The study area chosen for natural history field observation was Stockley Open Space. Stockley Open Space is a 5.27 ha park in Kelowna, BC. The park is surrounded on all sides by residential neighborhoods and development, with the exception of the north-western portion, which is adjacent to a golf course. A gravel walking trail runs through this park to allow visitors access.
The site visit occurred on May 10, 2022 from 06:00 – 08:30. It was 5 degree Celsius, and partly cloudy during this time.
Starting from the trailhead, the trail runs up the north slope of a hill through an open field with grasses and shrub plant species. Arrowleaf balsamroot is prevalent in this area. Near the top of the slope, the trail does a switchback. In this switchback area, the surrounding vegetation is dominated by trees. While in the forested portion of the park, American robin and Clark’s nutcracker are heard calling, and a northern flicker is observed perched at the top of a tree. Continuing along the trail, the area transitions into a flat field dominated by grass species.
While walking along the trail, it was noted that there were many invasive plant species along the perimeter of this linear disturbance in the sloped field section including Dalmatian toadflax, a knapweed species, and Siberian elm.. The abundance of invasive species appeared to decrease in the forested portion of the trail. Invasive species were not noted in the field at the top of the park, although this could be due to a lack of familiarity with plant identification.
As a result of these initial observations at Stockley Open Space three questions arose:
- Are invasive species more abundant in the sloped field area than in the forest?
- Are invasive species more abundant along the trail than at further distance from the trail?
- What bird species frequent this area; Area there spatial differences in the abundance of these birds?
