September 7th, 2:00pm
79˚, 2:00pm
Day length: 12hrs 53m
Well, I guess the first study was a success. I set aside about a one and a half hour time block to just sit in the study area. At first I didn't see much although, as always, the woods was alive with sound. I heard a splash in the water when I got there and I thought it was a fish at first but it turned out to be a group of turtles that used to be sunbathing. I left them and went back to my chair but I kept the log they were on in the back of my head. I snuck over maybe 20 minutes later and they were back, however, they didn't jump off.
Obviously, I would have gotten a better picture had it not been for the steep, loose hill in between me and the river.
I had heard what I thought were squirrels all throughout this time, but in the last ten minutes, I heard a squirrel bark. I looked for about a minute and then I finally heard a sound overhead. It wasn't a squirrel, but it was a woodpecker which was really cool. I was going to snap a photo, but my phone was dead. As I looked down in slight disappointment, I noticed movement on a tree trunk across the trail. It was an eastern gray squirrel. I then started my test. I kept my eyes fixed on the squirrel as I walked directly toward it at a steady, non-threatening pace. At 20ft away it scurried up the tree, however I couldn't see it afterwards as I was focused on measuring the distance to the tree.
So, next time, I will definitely make sure my phone has more charge and I would make sure I had someone else to track where it goes. Before I go out again, will certainly plan on also making a spreadsheet to track my findings with the squirrels and I will also have a video of the area prepared to help you better understand where I'm collecting my data.
Here is a sound map drawing of the area. The red spot is the location where I was sitting, and I have several of the other creatures labeled where I saw them, plus some other noises. I also encountered one bass boat with a full sized ladder (a little weird), and two kayaks, but I don't have those listed directly, I just say "Man-made water noises".
Finally, for this study, I'm taking one photo from the same location each visit to see how the area changes. Here is my first image:
Thank you for reading this first post!
