This April, I decided to participate in the Burlington City Nature Challenge iNaturalist Bioblitz! During these past four days, I visited Rock Point, Centennial Woods, and the area around the UVM campus
(above is a picture of a bridge in Centennial Woods)
(above is a picture of the waterfront of the Lone Trail, off of Rock Point)
After visiting all of these places I encountered 21 different species!!!!
The apps I used to help me detect all of these species were iNaturalist and Merlin Bird ID!
I found Merlin extremely helpful for identifying bird calls/sounds I couldn't identify myself... During my walk through Centennial Woods I sat down on a fallen-mossy tree in a sunny clearing by a stream and listened for bird sounds using the app.
After sitting for around ten minutes, I heard a Carolina Wren, American Goldfinch, Black Capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, and multiple Common Crows.
Using iNaturalist I was able to identify many species of plants and some animals. For example, while I was sitting by the stream, I noticed three small fish swimming in the shallow area of the stream, swimming against the current. I noticed these fish would dart under the fallen log whenever they heard a loud noise or a loud splash. But when I sprinkled a few small pieces of bark into the water, the fish grabbed the pieces, assuming it was probably a water bug or fly.
Also using iNaturalist helped me identify common plants I see all around New England that I had never learned the species of!
For example, I discovered these purple flowers I see in grasses all over Vermont and my home (in Maine) were called Ground-ivy
And these flowers below I learned are called Forsythias
These flowers are called Colt's-Foot
What did I find interesting about reports coming in from other cities participating globally?
A city that I focused on the most in a comparison between another place and Burlington was Sydney Australia
Why Sydney?
I chose Sydney because of its vast differences in culture of sustainability and environmental conditions. Sydney is a city with a high level of sustainability, with its main mission being to be a leading Green City, with the motto; "Green, Global and Connected".
Something I found interesting in Sydney was the species: American Everlasting, being located on the waterfront.
I learned this species is non-native in Australia because it was introduced, its a North American species of flower in the sunflower family.
Overall, in Sydney I noticed significantly more natural spaces compared to similarly big cities in the US. And almost even Burlington (which is one of the US's most sustainable cities), even though Sydney is home to over five million people and Burlington is only home to less than forty five thousand. This points towards a huge difference in Australian culture and American culture around sustainability!
Thank you!!! (And download iNaturalist so you can go identify cool stuff)
