Diario del proyecto City Nature Challenge 2021: Winnipeg Region

lunes, 18 de abril de 2022

10 days to the start of this years Nature Challenge

This years nature challenge is only 10 days away - you remember the drill from last year - gather observations (photos or recordings) and upload to iNaturalist - find as many wild organisms as you can in the four days in Winnipeg and its surrounding area.

Hop on over to this year's Winnipeg Region project and click on the 'join' button to get in on the fun :)
https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-2022-winnipeg-region-mb-canada

Publicado el lunes, 18 de abril de 2022 a las 02:26 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

jueves, 10 de junio de 2021

Thanks to all, our official results and an invitation to a new project

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the event at the beginning of May - detailed results below. I am already looking forward to next years event - and am hoping that we will be joined by other Manitoba urban areas next spring.

I would also like to invite you all to join a new project Manitoba Nature. I hope that we can use this project to continue our collaboration in learning more about nature here in Manitoba.

the official results....

The 6th annual City Nature Challenge had over 10,000 more people participate compared to last year, and for the first time ever, we made over one million observations in the four days of the challenge!
Here are the collective results:
1,270,767 observations
45,300+ species, including more than 2,100 rare/endangered/threatened species
52,777 observers
Most-observed species globally: Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Here in the Winnipeg Region, our results were:
2,432 observations
423 species
63 observers
We contributed our fair share of mallards but in our count the mallard was pushed into second place by the Canada Goose.

Since you can't click the links in the infographic, here are some of the interesting observations from around the world:
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Lixus placidus weevil
Turkish Snail (Helix lucorum)
Witches’ Cauldron (Sarcosoma globosum)
Blainville’s Horned Lizard>(Phrynosoma blainvillii)
Purplish-backed Jay>(Cyanocorax beechei)
Sargassumfish (Histrio histrio)
Southern Lion>(Panthera leo ssp. melanochaita)
Common Giant Flying Squirrel>(Petaurista philippensis)
Euglossa macrorhyncha bee
Adelpha zea butterfly
Short-clubbed Wasp Orchid (Chiloglottis reflexa)
LARGER-CNC-2021-results-infographic
The City Nature Challenge also contributed to the most observations uploaded in a week on
iNaturalist again - and also gave iNaturalist the first two weeks ever with over one million
observations uploaded!
2021-05-06-Leiden-Univ

Publicado el jueves, 10 de junio de 2021 a las 06:23 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

jueves, 06 de mayo de 2021

in the thick of identification...

Thanks to you all for wholeheartedly embracing the crazy idea of doing a bio-blitz at the beginning of May in Winnipeg. The 'official' tallies wont be taken until May 9th so if you have some straggler observations to upload there is still time. Its great to see the all hands to the pump approach to identification too!

Over at global CNC central, they are very happy to see that 1 million observation target exceeded already by a comfortable margin. In Canada, the current 48,000 plus number provides a reasonable expectation that next years CNC Canada numbers should break through the 50,000 ceiling - we do like those round number targets. they make such a satisfying swooch sound as all those zeros fall apart.

More later...

Publicado el jueves, 06 de mayo de 2021 a las 11:28 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

lunes, 03 de mayo de 2021

One day left to make observations for CNC 2021 - a quick look at where we are now

Observations continue to arrive - I know I have a few more places to check out before the event ends - but I wanted to recognize our work to date.

At the time of posting in the Winnipeg region, 54 observers have collectively made 1,755 observations of 349 species. We have insects, spiders, reptiles, amphibians, mussels, snails, lichens, fungi, mammals, woodlice, worms, horsetails, mosses, flowering plants, ferns, birds, but no fish...yet. Fish are a little like the wind on the first weekend in May in Manitoba - you know they are there but hard to photograph.

Looking across Canada, our efforts are part of the 32,918 observations of 2,677 species contributed by 2,190 observers. Interestingly enough only 47 of these observations show fish - and I see a number of these that have depended on a bird to catch the fish :) With one day still to go, these results already surpass last years event in Canada - 23,223 observations of 2,299 species by 1,150 observers.

