We're BioBlitzing this Weekend!

Thank you for signing up to participate in our Fall Garden BioBlitz. The weather looks like it may be perfect: low 80s, low wind, and low chance of rain!

Those of you who participated in our Spring and/or Summer BioBlitzes might notice a few things that are different with a Fall BioBlitz. First, the number of species that you are able to document might decrease. This is because a large part of garden biodiversity is in the insects, and many insects will have already moved into inactive life stages or into diapause (insect hibernation). Second, the types of species that you encounter are likely to be different than what you saw in the Spring and the Summer. Birds are starting to return to feeders. Late season bees are busy gathering nectar and pollen. Late season nectar sources, such as goldenrod and Douglas Aster, are showing off in glorious, flowered fashion. As the rains have started to fall, fungi may be more noticeable in the lawn or on your trees and other plants.

Remember that iNaturalist is focused on documenting wild plants, fungi, and animals. You can absolutely photograph and upload observations of cultivated plants. However, these will be marked as 'cultivated', to better help researchers who use iNaturalist understand local patterns of biodiversity.

I look forward to seeing your observations on Saturday! I hope that you will all have fun, learning more about the biodiversity in your garden.

~Gail

Posted on 20 de setembro de 2021, 07:02 PM by gail61