Diario del proyecto Girton College Biodiversity

We have now recorded 200 species on the college grounds, the latest being a giant house spider in the toilet of C8. Don't worry, I rescued him safely. Over 100 plants, 40 insects, 21 birds, and 5 mammals. As well as 15 species of fungi.
As we look forward to a new cohort of students arriving next month, I hope we will have a new rush of people out and about enjoying the diversity of the site, and recording your observations and photos!

As the students prepare to go home, so are the wildflowers that we have been used to over the past couple of months beginning to fade. Bluebells and celandine of course have long since disappeared, but the speedwell, forget me nots, comfrey, anemones and garlic mustard are no more, and even the ubiquitous alkanet is starting to disappear. In their place herb robert is almost everywhere, and the tall nipplewort is taking the place of the dandelions that it somewhat resembles. Apart from herb robert, most of the other diverse cranesbills (particularly on the path behind the Fellows’ Gardens) have gone, including the beautiful, but non-native, pencilled cranesbill. A few wood avens are still flowering, but the stems with their spiky fruit can be seen everywhere. The shady path along Huntingdon Road is covered in enchanter’s nightshade and woundwort. Orchard Drive is still overrun with scabious, campions, ragged robin, and oxeye daisy. Look out for the low-lying star-shaped scarlet pimpernel, which are hard to find, but can be seen here and there near the entrance to the sports field. Another pleasant surprise is the unfortunately named stinking iris, which can be seen in a few places near The Grange.

We've reached 106 recorded species of plants, animals, and fungi. Of course, the college grounds contain many more than that. Why not encourage your friends to take advantage of the weather and do some poking around to fill out our inventory? Remember, you need to supply a photo or recording, so that the species can be verified. Catching clear photos of birds, in particular, isn't easy. But there are plenty of invertebrates just waiting to be photographed!

My fist visit (with Darwin) since the spring sun. So much to see. The celandines and violets are on their way out, but the grounds are covered with forget-me-nots, anemones, and of course bluebells. Many birds, although it's hard to get good pictures with a phone. However, I uploaded a recording - see if you can identify it. I encourage everyone to come out and see what you can spot!

Hello, and welcome to our project for mapping the species of plants, animals, and fungi in the grounds of Girton College. Students and staff are encouraged to enjoy the natural diversity of the site (with up to one other person outside your household!), and to record your sightings with photographs and otherwise.

The iNaturalist app has an excellent species identification feature: just take a picture and click "View suggestions" if you're not sure what you're seeing.

We encourage everyone to walk around the grounds, submit your observations, and browse and enjoy the pictures (especially if you're in isolation!).

If you have any questions about the project, email me at elk10@cam.ac.uk