When I review my photos and decide what to upload to iNaturalist, the first thing I do is separate them into broad categories such as flies aka Diptera, and today was the day to work on that group. One was this shaggy, spotted fly found in a wooded area near Alligator Creek.
Sue Ann now declares this her SECOND favorite fly.
I don’t know my flies very well, and trying to identify one I’ve never seen before is like going down Alice’s rabbit hole.
There are so many different kinds of flies. A fair number don’t even have a single observation at iNaturalist, but I thought this one was distinctive enough and I might get lucky. Way down in the low double digit observation totals of Texas flies, I finally found one with similar spots. It was in the Anthrax genus which I’ve never encountered before.
The word “similar” is a dangerous one and it has burned me before, so the next logical step was to search the genus Anthrax in Texas. And what do you know, there was another nearly identical species down in the single digits! Now, how am I going to tell them apart?
The only consistent difference I could see was that the leading edge of the wing of one was solid black and alternated between black and clear on the other. Mine was the one with 7 observations, now increased to 8. The only other observations for this species in North America are four in eastern Canada, oddly enough.
This morning, a semi-hardy group of Master Naturalists met at Wilson-Ledbetter Park in Cameron to see if we can actually DO a bioblitz. What’s a bioblitz? It’s when people get together and see how many observations they can make on the iNaturalist citizen science platform in a defined area during a specific time.
Do we look chilly? We are!
Our goal is to have as many observations as possible today, February 22, at the park. That means anyone who observes after our group blitz will also count.
Goofy selfie in which I could not fit everyone in.
Twelve of us came to the event, which is a great turnout! We gave some handouts to the people who were new to iNaturalist, showed folks how to join the project I’d set up the day before, and set off in groups, where experienced and inexperienced people were together. Our instructions were to take as many pictures as possible of the flora and fauna you encountered.
Different groups did their observations differently, with some people uploading photos as they took them and others choosing to take the pictures on their phones then upload them later. We also had a couple of people using cameras, and a couple of spotters/observers. Below are some action shots and a couple of the photos we took. Thanks to Meghan Land and Dorothy Mayer for sharing their photos.
Getting ready to observe
A natural bird bath!
John is not proposing to Ann. He’s asking for expert advice.
Donna was our intrepid and cold spotter.
Meghan crosses the dam
Ann and I look at cedar waxwings
There were many interesting lichen specimens
The beautiful Chickasaw plums in bloom
One thing I discovered is that we have some great nature observers in our new class. One found a domestic cat carcass (no photo available, thankfully) and another found some beautiful eggs in a nest by an oak tree (perhaps from the nearby ducks).
Eggs found under a tree. Sparkly finger to show size.
Long-time members shared stories about previous projects our group has done in the park and helped identify some of those pesky forbs that were everywhere. It’s quite a challenge when so little is blooming, and many woody plants have no leaves yet.
We were much warmer in the conference room, with coffee.
After about an hour of photographing, we went back to the warmth of the Hermit Haus and practiced using the iNaturalist app to upload photos. It’s a bit of a learning curve, especially if you have an android phone and all your “experts” have iPhones. But, folks are already adding their observations to the project, and people are out there identifying them.
Here is what we have as of mid afternoon. We will certainly have more later!
Here are all the observations from our bioblitz, as of 3 pm today. The key to the colors is in the image above.
Just a few hours after the bioblitz started, we have over a hundred observations, and half the team has uploaded content. Not bad at all! Check the project page to see how many more observations have been uploaded. They will be trickling in over the next few days.
Where shall we go for our next bioblitz? Will you join us? Our goal is to visit all the parks in the county, so suggestions are welcome! Remember, Tania Homayoun of Nature Trackers, and our state iNaturalist expert, will be joining us April 18 for a special training with both an indoor and an outdoor component. We will let you know which park we’ll be holding that one at!
Want to Learn More?
Read more on using iNaturalist for bioblitzes at this link.
Are you eagerly plotting
out your itinerary for a day of frenzied shopping on Black Friday? Looking forward to the crowded aisles and
long lines at the checkout stations?
Can’t wait to join thousands of others bargain hunting for Christmas
season deals and gifts that the ads and commercials have been urging us to buy
because they are deemed necessary for happiness and fulfillment on Christmas
Day?
Photo by Ann Collins.
Just thinking about all that hassle makes me want to pull back into my shell, just like this three-toed box turtle shown on the left. Fellow ECR member Ann Collins observed this Terrapene carolina ssp. triunguis, a species of concern, in the suburbs of Milano in 2018.
I certainly will not be
charging out of my front door before dawn on Friday to spend my money and rub
elbows with other frenzied shoppers.
What I am doing is challenging all fellow El Camino Real Texas Master Naturalist Chapter members and friends to an alternate activity for the day: The Black Friday Opt Out-Side Challenge.
I just finished a book I really loved, and I think my fellow Master Naturalists will, too. The author talks about us in the book, even! Here’s what I wrote in my other blog about it, with a little more in it for our audience:
I think I just spotted Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution, by Menno Schilthuizen in the new nature books section on Amazon. I loved the cover and was really intrigued by the subject matter: how life evolves in the world’s urban enclaves.
Schilthuizen, a naturalist in the Netherlands and author of many articles in popular science publications, writes really clearly without “dumbing down” the science behind what he talks about. I think his reminder that evolution is not just something that goes on in the forests, oceans, and hidden jungles; it’s going on right under our noses.
My potted Texas mountal laurel is going to bloom! I didn’t kill it.
Yesterday the weather was beautiful, so Anita, the dogs, and I spent the late afternoon outdoors in Austin. Honestly, I just wanted to get some exercise and enjoy the air, but I just can’t stop with the nature observations. I guess iNaturalist is the winner there!
Trailing lantana, invading our hillside. Can you see ants on it?
As we walked the dogs, Anita asked me what a pretty white flower was. I could see it was a type of lantana, but it was not in a spot where anyone would have planted it. So, I submitted it to iNaturalist and hoped for the best.
