2020 Fall Bioblitz

Becky Emerson Carlberg

The Fall BioBlitz! OK 2020 arrived Oct 2nd, ending on the 4th. Because participants were not able to meet at the State Park to ‘blitz’ the area (record every living member of nature encountered in picture or by sound), they took virtual field trips, their own walk-about or attended a BioBitz. The BioBlitz! offered a BioBitz schedule of activities held in several Oklahoma parks, lakes and nature areas. Group sizes were limited from 8 to 15 people, with each BioBitz led by an activity leader. Focus on birds, moths, plants, reptiles, snakes, trees or migrating species of wildlife. All observations were submitted through iNaturalist and eBird linked to BioBlitz!. Across the state, nature was the focus of individuals and small gatherings of biologists and citizen scientists.

My two self-guided tours along back roads took place Saturday afternoon and Sunday. It took the whole weekend for this initiate to semi-master iNaturalist. Got the photography down, but often didn’t hit the submit check button or add any notes. Oops. My improvised plan was to take pictures of the things along the road, hike back to the house and use the laptop to finish the identification and add other data. By the time I arrived home and turned on the computer, some of my plants had already been identified by the community of naturalists. This is where iNaturalist excels. Knowledgeable and passionate about nature, iNaturalists help each other. Anytime you see wildlife you don’t recognize, post its picture on iNaturalist and wait. Soon a name will appear submitted by one or more volunteers. iNaturalist is a useful tool and resource.

My tally of local plants and animals gradually increased to 52 observations by Sunday evening. Not sure about photographic skills. I haven’t exactly nailed down the ‘blowing in the wind’ grasses and flowers, the zipping through the air birds, the far away shots of ponds or really close pictures of bugs and blooms. My six year old phone camera struggles. It could be questionable technique, polarization or the sun’s glare as I try to focus. The good thing, most pictures were identifiable and it was great to walk around free to tag interesting flora and fauna.

The towering Eastern Cottonwood waved in the winds, but the Western Ratsnake garnered Research Grade status. It posed perfectly on the side of the road. Roadkill never moves. I continued walking and taking pictures. Three miles into my hike and I heard Eastern Meadowlarks. They sang boldly and started to fly across the pasture, but no way could I catch a picture of them. Quarter mile down the road one meadowlark had parked itself on the highline wire. I slowed my pace, hoping not to disturb the bird. It stared at me, then hopped along the wire toward my direction. Suddenly, another meadowlark arrived and perched next to it, followed by a third. I stood there staring at the three birds, wondering if they were part of an iNaturalist setup. Got a distance shot, not particularly clear, but visible evidence they were there! As I hit the done check, all three flew off.

Somehow twenty-one of my observations netted Research Grade which means scientists around the world can use the info which met the who, what, where, when and evidence qualifications. The noble goal of many naturalists is for all their observations to be Research Grade. I was happy I could log onto iNaturalist and actually take pictures!

The Fall BioBlitz! OK 2020 observations totaled 5.148 made by 302 observers. Top spotted species was Virginia Creeper but, curiously, Virginia Wildrye was least reported, with all kinds of wildlife in between. Virginia pops up often in scientific names. Blame the very active early naturalists, someone who knew a Virginia, or the fact Virginia was the first English colony in North America.