It is not the time for a global outdoor gathering of thousands of people to see who can find the most wildlife. But spring goes on (in the Northern Hemisphere), and the wildlife abides, so the fifth annual City Nature Challenge, originally envisioned as a worldwide live community science event, will go on this week too, with all those tens of thousands of amateur nature observers looking for nature closer to home and looking for a nature community online.

https://baynature.org/2020/04/22/the-city-nature-challenge-modified-returns/

On May 3rd, join us for the second Socially Distant Bioblitz in our new tri-weekly series of self-paced natural exploration that adhere to the World Health Organization's guidelines for social distancing. (https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public) Participants can contribute observations from home, or wherever you find yourself on May 3rd! This recurring event, every 3 weeks starting May 3rd, is sponsored by Antioch University New England and Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail.

The first Socially Distant Bioblitz on Sunday, April 5, was a huge success! We had an amazing turnout; nearly 350 participants submitting over 12,500 observations of over 3,000 species, representing 6 continents and 27 countries across the world.

What is a "bioblitz"? A bioblitz is a way of documenting the biodiversity of a property, town, or region by recording all of the species of plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms within a designated time period and location. It could be a meal moth in your pantry, the amphibians calling from afar, the spiders in your house, the plants in the pavement, the doves flying by your apartment porch...any living organism you see or hear! Feel free to submit observations of plants inside your house or in your garden - just make sure to mark anything that was planted as "Cultivated" in your observation.

To participate, simply click the "JOIN" button in the top-right of the project page (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/socially-distant-bioblitz-5-3-2020). On the day of the bioblitz, your observations will be automatically added to the project.

We are looking forward to bio-blitzing with you!

Sincerely,

Your SDB Organizers

Steven Lamode (@slamonde; Antioch University New England)
Sara Lobdell (@slob973; Antioch University New England)
Michael Nerrie (@mnerrie; Distant Hill Gardens)

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/socially-distant-bioblitz-5-3-2020

On Facebook:

https://m.facebook.com/events/225011655514202/?refid=12&ref=m_notif&notif_t=page_message

A parasite known only to be hosted in North America by the Virginia opossum is infecting sea otters along the West Coast. A study from the University of California, Davis, elucidates the sometimes surprising and complex pathways infectious pathogens can move from land to sea to sea otter.

https://yubanet.com/scitech/sea-otters-opossums-and-the-surprising-ways-pathogens-move-from-land-to-sea/

City Nature Challenge 2020

https://citynaturechallenge.org/city-list-2020/

Hearst San Simeon State Park is now seeking new volunteers to educate visitors about the northern elephant seal. These volunteers must be wildlife enthusiasts who enjoy sharing fascinating stories about these one-of-a-kind marine mammals and their unique life cycle.

https://keyt.com/lifestyle/community/2020/03/05/hearst-san-simeon-state-park-recruiting-new-elephant-seal-volunteers/

Dozens of events will be held Mar. 7, 8, 14 and 15 for the 49th iteration of the event, including several boating-themed festivities. The event will, of course, feature whale watching, both from land or sea. Several different whale watching boat trips will be offered throughout each day of the festival. Festival goers can also walk to the cliffs at Dana Point Headlands near the harbor for a good land-based whale watching location.

https://www.thelog.com/local/festival-of-whales-swims-into-dana-point/

The upwelling from the canyon, along with the mixing of cold ocean currents from the north and warmer currents from the south, provides nutrients for a vast variety of more than 525 fish species, 36 species of marine mammals (such as whales, dolphins, seals and sea otters), kelp and another 450+ species of algae, and thousands of invertebrates varieties.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/nature-up-close-marine-biology-at-monterey-bay/

The Marine Mammal Care Center is the only 24/7 hospital for marine mammals in LA County. They are in desperate need of funds to stay open.

https://patch.com/california/palosverdes/amp/28587070/buy-shirt-save-seals-marine-mammal-care-center-fundraiser

"Monterey Bay Whale Watch just captured some rare underwater video of a little known and very unusual kind of dolphin that is shaped like a torpedo, has no dorsal fin, with a delicate small tail stock and fluke, and is strikingly colored black and white."

https://www.ksbw.com/amp/article/watch-underwater-video-of-northern-right-whale-dolphins-lunge-feeding-humpbacks-in-monterey-bay/30970936

For a long time, the only squirrels found at Mission Trails Regional Park were California ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi). But in 2016, an iNaturalist user photographed a fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) on a trail west of Kumeyaay Lake. No one reported another fox squirrel in the park on iNat until April 2019 and since then, seven more observations have been posted, including one by skylukr (bit.ly/2uhjARI). This new population of non-native critters seems to be confined to an urban border of the park, just east of Kwaay Paay Peak Trail (off of Father Junipero Serra Trail).

https://missiontimescourier.com/observation-of-the-month-fox-squirrel/