Hello again! This past weekend, I participated in the four-day urban BioBlitz around Greater Burlington, and it was a lot of fun! I spent time with my friend exploring places like the Intervale and some parts of Centennial Woods. It’s wild how many species are just out there if you actually take a second to look around and observe your surroundings.
Since I’ve become familiar with iNaturalist throughout these past two semesters, making observations was fairly simple. Seeing some green after a long, grey winter felt refreshing, and excited me even more for the summer. My favorite thing that I saw was the willow tree at the Intervale.
I ended up spotting and identifying 11 different species, including the common daffodil (which is pretty much everywhere right now on campus), ostrich fern, common mugwort, greater burdock, and great rhododendron. I also came across some cool ones like broomrape and red osier dogwood, which has these bright red stems that are hard to miss. Again, my favorite observation was the willow tree! I’ve been to the Intervale months ago for my first couple of Phenology Assignments before switching locations. I missed the beauty of its branches and how they move in the wind.
One of the coolest parts of the whole BioBlitz was watching reports roll in from cities all around the world on iNaturalist. It felt like I was part of this giant, global scavenger hunt for biodiversity. I saw posts from people in tropical countries who were uploading photos of these super vibrant birds with bright blue feathers, butterflies that looked like flying stained glass, and even some crazy, unique frogs. Meanwhile, I was here observing simpler and more common things. Even though I didn’t make the most exotic observations, it still feels very special to be a part of this global event.
This is my second-to-last post, so until next time!