I arrived at my sit spot at  night from 9 to 9:45 p.m. I chose this spot because I hadn’t been at it during this time of the day. My goal of coming to see my sit spot during the night was to see if there was going to be any changes compared to seeing it during the light of day. I wanted to see if wildlife changed as in if different animals became more prevalent over the usual I see. Also, if anything was using one of my 3 things, the dens, during the night.

I am going to be honest, my experience was not fun. I realized on a personal note I will openly state I am in fact, still afraid of the dark. I had my roommate with me but I could still not get myself to explore as much as I would have if it was during normal day light. I did really think seeing the area at night was cool and I loved being able to notice the difference in wildlife and how the activity levels changed from what I am used to seeing. The sit spot did change a lot. There was a lot of debris (sticks, dirt, and grass) in the water and it was lot higher and colder than usual. I went out halfway and noticed all the rocks were covered but the few larger ones. The eddies went from the normal height of mid shin/a little over my ankle to over my knee/mid-thigh. Overall, the stream was a lot higher than usual. Also, the water was VERY cold and I was not able to stay it in for very long. It is warm, definitely still near the 70s and slightly humid. It is a clear night. The stars are bright but the tree canopy block out the moon slightly so the lighting is streaky. It is very nice, late summer type of night.

I heard crickets and occasionally cicadas, but there were a few birds here and there calling to each other. Also, the bullfrogs were very active throughout the stream beds and in the eddies. Usually, I don’t hear this and it is mainly the birds. I did not see the cicadas but did see some of the bullfrogs that were in the eddy in front of where I was sitting.  The bullfrogs were eating the bugs that flew near the surface but mainly just sat and called to each other then would move to another location along the bed or rocks. Cicadas are heard more during the day and were quieter during the night. I did hear rustling that resembled deer running away from me. Some birds did move from tree to tree or stayed in their location and called to each other sometimes. This was about it for the wildlife that I was able to account for.

I was able to cross the stream and see my den on the opposite side. The water level washed it out mainly on the waterbed, but the other side could still be in use. My other den was fine and still could be in use from the stream and other side. There were branches covering and some showing of recent digging but there wasn’t any other sign of activity near or around it other then that. The vegetation was different in that many of the leaves had changed color and were already on the ground or about to fall. The flowers were mostly wilted or beginning to wilt.

The the first den on the side of my sit spot.

Second den on the other side of the creek.