We started our day at the Arcata Marsh at 12:15pm with partly cloudy weather and 55 degrees Fahrenheit and ended at 3:15 with walking a total of about 2.5 miles. I went with the rest of the Sci 100 class, so around 80 plus students were at the marsh.
The first thing we did was walk to Klopp Lake to observe for Avocets. Since the tide was high, so we did not see observe any Avocets at 12:40pm. The weather at that time was still partly cloudy and windy. We saw other birds such as seagulls and loons, but there were still was not any avocets present.
The second activity we did was hike to the Oxidation pond for the Avocet spot number two. We observed at 1:23 pm and since the tide was high, the mudflats were not exposed so we did not see any avocets. There could have been a slight possibility of them further out in the water, but we could not accurately identify them so we decided it was inconclusive. The other factor of 80 plus students walking around the marsh could have affected the presence of the avocets.
In the time hiking to the second avocet spot I got pictures of multiple organisms, like Clovers, the Common Dandelion, Pine cones, Oak moss, and flowers in the Carrot Family.
At 1:57pm at the Oxidation Ponds our BOG instructor, Mihai Tomescu and John Steele, showed us the basics of what to observe on a Willow tree. The weather was still partly cloudy with the sun peeking out every now and then, and the wind started to pick up. We observed a male willow tree and witnessed pollinators on the tree. This gave us a good idea of what to observe for our future willow tree.
At 2:23pm we hiked back to Klopp lake to be assigned our Willow Tree. From the moment we got our tree, we took our first pictures of it in full, the canopy, and the two branches we would be observing throughout the ten weeks. We are unsure about the gender of our tree, but our group observed and recorded breaking leaf buds on about less than 25% of our branches on the tree.
Personally, the experience of doing fieldwork for the first time was super exciting and it gave me an opportunity to decide if I liked it or not. It was nice to connect with our surrounding area and watch the natural processes happen in these ten weeks. Next time I am going to come more prepared with proper supplies, such as a folder to store my data sheets.

Posted on February 5, 2019 04:10 AM by mp308hsu