Archivos de diario de enero 2021

08 de enero de 2021

Welcome to the Illinois Botanists Big Year 2021!

Find the most plant species in Illinois in 2021 and rejoice in your victory! The year 2021 marks the sixth annual Illinois Botanists Big Year (ILBBY). Anyone may participate, from professional botanist to plant identification novice, by uploading photographic proof of their plant sightings to iNaturalist. Each observation will automatically count toward the contest if you've joined the project and the observation meets the rules below.

New in 2021: The only observations that will be displayed on this project page are those by people who have joined the project. So, click this link to join up! Curious about yearly comparisons? You can always look at total yearly stats by using the Explore page, such as 2020 vs. 2021 Research Grade plant observations in Illinois.

Rules:

  1. Must be a plant (bryophytes and vascular plants – native and non-native species are accepted),
  2. Observed in Illinois,
  3. Observed in 2021 (and uploaded by January 15th, 2022), and
  4. Research Grade (that means it must be “wild/naturalized” and that you need a photo, date, location, and at least two people or >2/3 consensus on a species ID, in order to confirm the identification accuracy)

Join the Illinois Botanists Big Year 2021

Curious about other ways to get involved than making observations? How about...

However you express your love for the flora of Illinois, happy botanizing!

-cassi / @bouteloua

P.S. The 2020 results will be announced after Jan 15th, so please do help out with identification if you can!

Carex buxbaumii illustration by Kathleen Marie Garness.

Publicado el enero 8, 2021 01:42 MAÑANA por bouteloua bouteloua | 13 comentarios | Deja un comentario

16 de enero de 2021

Illinois Botanists Big Year 2020 Results!



And the winner is...
.
.......
................
.......................
..............................
.....................................
............................................
.....................................
..............................
.......................
................
........
.

Abel Kinser (@abelkinser) with 978 species!

As of 16 January 2021, @abelkinser had 1,301 Research Grade observations of 978 species for 2020. Congrats!

2020 Illinois Botanists Big Year Stats

5,930 observers
75,280 Research Grade observations of plants - 33% by people who had joined the project
2,000 species
1,960 identifiers

The Illinois Botanists Big Year is an annual friendly competition of the Illinois Native Plant Society to see how many species you can find in a single year in Illinois. The main goals of the project are to spark discovery in people of any age and experience, encouraging them to stop to look at plants they might have otherwise have passed by, as well as to create connections and build camaraderie among plant enthusiasts, share knowledge, and contribute to a growing database of the flora of Illinois. The year 2020 was its fifth year: 86 people joined the project, comprising around 33% of the qualifying observations.

The Illinois Botanists Big Year only looks at Research Grade observations (those that have identifications that have been confirmed by at least one other person), a rough tool to ensure a level of data quality. For 2020, only around half of the qualifying observations of plants have reached Research Grade in Illinois so far. A huge huge thank you to the many identifiers who spend their time helping with this process. And a sustained call to action for anyone and everyone to help with identification. Even a rough ID like "plant", "dicot", "sunflower family", or "goldenrod" can be incredibly helpful to narrow it down. :)

Anyway. Lots of other stats and fun graphics below. Congrats and well wishes for 2021 to you all.

Most Species

  1. @abelkinser – 978
  2. @sanguinaria33 – 731
  3. @wildlandblogger – 722
  4. @johnhboldt – 713
  5. @elfaulkner – 592
  6. @adriansydor – 577
  7. @psweet – 537
  8. @sedge – 477
  9. @dziomber– 444
  10. @benzerante – 433

Most Observations

  1. @johnhboldt – 3,239
  2. @wildlandblogger – 1,749
  3. @benzerante – 1,459
  4. @abelkinser – 1,301
  5. @sanguinaria33 – 1,176
  6. @brdnrdr – 1,084
  7. @psweet – 1,049
  8. @taco2000 – 1,020
  9. @vnevirkov – 934
  10. @sedge – 916

Most IDs

Most identifications for other people (IDs on plant observations in Illinois in 2020):

  1. @abelkinser – 10,835
  2. @adriansydor – 9,473
  3. @mcaple – 7,773
  4. @bouteloua – 6,230
  5. @sedge – 5,426
  6. @tkoffel – 3,749
  7. @k2018lena – 3,654
  8. @wildlandblogger – 3,585
  9. @micahbowman – 2,619
  10. @elfaulkner – 2,112

Most Improving IDs

That is the number of times they were first-to-ID a species that the community subsequently agreed with (improving IDs on plant observations in Illinois in 2020):

  1. @mcaple – 2,070
  2. @adriansydor – 1,314
  3. @sedge – 1,150
  4. @k2018lena – 1,051
  5. @bouteloua – 773
  6. @abelkinser – 702
  7. @tkoffel – 464
  8. @micahbowman – 395
  9. @wildlandblogger – 367
  10. @elfaulkner – 349

The Most-observed Plant

Trillium recurvatum, prairie trillium!


