Greetings! We're continuing our series of seasonal bioblitzes in the East Finger Lakes region, and our next event is coming up this weekend. We hope you can join us from midnight on Friday, July 23 to midnight on Sunday, July 25.
To sign up, go to the event's iNaturalist page: www.inaturalist.org/projects/summer-2021-bioblitz
We’ve got four more days to finalize identifications & upload those last few observations. If you take a look at the global results page (https://citynaturechallenge.org/collective-results-2021/) you’ll see that more than 50,000 people participated and made more than one million observations. The event organizers are thrilled – conservation is finally achieving the status of a rock concert or sporting event (just a single event, but it’s a start). The organizers have also asked us to let them know if we found anything “interesting/unusual/fun” that they can highlight. If those of you who specialize in a particular taxon have noticed anything that might fit that criterion please let me know & I’ll send it along. As I’ve reviewed our team’s observations I remain amazed by the diversity of life that we’ve documented in the ITH/FLX area. You should all scroll through the observations – gorgeous birds, crazy fungi, incredible insects, a fox on a deck and a swimming beaver – just too cool. Again many, many thanks for your efforts!
Happy Last Day of the City Nature Challenge. We’ve had so many interesting and beautiful organisms documented – your enthusiasm has been terrific! As of Monday morning we have 129 observers documenting 643 species, among 2128 total observations.
Following the observation period – which ends tonight at midnight – May 4-9 is devoted to identifying species (and you can also still upload any observations made Apr30-May3 that you didn’t get to). Identification week is as important as the observation period. If you have expertise with a group of organisms please contribute a little more time helping our global community confirm the final species tally.
The FINAL totals for all cities will be announced on May 10.
Keep tabs on how everyone is doing here –
https://citynaturechallenge.org/collective-results-2021/
And notice that our Finger Lakes team has shown spirit far beyond our small size!
Congrats to all and thank you!
PS – make sure to check out the cool photos that our team has uploaded!
Good morning BioBlitzers - welcome to Day 2 of the global City Nature Challenge, Finger Lakes Edition. Yesterday was a good kickoff with 37 participants making 588 observations of 292 species. The rain and cold weather have provided us with a challenge, but with luck a few more species will emerge this weekend.
In addition to our local species count, check out the live updates to the global totals here -
https://citynaturechallenge.org/collective-results-2021/
And invite your friends, neighbors and family out into Nature this weekend to enjoy and help preserve our regional biodiversity!
We are just a few days away from the City nature Challenge, 2021 – are you getting ready to enjoy our local biodiversity? And if you know others who share your passion for nature – or conversely and especially – someone who is simply nature-curious, invite them to step outside this weekend!
Here is a brief overview of schedule, activities, and interesting links.
• Midnight April 30 to midnight May 3, we observe wild living things in the eastern Finger Lakes region and post observations to iNaturalist.
• May 4-9 finish uploading observations and identify as many species as we can.
• May 10 official results are announced by the organizers for all participating locations.
There is a promo video here – https://citynaturechallenge.org
There is an FAQ page here – https://citynaturechallenge.org/cnc-faqs-page/
On Saturday, May 1, 10:00AM, PRI staffers will be at Stewart Park near the Cascadilla Boathouse - stop by and say Hi. The forecast calls for mostly sunny and seasonal temperatures this weekend; we hope to see you out and about!
And more snow. But ephemeral this time; just enough to slow down this crazy early spring. With the City Nature Challenge just two weeks away it’s time to reach out to friends, colleagues and family and try to recruit more observers across the eastern Finger Lakes. We are one of three CNC projects in New York state, the others in Rochester and NYC.
For Ithacans who might be new to bioblitzing, on Saturday May 1, from 10:00-11:00AM, staff of the Cayuga Nature Center will be at Stewart Park, at Fuertes Pond beside the Cascadilla Boathouse to offer advice and encouragement. Stop by and visit!
What a different view out the window this morning. The lawn that was beginning to turn green is now hidden under three inches of snow, and the red squirrel foraging under the bird feeder is half buried. The native plants and animals are adapted to the changeable spring weather, but the early flowers that I’ve photographed recently are probably regretting their early bloom. The Colt’s-Foot, Bird’s-Eye Speedwell, and Lesser Periwinkle that are flowering in Tompkins County this week are all introduced species. The same is true of the honeysuckles that already have emergent foliage. Most of the non-native species inhabit the places where we are most likely to see them; the lawns, fields, and disturbed areas that we create and frequent. A walk in the forest in the first week of April provides a contrast. Here the majority of organisms are native, and most are much less evident in the early spring. And even less so today, covered in snow.
Snow - four weeks ahead of the City Nature Challenge. Join our project, join our team of observers, join the global community working to document biodiversity!
The super-warm days we’ve had recently are delightful – although as an Ithacan I don’t trust the balmy weather – and we are counting down the days to the City Nature Challenge! We invite everyone living in the eastern Finger Lakes region to join us. While Ithaca is the home base for this effort, the project area includes the watersheds of the five easternmost Finger Lakes, from Otisco Lake to Seneca Lake. We are calling all nature observers to photograph plants, animals, fungi & more in your neighborhood on April 30 through May 3 and upload your species here. 2021 marks the first time that our region will participate in the City Nature Challenge, and we join 450 cities on six continents working to document global biodiversity.
Let us know that you’re ready to join this effort; add your name using the JOIN button on the home page. Meanwhile, get out and enjoy our early spring!