Globally things are also going swimmingly - we can see the collective results in real time for those cities using iNaturalist as their collection platform. 797,547 observations of 33,452 species by 42,232 observers at the time of posting. It was hoped that over 1 million observations will be added by over 50,000 people taking part recording over 32,000 species. - last years totals were 815,000 observations of 32,000 species - so looks like we have collectively exceeded last years event on the diversity of species already.

New Zealand is the first to start and now to the first to end so they are now working to finish uploading. Observations made during the survey period and uploaded before May 9th will still count towards the 'official' totals for the event worldwide. So feel free to photograph or record nature as you go about your Monday. One of the key insights of this event is how close we are to nature - even in places where it seems that humans have transformed the landscape completely.

Which reminds me to check - yep still an opportunity for someone to be the first to upload a photograph of a peregrine falcon in our survey area.

Publicado el lunes, 03 de mayo de 2021 a las 01:47 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

sábado, 01 de mayo de 2021

Excellent first day - and a beautiful Saturday awaits

Our first day has had 622 observations uploaded so far by 25 observers. This is already three times the number of observations uploaded last year in the whole four days of the first weekend in May! Those observations represent 212 species so we are doing well on that front as well.

The cool weather yesterday seem to have cooled down any insect activity - so our insect observations are currently 19 observations of 9 species with no butterflies observed yet. Hopefully the warmer temperatures expected today will change that.

Plant observations are well ahead of what was observed last year - 346 of 130 species but there is still lots of species yet to be observed in the plant kingdom.

Amphibians are represented by a single observation. Frogs can be difficult to photograph at this time of year - but they can usually be heard calling fairly easily. Both phone apps now have an easy to use sound recording feature - so no fooling around with multiple pieces of equipment and software required anymore. Click on observe, choose sound and press the microphone icon to start the recording - easy peasy. If you aren't sure what frog you can hear calling - just choose Amphibia and we can sort it out during the identification phase. The same approach can be used for bird calls-- record the sound , choose Birds and then later we will figure it out together.

Thanks everyone who has helped out by working to identify other peoples observations - to rephrase Pogo , we have met the identifier and he is us. :)

Happy Saturday! Onward and upward!

Publicado el sábado, 01 de mayo de 2021 a las 02:42 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

jueves, 29 de abril de 2021

Just a few hours now - and New Zealand has already begun!

The magic of time zones means that the City Nature Challenge has already begun in New Zealand just as we are sitting down to breakfast this morning. An early bird (or night-owl) in Christchurch has posted this observation of a Badumna spider. This little guy belongs to a group of spiders who are generally just found in Australasia. Several species are commonly found around buildings. I especially like how the observer has captured the spider laying down a zigzag pattern in the web. More info about spiders in New Zealand.

The City Nature Challenge:Winnipeg Region starts in just a few more hours. As the day goes on, more and more cities will begin adding observations as midnight passes in their time zone. The global organizers and I hope that you are feeling (at least somewhat) prepared and excited for the event! It is a wonderful reason to get outside for a few days and enjoy the nature around you.

Please also be safe and respect the COVID guidelines in our area as others will also do where ever they are in the world. The effects of the pandemic are widely different right now in different countries – and so our global community will have vastly different CNC experiences this year depending on their local situation. It has been an interesting process to be involved in the behind the scenes work in the midst of this uncertainty.

Some observers will be new to iNat and as you all know it can be a little confusing at first. Anyone can help with general IDs or troubleshooting common issues people may have encountered (e.g. multiple species added to a single observation). Here's a link with pre-written responses that can be used in many of these situations. https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/responses

The sponsoring organizers are interested in what is happening on the ground to share. Once our event starts, you can ping @marykrieger if you notice something from our event that fits. Things like...

  • New finds! Species that haven’t been recorded in particular areas before.
  • Important finds of rare/endangered/threatened species
  • Observations that have a great story that go along with them
  • Really cool photos
  • Fun finds!