Observation by @danielpohl in Winnebago County

Some of my other favorite observations of this species in 2020 were this lovely portrait by @jawinget and this oddball two-flowered individual by @robbmiller. @joelmc made these neat visualizations of prairie trillium observations over the year:


  

Observations per County

Check out that per capita density in southern Illinois. And poor little Edwards County only has a total of 5 plant observations ever.

Observations per Day

As you might expect, the warmer months have quite a bit more activity. :) Those dark purple days in late April are the City Nature Challenge. Are you participating in 2021?

The 100 Club

Botanizers who made Research Grade observations of over 100 species of plants in Illinois in 2020:

@abelkinser @adriansydor @alexandradestria @andrewhipp @averyshikanai @benzerante @berna @bouteloua @brandoncorder @brdnrdr @carolt-80 @cmidden @crwrcwamt @d_coulter @daltonk @damo87 @danielpohl @dicot1 @dziomber @eattaway92 @elfaulkner @hazelgrouse4 @hortusmax @irmela @jayell @jenhugstrees @jnelson7408 @joelmc @johnhboldt @justwanderin @k2018lena @k3outdoors @kathleensoler2 @kennedy9094 @laniarius @maureenclare @meganhanson @micahbowman @missgreen @mmasell @mn2010 @mrostrowski @mycorrhizael_fungal @naturalist_glenn @nicothoe @outdoorsie @paulroots @professorbeech @psweet @rafaelurbinacasanova @rarecatsnake @redadmiral98 @rgraveolens @rin_nd @robbmiller @ruthmetterhausen @sanguinaria33 @sedge @taco2000 @tararat @themothergooz @timfelinski0251 @tofish4 @ungulateunion @vnevirkov @wildernessbarbie @wildlandblogger @woodridgejeff

The Favoritest Observations

The most faved observation was, at no surprise to Bella, this photo of my dog eating plantain leaves. Ten observations tied for second with three faves each. A few of them:

Top left: Trillium nivale (snow trillium) by @wildlandblogger in Vermilion County
Top right: Asclepias meadii (Mead's milkweed) by @sanguinaria33 in Vermilion County
Bottom left: Lithospermum canescens (hoary puccoon) by @calumetkathleen in Cook County
Bottom center: Verbena bracteata (prostrate vervain) by @sedge in Champaign County
Bottom right: Circaea canadensis (enchanter's nightshade) by @micahbowman in Winnebago County

More "Mosts"

The Sedgehead: Most species in the genus Carex: @sanguinaria33 with 41 species!

The Grassmaster: Most species within the family Poaceae: @abelkinser with 95 species!

The Compositor: Most species within the family Asteraceae: @abelkinser with 141 species!

The Sporophyte: Most species outside of flowering plants, Magnoliophyta): @abelkinser with 70 species!

Species New to Illinois on iNat

Dozens of species new to iNat in Illinois this year. A few listed below:

and finally...

Don't forget to join the 2021 project:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/illinois-botanists-big-year-2021/join

Thanks to all for sharing your plant explorations this year!

@bouteloua (cassi saari) with cool charts and graphs from @joelmc

Publicado el enero 16, 2021 10:26 TARDE por bouteloua bouteloua | 7 comentarios | Deja un comentario

17 de enero de 2021

28 de enero de 2021

"iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge" - Chicago Wilderness Cafe next Thursday, February 4th at Noon

Next week Edward Warden (@ewarden) and I, with help from Taran Lichtenberger (@taran09), Kristin Brock, and Laura Reilly (@lauraxreilly), will doing a quick presentation on iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge. If you're reading this here, you might not be the intended audience, but perhaps you can help spread the word?

