For the BioBlitz of the Greater Burlington area, I chose to explore the South End of Burlington. Specifically, I was in the area surrounding the South End CityMarket grocery store (see map). I chose this area because it is near the house where my parents stay when they come up to visit me, and I have always liked the area. It is off Pine St and close to the water.

My experience using iNaturalist was streamlined and straightforward. The new version of the app that they recently rolled out is more intuitive and user-friendly. I could find my lab section’s project easily on the “search projects” feature and record my observations in the app.

I encountered at least 8 different species out of my recorded observations. The most common ones I found were Red Maples, Northern Whitecedar, and Elms. Since it was a rainy day when I went out, there was not much wildlife activity to note or record. There was some birdsong earlier in the day, but it was difficult to make out due to rain and cars.

Looking at the reports from other cities around the world participating in the challenge, I found it interesting that the top city currently is the San Antonio Metro Area. I wouldn’t expect a metropolitan area to have the most observations, but it also seems plausible because of the high population.