My friend and I at my sit spot

On October 17th I decided it would be a good time to visit my sit-spot after dark for the first time to see if I could spot any nocturnal creatures or anything else that wouldn’t appear next to the busy road during the daytime. I picked this time in hopes of spotting one of the raccoons or deer visiting the pond, though I had little luck with animal sightings. Despite being unable to see much without a light, I decided to venture to the Oyster Pond at 8:00PM to get my sit-spot completed before it could get any cooler. Since it was quite dark and I knew of the various dangers from being outside in an isolated area on campus (whether it be people or the crazy rabid skunks) I decided to ask my friend to join me on my excursion.

Sitting outside at dark was definitely a different experience, as I had to use a light to write my findings, as well as attempt to see what was going on around me. Since my last session, more leaves have fallen to the ground and the tree where I sit is no longer filled with green leaves, as it prepares itself for the cold weather ahead. The weather felt colder than I expected, and the moon was not visible due to the cloudy night sky, which created a rather eerie effect on the area. I was surprised that although it was 52°F, I was still shivering with two jackets and a blanket covering me. At first, I noticed that it was quiet outside, with no crickets chirping and with the lack of the familiar calls of cicadas. The lack of wildlife sounds made the sounds of the cars on the nearby highway and the campus security vehicles louder than usual. Besides the vehicles, I was also able to hear the sound of the water flowing into the creek behind me, which was a rather soothing sound.

Unknown creature swimming in the pond

At the start of my observations and towards the time I planned on leaving I spotted a creature swimming in the pond, which I later realized had to be an otter due to the slender shape and strong swimming ability, though I was unable to get a good picture with how dark it was. The surface of the water was also covered in a light layered coat of fog, which made the pond look very mysterious and beautiful at night. With the chilly breeze, I also noticed that I could see my own breath when I had the headlight on. Over the course of the hour, I also noticed several ripples in the water, though I was unable to spot what animal made it. I assume it was from one of the many fish or turtles that call the pond home. Towards the last half of my session, one of the campus security officers spotted the flashlights and came over to ask what we were doing, so I gladly shared what I was watching to her. After seeing the swimming creature the second time, I decided to walk around to the other side of the pond in hopes of a better view, though I found a large garden spider instead. Although the session was interesting, I probably will not do it again due to how cold and quiet it was, as I did not spot as many animals as I was hoping to see.

garden spider

The darkness made it rather difficult to spot my three things, though I did notice that my large sit spot tree was missing a lot more leaves, whereas the willow tree nearby showed no difference from my last sit-spot session. There were many leaves on the ground, which was expected with the changes of temperature and the chilly nights ahead. The algae was especially difficult to spot since the pond does not have any street lights directly next to it and my headlight wasn’t bright enough to see in the distance. It seemed as though there was less algae on the surface than before and that it was all the way on my far right in a small section of the pond, however. As the clock hit 9PM, I decided it was time to start heading back to the dorm, as my feet were getting cold.

algae on the pond

the tree I sit under

young willow tree