Week of June 16, 2024 – June 22, 2024
by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator
If you missed it, June 7th kicked off a month long Bioblitz that is happening here at Baltimore Woods. From now until July 7th 2024 we are collecting data of every living thing that is on the preserve, and you can easily help! Take some photos of what you see when you’re hiking here and upload them to iNaturalist in the free app on your phone or on the iNaturalist website.
What is a Bioblitz? A bioblitz is an event held for a certain period of time (in our case a month, but many bioblitzes are over 24 hours) to catalog all the living species in a certain area. It is also a simple way for anyone to uncover the biodiversity at a site.
Why hold a Bioblitz? To get outside! You can Bioblitz alone, or with family and friends. With a goal in mind, you may be encouraged to explore and spend time in nature, perhaps you will find something you didn’t know was here either. Using iNaturalist is also an easy way to see what others have found and can help you find out what is around. Other users of iNaturalist will help identify what you have seen. We can also use this information to help preserve Baltimore Woods for future generations.
As of today we have more than 76 observations including over 64 different species.
A small jumping spider was found during the kickoff event, a hooded warbler was observed during bird banding, even the trees, ferns, and flowers count! Everything you see can make a difference in our ecosystem. Learn more about the ongoing Bioblitz by visiting baltimorewoods.org/baltimore-woods-bioblitz/.
Using iNaturalist will allow you to take notice of all the life around you. Often when we are hiking on the trail we miss smaller things, or plants that may be hiding behind or under another. While we stopped to take a photo of a plant during the kickoff, we would find insects and snails hiding among the flowers that we would not have seen if we didn’t pause to take a photo.
However, don’t forget to put your phone away and absorb what is around you! Take your photos and make memories of the start of this summer season.