Over the course of the year, I have seen my site transition from fall to winter, and now winter to spring. The last time I visited my site in late January, the understory was very sparse, there was a thin layer of snow, and the stream had a layer of ice on its surface. Now, …
Author Archives: samer
City Nature Challenge! 🌆🌿🌸🌳
During the four-day urban BioBlitz, I explored the UVM campus and some of the neighborhoods near Redstone Campus, including South Prospect St, Summit St, Ledge Rd, Deforest Heights, and Iranistan Rd. I had an easy experience using iNaturalist because I have previous experience cataloging species throughout the year for this blog. It was fairly easy …
Phenology Walk 🌳🍃
I collected phenological data from 5 trees on April 7, 2025. The species included red oak, sugar maple, white oak, red maple, and Norway maple. I noticed that generally, the buds on the selected trees hadn’t quite broken. The only changes of phenological significance were a few broken buds on the sugar maple, and dead …
Winter Wildlife Sitings ❄️🐾🐿️
Throughout the period of February 15 – 24, I explored the Burlington area and observed winter wildlife signs throughout the city. I visited the Intervale Center twice throughout the week and found animal tracks and other signs of wildlife activity. I also found tracks and saw birds gathering food while walking around campus. I observed …
Winter Activity ❄️☃️
Interestingly, when I returned to my phenology spot in Centennial Woods it did not have a thick layer of snow. Instead, there were only thin patches of snow covering the ground. This is likely because of the thick over story that shields the ground from snowfall, and the heat exuded from decomposing organic material on …
What aspects of your phenology place do you enjoy the most? 💚
I enjoy how my phenology spot demonstrates how growing conditions affects species diversity and the vegetation of an area. My spot includes both a primarily evergreen area of forest, and a wetland area in Centennial Woods. You can clearly see how in the wetland area there is greater species diversity and a more vibrant understory …
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Final Observations 👀
My phenology spot is mainly evergreens such as eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). These trees keep their needles for 2-3 years so they will keep them throughout the entire winter. This allows them to photosynthesize all year long. Most of the hardwoods in the area have lost their leaves. One …
Hometown Spot Comparison 🦃🍁
For my break phenology spot I picked an area of the Beaver Brook Reservation/Park in my hometown Belmont, Massachusetts. It is a reserved natural area that contains a paved walking path, a dog park, a playground and water park, and a small forested area with walking trails. I picked this spot because it is my …
Changes 🌱🌿→🍂🍁
There is more foliage in my phenology spot but only in small areas because the majority of the area is conifers like eastern hemlock and eastern white pine. There are a few northern red oaks on the ridgeline of the wetland that have orange and yellow foliage. There are also a few red maples that …