Field Study #2

Today I made a second visit to my field study location! It was such a beautiful day for a field study. Yesterday was the first day of fall, and I am starting to see some seasonal change at my 30x30.

Field Notes

Date: Sunday, September 24, 2023

Time: 2:30-2:55pm

Climate Conditions: On the trail, it was warm, but felt cooler than the actual temperature because the area is very shaded. There was a slight wind but not as much as last time. The skies were blue, very clear, with a few clouds.

Temperature: 74℉

Length of Day: 7:06am-8:07pm (13 hours, 1 minute)

Organism Observations: The first organisms I saw and heard were bees and mosquitoes all over my spot. The bees were flying from plant to plant and settling on the leaves. The mosquitoes were also flying all over, but unfortunately they seemed more interested in landing on me. I am sure mosquitoes have an important role in the ecosystem, but they can definitely be annoying! I also heard birds, crickets, and cicadas. It was especially fun to listen as the birds chirped and called. They almost sounded like they were having a conversation! I would hear the sound of one birdcall, and then a very different birdcall, and then I would hear the first one again. I couldn't see the birds, but I could hear the different "voices." It sounded like they were calling back and forth to each other. I saw and heard leaves falling from their branches, swirling in the wind, and drifting to the ground. The leaves were brown or dark red in color, and they looked crispy and dry. I also noticed a rotten wild apple on the trail, which was being eaten by ants.

Changes Noticed Since Last Visit: There have been many exciting changes since the last visit! One of the first things I noticed is that my spot was filled with much more life and activity than on the day of my first visit. Last time I visited, there was some sound, but it was mostly quiet. Today, there were so many sounds of living things! There are more fallen leaves, but not as many wild apples on the trail as there were last visit. I could still see some apples that were hidden behind the trees, plants and fallen branches on either side of the trail. Some of the trees had branches that were still holding on to the fruit. I also noticed that many of the plants had bite marks, much more than last time. Some caterpillars or other animals must have been eating the plants! I also noticed some white fungi growing on the log, which was not there before. Most of the trees and plants are still very green, but the plant that I was looking at during my last visit (a plant with green leaves that were starting to turn red) has continued to change in color, and so have the plants around it. I saw many leaves falling as well! The leaves are starting to change in color and fall on the trail. We are entering the fall season, so I can imagine that the leaves will continue to cover the trail!

Pictures

Panorama from my second visit!

This is the other side of the trail. You can see a little bit of red/orange/brown leaves on one of the trees!

The sky was beautiful today! This view of the treetops shows the leaves starting to change.

A bee resting on some leaves. The bee was very fast, so I had to take the photo very quickly! The leaves have bite marks!

There was some white fungi on the logs that was not there the last time I visited...

...and some more bite marks on the nearby leaves.

The plant I noticed on my last visit has continued to turn red. It was the first plant at my 30x30 to change color.

Another picture of leaves changing colors. These leaves are not as red as the leaves on some of the other plants. The color is more of a reddish-purple color.

The leaves that have reddish-purple tips look similar to the leaves from the last photo. There are some wild apples here too. These leaves have so many bite marks! There must be a lot of hungry animals on the trail- caterpillars maybe?

Leaves on the trail! It was fun to watch as the leaves drifted to the ground.

I saw some hungry ants crawling on this rotten apple!

I really enjoyed my field study today! There was so much to see on the trail. It was a great day to be outside!

Sound Map & Video

I drew this sound map while I was on the trail. It's not the best sketch but hopefully it gives a general idea of where the different sounds were coming from. You can hear the sounds of birds, cicadas, crickets, and wind in the video!