Here's the link to register: https://www.chicagowilderness.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1464964

It's not strictly Chicago-specific, so feel free to share more broadly.

thanks! :)
cassi / @bouteloua

--

iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge

Chicago Wilderness Cafe - over Zoom! register here
Thursday, February 4th
12PM - 1PM

First, learn about iNaturalist, a community science website, app, and network of people making observations of flora and fauna across the world. Learn how amateurs and professionals alike are sharing their nature observations, getting help with species identification, and using the iNaturalist platform for conservation planning, land management, nature education, monitoring, and research.

Second, see how you or your organization can participate in the City Nature Challenge (CNC) an annual, friendly, bioblitz-style competition between urban areas all around the world, taking place between April 30th and May 3rd, 2021. It began in 2016 between just Los Angeles and San Francisco and has since expanded worldwide, with hundreds of cites expected to participate in 2021. The Challenge aims to engage city residents and visitors in learning about their local nature and to help all of us better understand urban biodiversity. Anyone can take part on their own, assist others with identification, or even organize a bioblitz at a nearby park.

Presenters & Moderators:

  • cassi saari, Project Manager - Natural Areas, Chicago Park District and President, Northeast Chapter of the Illinois Native Plant Society
  • Edward Warden: Conservation Stewardship Coordinator-Shedd Aquarium and President-Chicago Ornithological Society
  • Kristin Brock, Chicago Park District Outdoor & Environmental Education Manager
  • Taran Lichtenberger, Chicago Botanic Garden, Project Budburst
Publicado el enero 28, 2021 11:37 TARDE por bouteloua bouteloua | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

"iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge" - Chicago Wilderness Cafe next Thursday, February 4th at Noon

Next week Edward Warden (@ewarden) and I, with help from Taran Lichtenberger (@taran09), Kristin Brock, and Laura Reilly (@lauraxreilly), will doing a quick presentation on iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge. If you're reading this here, you might not be the intended audience, but perhaps you can help spread the word?

Here's the link to register: https://www.chicagowilderness.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1464964

It's not strictly Chicago-specific, so feel free to share more broadly.

thanks! :)
cassi / @bouteloua

--

iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge

Chicago Wilderness Cafe - over Zoom! register here
Thursday, February 4th
12PM - 1PM

First, learn about iNaturalist, a community science website, app, and network of people making observations of flora and fauna across the world. Learn how amateurs and professionals alike are sharing their nature observations, getting help with species identification, and using the iNaturalist platform for conservation planning, land management, nature education, monitoring, and research.

Second, see how you or your organization can participate in the City Nature Challenge (CNC) an annual, friendly, bioblitz-style competition between urban areas all around the world, taking place between April 30th and May 3rd, 2021. It began in 2016 between just Los Angeles and San Francisco and has since expanded worldwide, with hundreds of cites expected to participate in 2021. The Challenge aims to engage city residents and visitors in learning about their local nature and to help all of us better understand urban biodiversity. Anyone can take part on their own, assist others with identification, or even organize a bioblitz at a nearby park.

Presenters & Moderators:

  • cassi saari, Project Manager - Natural Areas, Chicago Park District and President, Northeast Chapter of the Illinois Native Plant Society
  • Edward Warden: Conservation Stewardship Coordinator-Shedd Aquarium and President-Chicago Ornithological Society
  • Kristin Brock, Chicago Park District Outdoor & Environmental Education Manager
  • Taran Lichtenberger, Chicago Botanic Garden, Project Budburst
Publicado el enero 28, 2021 11:38 TARDE por bouteloua bouteloua | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

29 de enero de 2021

Thinking of planning an event for the CNC?

If you or your organization is thinking about holding a related event before, during, or soon after the City Nature Challenge in the Chicago Metro area, please fill out this form - new events are no longer being accepted. Join in next year for the 2022 CNC!

We'll be posting the list of public events on the CNC: Chicago Metro website and this project page.

Examples:

  • socially distanced bioblitz
  • guided nature hikes
  • iNaturalist workshops/trainings (e.g. for beginners, how to add IDs, educator-focused, or advanced iNat usage)
  • virtual identification party or nature storytelling
  • sharing how your organization or research uses iNat data
  • learning about urban flora and fauna through iNat or Seek
  • urban nature trivia Zoom

We're also having monthly planning meetings on third Tuesdays at 10AM (next one is February 16th). Please reach out to me if you or a colleague might be interested in attending those, or comment below if you have any ideas for the Chicago region's CNC!

cassi / @bouteloua

Publicado el enero 29, 2021 12:22 MAÑANA por bouteloua bouteloua | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario