Diario del proyecto Spring Virtual BioBlitz! OK 2019

Wowee wow wow, nature lovers! A round of congratulations is in order as we say goodbye to another successful year of Spring BioBlitz. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all of those who completed any of our 6 challenges this last month. Special thanks to anyone who helped catapult our number of observations from 8,000 to 12,082 during this last challenge. You've defied our expectations once again, considering your goal was a mere 1,208 observations. I couldn't be more honored to have managed this project, and I hope to do it again someday. As I relinquish my BioBlitz tiara, we have a final round of adulations in honor of your hard work.

Lisa (lmm3629) has won the title of most observations for this year's spring BioBlitz, clocking in at 768 observations. Congratulations, Lisa. We couldn't be more proud.

Terri(taffypull7) and Zach (zdufran) appear to be in a tie of 656 observations, as of this writing. And so, they will share second place! It's unclear if this tie is a gentleman's agreement, druidic ritual, or happy accident, but we here at BioBlitz are impressed. Good job you two!

Congratulations to Tammy (tammym4748), with 537 observations
Buddy (bothrops07), with 469 observations
Tyler (ftdoom), with 423 observations

Shoutouts are in order to those who've identified the most species as well!
1 Terri (taffypull7) 1,417 species identified
2 Amy (amybuthod) 1,374 species identified
3 Zach (zdufran) 462 species identified
4 Mark (milkweedguy) 364 species identified
5 Bill (arrowheadspiketail) 58 species identified

Finally, shoutouts to the most species observed!

Lisa (lmm3629) 447 species observed
Zach (zdufran) 366 species observed
Bill (arrowheadspiketail58) 304 species observed
Terri (taffypull7) 297 species observed
Lynn (jlmichael) 248 species observed
Greg (gregsilva) 243 species observed

And that's it! Once again, the BioBlitz staff thank you for your ongoing participation and support. If you've completed any of our challenges, your prizes will be on their way soon (while we assemble everyone's addresses). We truly couldn't have done this without you. Thank you for your quality observations and your commitment to making this the most successful BioBlitz yet! A quality research experience like this truly demonstrates how lustrous an Oklahoma Spring can be. This is Robert Gibson, signing off.

Robert Gibson
Spring Virtual BioBlitz! OK 2019 Staff

Good Morning once again!

Thanks to everyone who's sent us their mailing address this last week for their complementary sticker! Remember, this offer is open to anyone who's posted at least one observation. As we move on to our final challenge, don't worry if you've completed a challenge and haven't received your prize yet. We'll yet you know when they're in the mail! Now let's have some shout outs, starting with the 6 most observations:

Terri (taffypull7) remains in first place with 565 observations! Using our in-house team of cyborgs, we calculate that that's 6.92147% of this BioBlitz' total observations! Wow!
Congratulations go to:
zdufran 554 observations
lmm3629 446 observations
jlzachary1 371 observations
tammym4748 357 observations
bothrops07 313 observations.

As far as the most species identified, Zach (zdufran) has edged out the competition to gain first place, with 319 species observed! Following close behind are
lmm3629 294 species observed
taffypull7 261 species observed
arrowheadspiketail 202 species observed
gregsilva 189 species observed
jlzachary1 180 species observed

Now on to your last challenge and overall challenge. Thank you so much for participating in last week's challenge-we've received observations from plenty of state parks. Thunderbird, Eufaula, and Osage Hills were big hits!

If this isn't your first time with inaturalist, you'll know that OK BioBlitz isn't the only naturalist challenge in town. You may also know that we get… competitive. Last year, Tulsa's City Nature Challenge 2018 included observations made in the metro area to their final amount of observations! We here at BioBlitz! checked, and we're certain that Tulsa isn't a part of the metro. While we appreciate their enthusiasm, taking credit for our hard work? How dare they! Our goal for this week is to make 1,208 observations-the amount that City Nature Challenge 2018: Tulsa made last year. Considering that we've already made over 8,000 observations, we know you can do it. This challenge will end on midnight, April 30th (next Tuesday).
Also, everyone who has posted or will post 50 research grade observations during this whole month will be awarded a free BioBlitz! Registration and event t-shirt. At which point we'll blow the warhorns and show the world how mighty we are! BioBlitz! BioBlitz! BIOBLITZ!!!

Robert Gibson
Overly Enthusiastic Spring OK BioBlitz! 2019 Staff

Hey everyone! As we wrap up another day of observations, we at BioBlitz want to remind everyone that if you've posted any number of observations to our project— even one—you're eligible for registry into the Fall 2019 BioBlitz! Feel free to send us your mailing address so we can send you your hard-earned sticker! This is eligible to all participants, and not just those who've completed a challenge. You've earned it!

Robert Gibson
Spring Virtual BioBlitz! OK 2019 Staff

Hi there! Considering your impressive amount of engagement, observation, and participation in this week's challenge (and in the field), we here at BioBlitz have decided to congratulate the top observers AND those who identified the most species! Let's get started with the observations:

Congratulations to Terri (taffypull7) with a whopping 398 observations to date! We here at BioBlitz congratulate ourselves on holding off on publishing these scores last night, when she snuck past...
zdufran 372 observations
lmm3629 346 observations
ftdoom 218 observations
gregsilva 216 observations
tammym4748 201 observations

Now on the the species!
What can we say, Zach (zdufran) has done it again, with 245 species observed! Close behind him are
lmm3629 241 species observed
taffypull7 209 species observed
gregsilva 141 species observed
arrowheadspiketail58 136 species observed
goody 109 species observed

You have two challenges this week! Make an observation within a state park. There are many opportunities to choose from in Oklahoma, and we're happy to provide lists and suggestions on request! Also, make 5 observations of jumping spiders, if you feel like spending less time on the "web"(har har)! These challenges end on April the 21st at midnight! Good luck!

Robert Gibson
Spring Virtual BioBlitz! OK 2019 Staff

Good Morning, nature lovers! With overcast skies keeping away all but the most avid naturalists, now would be a great time for an update! Remember: Week 2 challenges close tomorrow, April 14, at midnight. Be sure to send us your 10 observations of native trees, or your 5 observations of decomposers if you've got 'em! Keep an eye on this page for when we post next week's challenges, winners, and some unique finds of yours!

Robert Gibson
Spring Virtual BioBlitz! OK 2019 Staff

Now, on to this week’s challenges:
Decomposers: Make 5 observations of decomposers, such as fungi, earthworms, roly polys!

Native Trees: Observe 10 different species of native trees! 5 lucky participants will be randomly selected to receive a book about the trees of Oklahoma!
Deadline for both of these challenges is midnight on Sunday the 14th!

Good luck!
Robert Gibson
Spring Virtual BioBlitz! OK 2019 Staff

Great work to everyone who participated in our first week of our Spring BioBlitz! Here’s a shoutout to our first week of top observers!
All hail Zach (zdufran), with his impressive first place record of 189 observations! Congratulations, Zach. You’ve earned bragging rights for this week. Let’s also have a dignified round of applause for our runners-up:
Imm3629 162 observations
bothrops07 155 observations

We have a tie for fourth place, sports fans! tammym4748 and taffypull7 are neck and neck with 153 observations. Be sure to keep a close eye on this race.

gregsilva 130 observations

And that’s not all! 232 lucky observers will receive a sticker and registration to the fall BioBlitz! Message me with your mailing address to claim your sticker! I will be gathering mailing addresses to send out stickers and prizes.

Robert Gibson
Spring Virtual BioBlitz! OK 2019 Staff

Hey everyone! We here at BioBlitz headquarters (a stocked, secure fortress in the Cross Timbers) just want to say how much we appreciate the amazing participation over these last few days. We are already about to break last year's record of observers and we couldn't be happier. To all of you who've made an observation: Please provide us with your mailing address so we can send you your hard-earned sticker! Remember, this offer is open to all observers—even if you've only posted a single observation! You are just that awesome.

Also, BioBlitz wishes to clarify that houseplants and pets, cute as they are, are not considered to be valid observations in the field. Sorry!

Robert Gibson

Sorry everyone, we had a bit of a glitch today with uploading observations. Looks like we got it figured out and observations are showing up in the project. Let us know if you have any more problems!

Looks like you all are off to a great start!

Hello, aspiring naturalists! My name is Robert Gibson, and I’m representing the good folks of the Oklahoma Biological Survey for our Spring 2019 BioBlitz! We have four weeks and six challenges ahead of us, as we celebrate a season of rebirth and renewal. All of us at HQ are thrilled to see what you discover this spring. Feel free to refer to this journal page as a way to stay updated on our challenges, and be sure to look for your name among the prize-winners!! But what will you be observing this spring, you ask? Step into my office...

We’ve developed some unique themes for every week, geared to push your skills of biological observation to the limit. Ready your camera-app-button-pressing fingers, y’all: here are your first two challenges:

Week One! (April 1-6): Observation Participation
Participation: Anyone who posts an observation (photograph or audio) to our webpage will receive a sticker and a letter—in the mail, no less— from yours truly.

Pollination: Make at least 10 observations of birds or insects during this week to receive a automatic entry to the Fall 2019 BioBlitz! Might even have a prize headed your way. Once you have made your observations, message me with a link to the pages.

Those of you with the five most total observations will get a fun little-shout out in our next journal entry. Dare to dream!

And they’re off! Message me with any questions you have going forward, and I hope to see you all in the fields and forests of our great state. If our paths do happen to cross, you’ll have to excuse the elbowing and shoving as I try to get the best camera angle. Rally ho!

Robert Gibson
Spring Virtual Bioblitz! OK 2019 Staff