10/14/2019
12:40 – 1:14 pm
70°F
When I entered my sit spot, the very first thing I noticed was the change in the algae in the pond. I immediately noticed that the algae had begun to separate throughout the pond. As I moved closer, I noticed that the algae has also become much thicker and appears to be more textured. I also noticed the change in color. The last time I was in my sit spot, it was a greenish-yellow shade and today it was more of a brownish-yellow shade. The growth is not nearly as exponential as the last time I went. Does this indicate a lack of photosynthesis due to the rain we experienced last week? Or is the algae beginning to die because of the cooler weather? I saw approximately 15 fish while at my sit spot. I wonder what type of fish they are and exactly how many are in the pond. All of them seemed to be of the same species and size, but I could not see them very clearly due to the murky state of the water.
I have circled the three most noticeable fish in this picture.
Within a few minutes of entering my sit spot, a large wake of about 35 turkey vultures flew overhead. They began circling about 20 feet above the trees and I assumed they had found a carcass because of this behavior. I wonder what they have found to feast on and how they all noticed where it was at the exact same time. Why do they circle before they land? Is this to attract other vultures? The wolf spider was not on the drain or in the cracks of the drain today. I was curious to know what had happened to it and where it had gone.
The invertebrate that I watched was a red dragonfly. It appeared to have a baby dragonfly following it. I only saw them for a few seconds, but I noticed them diving at the water. Were they eating insects on the surface of the water? They began circling me, and then flew away. They came back once more, but only for a few seconds before they left again. This was the last time I saw them, but I was lucky enough to take a short video. Unfortunately, I am unable to upload the video to this site :(.
Turkey Vultures
Water plays a huge part in my sit spot! I am mostly observing what goes on on the surface of the pond and in the water. I believe that the water brings more diversity to the area. For example, often times, dragonflies are only present on and near freshwater. If I would have chosen another place for my sit spot, I would not have been able to observe all of the insects, fish, and algae because they are less present in moving water than they are in standing water.
My experience at my sit spot was not quite as exciting as my last experience, but I was still able to find new things to observe. These sit spot experiences have made me more aware of what is going on in nature and allowed me to bring a little bit of peace to my inevitably chaotic schedule. It has become easier and easier to put away my phone and tune into the environment. They have aided my ability to focus.
I really like your spot. The algae seems really interesting to watch and observe how it changes. I wonder what causes the color change that you noticed. I think it may be due to a lack of photosynthesis and possibly the colder weather like you said.
Its interesting that the algae changed color so quickly. Though as it is getting into the winter months, its quite possible that its dying because of the cold like you said. I will also say that while I think that the thought of a baby dragonfly following the adult was adorable, I’m pretty sure from our stream lab we learned about what the larvae of dragonflies looked like and they wouldn’t have been flying like that yet. Its more likely that that was just a smaller dragonfly following the larger one. Great blog post!
Nice descriptions Shelby – you are noticing some interesting changes! good work
Hey Shelby! I enjoyed reading your blog and I loved the pictures. I liked how you questioned yourself throughout the blogpost. The how’s and why’s were thought-provoking!
Your questions were super insightful! I love the addition of the pictures because they helped me see what you were describing in the post. Super funny to look back now and know why those vultures are circling now that we have found the dead deer.
You have a very beautiful sit-spot and it is amazing the diversity of things you saw. I loved your thought provoking questions throughout because I was thinking about the same things too.
Hello Shelby! I wondered who would pick the pond for their sit spot! I like your thoughts about the changing color of the algae being due to cooler weather or a decrease in photosynthesis. I’m glad you posted pictures of the fish in the pond. Looking at it, I did not expect fish to be living in it because the water didn’t look to be a healthy living environment. I’m glad to see it is healthy enough to house fish. I too would like to know what kind of fish these are.