This weekend to participate in the iNaturalist Bio Blitz, I visited North Beach and Rock Point. While exploring this area, I came across a plethora of bird species and tree species.
Bird Species
While walking throughout Rock Point, there were several birds calls I found including:
- Black-Capped Chickadee
- Northern Cardinal
- Woodpecker, what I believe was a Downy Woodpecker but I was unable to correctly identify it using Merlin nor was I able to actually see the woodpecker
- Red Crowned Kinglet
- Canada Goose
In order to make sure I correctly identified the different bird species; I used Merlin Bird Id which significantly aided in ensuring accuracy.
Tree Species
Throughout my hike of Rock Point there were many tree species present. There were several Paper and Yellow Birches. As I became closer to the cliffs, there were many Northern White Cedars, White Pines and Eastern Hemlocks. There were also many trees in the understory growing up along the path which seemed to be newly planted, specifically coniferous trees. I also saw several Beech trees and Black Cherry trees growing in the overstory. There was also a great presence of ferns and fallen trees creating perfect bird habitat.
My Experience with this Global Challenge
Overall, I found this concept of the iNaturalist BioBlitz Challenge incredibly fun and engaging and inspiring to get outside these past four days. Using iNaturalist was a fun opportunity to use in accordance with other nature resources such as Merlin Bird Id. Additionally, it was incredibly fun to be able to see what my peers were finding, along with people across the world.
When looking at the reports coming in from other cities, it was interesting just to see how different spring looked across the US. When I looked through the iNaturalist website’s map of this challenge, I decided to focus on the Washington Metro area as it’s close to where I am from in Baltimore. Photo after photo were blooming Cherry Blossoms, Blackhaws, and Fruit Trees. Along with many birds such as Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Sandpipers, and more. As the temperatures increase quicker in these more southern areas of the US versus Vermont, they were seeing earlier blooming seasons this year. It was so beautiful to see all of these creatures sometimes in very urban areas, areas we don’t often associate with being full of nature. I enjoyed looking at submissions from this challenge because it reminds us of the differences geographically, and how unique each area is, whilst also reminding that there is nature all around if we take the time to just look for it.