad. I remember skiing in my backyard with all of my friends. These memories are a huge part of me and they would not be the same if I grew up somewhere else.

My house is right across the road from Sugar Hollow Brook which allows me to cool off in the summer time and also go fishing. Sometimes I like to go to the brook just to relax and watch for wildlife.

Since my last visit to Centennial Woods a great deal has changed. This includes both phenological changes and natural element changes. The first major snowstorm to hit Vermont last night. This made getting to my location much harder and it changed the way my location looks also. I measured about 4 inches at my location. The snow covered all of the trails allowing me to see how much use the trail gets. I was surprised to see that many people had already beaten me to the trails. The snow also covered most of the water, the bridges and the vegetation in the area. I noticed that some of the river had frozen over. This was interesting to me because I didn’t think it was cold enough yet for this to happen. Other then the human footprints in the area I did not see or hear any signs of life. This is the first time I have visited my location and not seen any animals. I usually see a few birds and a couple squirrels in the trees next to the stream.

When I think of my sense of place I tend to relate it to natural lands. Centennial Woods definitely fits this mold. Centennial Woods is special to me because it is a small and peaceful place that I know I can always go to. It allows me to escape from the packed campus and just relax. In the past Centennial Woods was used for farming, skiing and ROTC training. Now the land is protected by UVM. It is good the UVM has protected this land because the land is very valuable to students and residents of Burlington. By protecting the land my sense of place here is strengthened because I know that I will always be able to come to this location in the future.

Reilly Shannon

Phenology Blog #2

11/1/19

Today I went to my location in Centennial Woods. I noticed that due to the heavy rainfall last night the stream had more water and was flowing faster than usual. The stream flowed hard and it was light brown. I also noticed most of the trees had lost their leaves. This left the woods looking dull and lifeless. The stream banks were muddy and had partially covered in leaves. I still heard the birds chirping and squirrels rustling. The water got so high last night that there was some significant damage done to my area. I noticed that the bridge had moved and the trail was pretty washed out leaving mostly larger rocks exposed. I also saw a frog at my site. This was interesting because I have never seen one here before. Taking time to map my location was helpful because it made me notice the different types of trees and wildlife in my area.

Organisms 

Norway Maple: Taxonomy: Kingdom: Plantae, Phylum: Spermatophyta, Class: Dicotyledonae, Family: Sapindaceae, Genus: Acer, Species: A. Platanoides

Squirrel: Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Rodentia, Family: Sciuromorpha

Water Striders: Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda, Class: Insecta, Order: Hemiptera, Family: Gerridae (Water Striders)

Paper Birch: Taxonomy: Kingdom: Plantae, Order: Fagales, Family: Betulaceae, Genus: Betula, Species: Betula papyrifera

Red Oak: Taxonomy: Kingdom: Plantae, Order: Fagales, Family: Fagaceae, Genus: Quercus, Species: Quercus rubra  

Common Buckthorn: Kingdom: Plantae, Phylum: Tracheophyta, Class: Magnoliopsida, Order: Rosales, Family: Rhamnaceae, Genus: Rhamnus, Species: Rhamnus Cathartica

Map

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I chose my location because it is a nice forested area that is not too far away from campus.. To get to this spot at Centennial Woods it’s about a ten minute walk. I like my spot for many reasons. First, there is a nice little stream that runs through and I can look at the changes in the water quality and I can also look at the changes in how fast the water is flowing. Next, my spot has thick vegetation on the stream line and it also has a cool sandy beach area that allows me to get right up close to the water. Lastly, although my spot is right on the trail, it is pretty quiet because it is far enough from all of the roads. This is nice because I am able to come out to my spot and relax and focus on the nature that is surrounding me. When I get to my spot I like to do a few different things. For a short amount of time I will just take it all in. I sit there and I just look all around me. I try to look for changes and interesting things that I have never noticed before. After this I usually will go look at the water because I find that the organisms are pretty cool to see. I also look at how high up the water is and how hard the water is flowing. The experience here is very peaceful. It is nice to have a place that I can always go to and I know it will be able to allow me to relax. Every time I leave my spot I always feel better. I tend to be less stressed and I forget about a lot of my worries. My spot has a couple of things that define it. I would say the biggest thing that defines it is the bridge that goes right through the middle and over the stream. I would also say the stream defines the spot because it is the main reason that I picked the spot and it always draws my attention.