Field Study #1

First Visit!

Today I visited my location to choose my spot, film my video, create a map, and start my first field study! You can see my video and map in my earlier post.

So far, the most difficult part of this project has actually been choosing a 30x30 plot of land to study! My location (a local park with nature trails) is much bigger than 30 square meters, so I had to choose just a small section. That was a little hard because I saw so many interesting things! I saw small birds, monarch butterflies, some smaller butterflies and moths, bees, interesting plants and flowers, and even a fruit tree on one of the trails (it seemed to be some kind of pear tree). I was able to photograph a few of the many bees and butterflies I saw before they flew away! I was excited that I had already seen so much wildlife even before I got to my actual spot!

It reminded me of a verse that was read in church this morning:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world."

 

Psalm 19:1-4, NIV

Field notes:

Date: Sunday, September 3, 2023

Time: 2:00-2:50pm

Climate Conditions: Wind- lots of wind! The skies were very clear today, and it was very sunny.

Temperature: 85℉

Length of Day: 6:42am-8:45pm (14 hours, 3 minutes)

Organism Observations: I saw, heard, and felt many different organisms and signs of life! The first thing I noticed was, surprisingly, apples. I am pretty sure they were apples, anyway- they could be some other kind of fruit, but they looked like apples. There were many kinds of apples all over the trail- small, large, yellow, red, green, variegated, and even some rotten ones! This was exciting because all this fruit on and around the trail could be a source of food for wildlife here (maybe raccoons, skunks, or deer?) I checked for animal tracks but did not see any. At one corner of my spot, I saw a few moss-covered logs surrounded by some red berries. I didn't see any organisms near the logs, but I think that some organisms might live there. I also saw a woodpecker pecking on a tree. I was unable to get a picture, but it was cool to watch! It appeared to have mostly black feathers with some small white spots, and a little red on its head. As I went farther down the trail and looked up at the treetops, I realized that the apples were coming from some apple trees that were farther down the trail. As I was looking up, one of the apple trees was blowing in the wind. I saw (and heard) its branches drop a few apples, which nearly fell on my head (like Newton!). Besides apple trees, I also saw many other kinds of trees and vegetation. Almost all of the leaves were still very green, but I did see a few brown leaves floating to the ground. I also saw a bush with leaves that were mostly green with some bright red. As I was leaving, I saw some smaller brown birds fly overhead near the edge of my spot. I could hear them chirping and calling. As I was taking a picture of some of the organisms I saw, I felt something with wings land on my finger briefly before flying away. I thought it was a butterfly or moth, since I saw light brown wings, but it could have been some kind of flying insect. It was so fast that it was hard to tell.

Pictures:

Panorama of my spot!

Another view of the trail

 

Moss-covered logs with red berries near the beginning of the trail- what could hide here?

Apples, apples, apples! These wild apples were everywhere.

If you look closely, you can see the small wild apples hanging from the branches of these trees!


Are the leaves turning? Or maybe, like some plants, they were already red to start with...


Here's me enjoying the beautiful outdoors on this sunny day!