You can also fav observations others that you find enjoyable in any of the participating projects. All the organizers check out the observations in their projects that are getting a lot of attention. Sponsoring organizers also appreciate some social media love with hashtags #CityNatureChallenge #iNaturalistCanada

It is estimated that 400+ cities are participating ( 25 in Canada) in 43(?) countries. It is hoped that over 1 million observations will be added by over 50,000 people taking part recording over 32,000 species. INaturalist may be a little slower than usual with all the activity so you may want to post your observations in batches between observation sessions rather than post as you go. From previous experience, the activity level is pretty steady throughout so patience is key.

Last year in the first weekend in May in the Winnipeg region, 36 observers added 214 observations of 118 species. 115 of those observations were birds representing 51 species. Only 8 observations were of insects and only 65 were of plants so we have plenty of room to grow. Check that your batteries are charged and your disk space is available - and take some time to watch the event roll out following the dawn around the globe.

Happy discoveries for all!

Publicado el jueves, 29 de abril de 2021 a las 01:19 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

miércoles, 28 de abril de 2021

1 day and some hours, Selkirk 14PA55

Selkirk 14PA55 is located in the RM of the Municipality of St Andrews, Municipality of St Clement and the City of Selkirk. The Red River crosses the northwest corner of the square. Selkirk Park and Little Lake Park are found along its banks and part of the Great Trail passes through the square. Small holdings and suburban lots predominate close to the river; agriculture dominates elsewhere.

At the time of posting, 1,357 observations had been uploaded by 48 observers. 466 species have been identified with the most frequently observed organism the Manitoba Maple with 26 observations. 179 species of plants have been identified and 142 species of insects . The survey for the Breeding Bird Atlas of Manitoba confirmed 25 bird species nesting here, with another 60 species probable or possible. Here's the full list.

There are many ways to look for nature in your home, backyard, or neighbourhood. The key thing to keep in mind is that the City Nature Challenge is all about trying to find the wild species in and around metro areas. The challenge encourages you to go look beyond your pets and houseplants to find the plants that are arrived on their own and the wild animals -- no matter how small -- that live in and around our houses and yards!

Happy observing!

Publicado el miércoles, 28 de abril de 2021 a las 01:08 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

martes, 27 de abril de 2021

2 days and some hours, Mapleton 14PA45 and an overview of how the event works

Mapleton 14PA45 is located in the RM of Rockwood, the Municipality of St Andrews and the City of Selkirk. The Red River crosses the southeast corner of the square with the Floodway joining in just north of Lockport Provincial Park. Small holdings and suburban lots predominate close to the river; agriculture dominates elsewhere.

At the time of posting, 2,735 observations had been uploaded by 42 observers. 598 species have been identified with the most frequently observed organism the American Red Squirrel with 143 observations. 255 species of insects have been identified and 175 species of plants. The survey for the Breeding Bird Atlas of Manitoba confirmed 20 bird species nesting here, with another 60 species probable or possible. Here's the full list.

Here's some notes from the recent global organizers meeting....

The City Nature Challenge starts at 12:01 am April 30 YOUR TIME and ends at 11:59 pm May 3 YOUR TIME. So it will start (and end) FIRST in New Zealand and start (and end) LAST in Hawaii

All observations and species will count for your city, including “Needs ID” and “Casual” (if you’ve included casual grade in your project) ones!... But please help us mark clearly captive/cultivated organisms

All observations must be MADE between April 30 & May 3, but they can be uploaded later (but must be uploaded by May 10 at 9am YOUR TIME to count)

People DO NOT need to join your project or add their observations to your project - they will automatically aggregate

Identifications can happen throughout the full City Nature Challenge window, up until your results are pulled (they can keep happening afterwards of course, they just won’t count for the CNC!)

The global organizers make their totals based on each event's results as of 9am on Monday, May 10 in the place the event is held. The last event to report will be Maui which crosses that finish line at 2pm our time. Once they send me their report, I will post it here in the project journal.

Happy observing!

