10/13/19 11:50am-1:06pm 63° chilly and cloudy

What I thought was going to be a lazy Sunday was the complete opposite. The sounds I heard during my time in my sit spot were different from my last. I heard the typical noise of passing cars, though not as many as last time. I did not hear any planes this time. I heard insects that I was not able to distinguish. I don’t believe they were crickets. They best way to describe how they sounded was that they sounded like a fire alarm or a squeaky fan belt in a car. It was constant and loud. I thought I was never going to be able to hear anything else but boy was I wrong. BIRDS! They were going crazy! I don’t know what they were so excited about but there was lots and lots of chatter. They ended up being the stories that grabbed my attention. It was like walking into a crowded room full of many different conversations. I was also lucky enough to hear a woodpecker somewhere above my head. I heard a squirrel barking that was probably directed at the swooping blue jays. I also kept hearing something splash in the creek to my right, but I was never able to see what it actually was. The breeze would rustle the leaves around me and cause them to fall. The more the breeze blew the more leaves fell. It definitely put me in a fall mood. I was ready to head back to my room, curl up with some tea, and put on a movie.

The ivy on the tree behind me has grown! It is still very green with the leaves intact and has grown a couple of inches taller.

Above is a comparison picture. The left picture is from the first post and the right side is this one. The other trees behind me are still fairly green as well. Maybe about 15% of their leaves were yellow/browning. My final object I was following was the riffle. It was flowing quite a bit. It was fairly fast and steady. This was kind of surprising because the water level of the creek seemed lower than it was the previous time I was there.

Water plays a huge role in my sit spot considering it is on the bank of Carvin’s Creek. The riparian trees, such as sycamores, benefit from the creek immensely. I also saw birds splashing around in the water, so they benefit from it as well. The stream lab we did a few weeks ago confirmed that there are tons of organisms that rely on the creek as well.

 

I actually did not see any invertebrates during my time in my spot, but I did see one that I observed and documented during my first sit spot time that I did not share. I had found the funny looking yellow caterpillar that is pictured. He was maybe the size of half of my index finger. He was fuzzy, spotted, and had a red-orange face with two funny red-orange tufts of hair coming out of the top of his head, giving him the appearance of horns. I watched him for a while crawl around in the grass and leaves, probably in search of food. After my time in my spot I immediately went back to my room to try and search what this caterpillar was. My search history now is full of “yellow fuzzy spotted caterpillar with red-orange head” worded many different ways. But my searching paid off and I discovered that this was a Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillar! I learned that, given away by their name, Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillars are found in sycamore trees. It only made sense considering the spot that I chose to do my sit spot was also the same spot where I got my sycamore leaves for the decomposition lab from. I didn’t do too much digging about them, so I wonder if they are harmful to sycamore trees.

I would say my focus has improved a bit. I chose a different day than what I had done in the past and it seemed to make it easier. I didn’t feel like I was in a rush, either between classes or to get another assignment done. I was able to take my time, observe, and tune in.