Author: Sam Olavage

City Nature Challenge

For the city nature challenge, I explore the waterfront and Centennial woods. At the waterfront, I got to see various species of birds in and out of the water like the Mallard Duck and the Common Merganser. In Centennial Woods, I saw House Sparrows, Eastern Hemlocks, and a Black-Capped Chickadee. iNaturalist made it easy to report my findings and stay organized. It was really interesting to go onto the iNaturalist website to see all of the other cities participating in the challenge. Seeing the number of species reported for some of the top cities was shocking because there was just so many.

Winter Phenology at the Waterfront

  • The ice no longer covering more than the shoreline where the water drops off
  • The shallow section of the waterfront is the only spot left with a covering of ice
  • Two water birds were diving down to get food
  • Less snow and ice coverage

Signs of Wildlife in Winter

Human interaction mixed with the sun created a slushy surface of disrupted snow. This made the waterfront landscape not ideal for identifying specific tracks. Hopefully the next time it snows the fresh surface should make it easier to identify tracks and wildlife.