Field Study Visit #3

Date: October 4, 2026

Time: 3:10pm-3:30pm

Weather: Partly cloudy with a strong breeze

Temperature: 65º

Length of Day: 11hours and 35minutes

My same spot picture: 

Organisms Observed: Today I noticed lots of people walking around. I continued to hear insects and birds, although I still haven't actually seen a bird yet. I did see a chipmunk scurry across the ground while I was observing my 30x30.

Changes I noticed since last time: A big change I noticed this time was the amount of leaves on the ground. They were tons of brown leaves on the path. I also noticed that many of the little flowers on the plant I sketched last visit had died, and the plant was no longer perfectly yellow. This shows the changing of the weather and temperature as nature is beginning to prepare for winter. I also looked into the mushroom I found last time. This did not seem to show any major changes since last week.

Something I noticed that hadn't seem to change a ton within my 30x30 were the color of the leaves on the trees. Some had fallen off, but the leaves that still were on the tree were green. Yet, the trees near the outside of the park, which you can see from the road were all different yellows and reds. This lead me to a question: 

Why are trees changing color more on the outside of the park, then on the inside, closer to the river? 

I don't know if I can give you an exact answer to this question, but my initial thought was that it had something to do with the idea that water helps regulate air temperature and therefore keeps the trees that are by it in a warmer environment for longer.