Visited (9/5/20) Time 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m.

My sit is at Tinker Mountain. It has a beautiful, rocky creek and shoreline with lots of pine trees and flowers surrounding. It is very private and covered by the plants and pine trees. There is a lot of activity in the creek and through the pines-either from butterflies, bees to minnows, bass, and possibly macroinvertebrates! I thought it was beautiful when I came upon it and sitting there, I knew it was the perfect place to relax and also see a lot of activity throughout the seasons. I am very excited to see what it has to offer!

There was a lot to observe in my sit spot and the activity didn’t slow the entire time I was there! It smelt entirely of pine, flowers, and moss. The creek was perhaps the busiest and most intriguing for me because the water level became deeper as you moved down it, allowing me to see more things crawl and swim around. The main things I observed were the minnows and bugs. There were many types of water bugs that swam around and teased the striped minnows into trying to catch them. As I looked further, I could see bigger fish swimming in the deeper parts; eating bugs that would land on the water’s surface. The terrain of the waterfront and bed was extremely rocky and its water levels depended on how the rocks were stacked and allowing water to get through.

There was a lot of bug activity-mainly including multiple breeds of butterflies and bees. There weren’t a lot of flies or mosquitoes. Birds were very active in being vocal but stayed hidden enough so I couldn’t identify exactly who was speaking but I heard lots of finches and crows. Occasionally the smell and moo’s of cows could be acknowledged from a neighboring field across the pines. Past the creek and more into the pines and underbrush there were a few dens under and around the pines that looked regularly used-either by fox or maybe raccoon since some of the trees were hollowed. What caught my eye however, was a type of insect I hadn’t seen before. There were a lot of them throughout the woods, flowers and the creek. They were very similar to dragonflies once still, but moving around they looked exactly like a hornet or yellow jacket (both of which I am HIGHLY not fond of). I went on and researched it to find out it is called a Georgia Robber Fly! (very hard to find because they come up as wasps sometimes). They are predators and ambush hunters of other bugs and once those bugs are captured, they paralyze them with toxins from their beak! They can attack and take down any type of insect in its ecosystem but are actually helpful in maintaining a balance if one breed of insect begins to get larger. They live only for a month but can become bigger then almost 4 inches. Overall, it is the ecosystems alpha over insects. In the picture below, it was sitting on a leaf (which I read is one of its main methods for attack) and waiting for its next meal. However, they are harmless to humans so I won’t be carried away by any of them soon 🙂

I love my sit spot and will end up probably visiting it a lot as a relax spot. I really like to do photography as a hobby and de-stressor and it offers so much for me to work with and allows me to take my mind off of things. I was able to view and acknowledge so many things during my focus time and I know there will be more once I go back. I definitely recommend it for anyone who needs a break!

I will keep following on Georgia Robber Flies because I would love to see how they react with prey and their own kind. Also, learn when they are the most active! Next, I will be following the life of the creek itself and as the season changes, if the fish and critters will change as well. Lastly, I will be following one of the dens that looked the most active in the pines to see if anything will use it come this winter/fall season.