Publicado el martes, 27 de abril de 2021 a las 12:02 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

3 days and some hours, St Andrews Bog South 14PA35 and your dynamic life list in iNaturalist

St Andrews Bog South 14PA35 is located in the RM of Rockwood. The south half of Oak Hammock Marsh Wildlife Management Area is inside the boundaries of this square. The land is naturally lower than its surroundings and has several natural artesian spring to the north. While the bog was cleared and cultivated, it never gave up being wet. Migrating waterfowl continued to use the area in spring and fall creating conflict with those trying to farm grain. In 1973, the system of dikes and control structures were completed and the wildlife management area established. Agriculture dominates the land use elsewhere in this square.

At the time of posting, 1,592 observations had been uploaded by 95 observers. 378 species have been identified with the most frequently observed organism the Canada goose with 42 observations. 140 species of birds have been identified and 103 species of plants. The survey for the Breeding Bird Atlas of Manitoba confirmed 54 bird species nesting here, with another 58 species probable or possible. Here's the full list.

Birders are very familiar with the concept of the 'life list", celebrating as a 'lifer' each bird seen for the very first time by themselves. Merlin, the birding app developed by Cornell gives you a way to keep that lifelist on your device.

iNaturalist lets you take that one step further and keep track of every species of organism that you have observed - birds and everything else as well. To see this feature, look at your profile on the website while logged in and click on the 'lists' item in the menu. There is a nice shiny rectangular graphic labelled 'view dynamic lifelist' Click on this and you will see a list of every species from every kingdom as well as which ones you have added as iNat observations. You can filter the list by place so you can see your life list for just Manitoba or only Birds Hill Provincial Park. You can also reverse the list so that you can see a list of all the things that you have left to see. Its a good way to get ideas of what you might look for when you are out and about.

Please remember to stay safe while you are outside. Take all the appropriate precautions that we are all very good at after more than a year of practice. As you can see by our square by square survey, there are many places where very few observations have been made. Even within the higher count areas, there are places that are flying under the radar. One of these might just be your cup of tea for Saturday or Sunday.

Happy observing!

Publicado el martes, 27 de abril de 2021 a las 12:04 AM por marykrieger marykrieger | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

domingo, 25 de abril de 2021

4 days, Stonewall East 14PA25 and a closer look at iNaturalist Canada

Stonewall East 14PA25 is located in the RM of Rockwood. The town of Stonewall lies on its western boundary and the town of Stony Mountain is on its southeast. The square is underlain by the Gunton escarpment raising it above the surrounding areas. Quarries both active and depleted dominate the north central section. Agriculture dominates the land use elsewhere in this square.

At the time of posting, 113 observations had been uploaded by 17 observers led by @glendao. The survey for the Breeding Bird Atlas of Manitoba confirmed 30 bird species nesting here, with another 59 species probable or possible. Here's the full list.

Curious about iNaturalist.ca or needing info to help answer questions from others - the team running iNaturalist in Canada has got you covered. Check out the About section from the links at the bottom of every page. Here you will find introductory information on the purpose and goals, a video of people making observations in Canada and a list of helpful resources. Most material is available in both English and French.

You can support their work to date by letting them know at inaturalist@cwf-fcf.org. I am sure that the team is interested if you have unanswered questions, suggestions for improving the resources as well as positive feedback on what you feel they have done just right. They are also looking for any interesting press coverage of iNaturalist Canada. Highlights are found here.

iNaturalist Canada is led by the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) along with Parks Canada, NatureServe Canada and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), which collectively make up the iNaturalist Canada Steering Committee. Additional supporters and partners are listed here. Some of these partners are non-profits that welcome input (and donations) from their supporters. If your favorite organization is not listed, it is possible that they do not know about iNaturalist Canada or do not yet understand how iNaturalist Canada might support their institutional objectives. Feel free to let the institutions that you support know how you feel about iNaturalist.ca.

Happy observing!

Publicado el domingo, 25 de abril de 2021 a las 03:48 PM por marykrieger marykrieger | 1 comentario | Deja un comentario