On October 12th, 2024, we hosted our first Bioblitz here at Beidler Forest. It was originally scheduled for August, but flooding from Tropical Storm Debby forced us to postpone it. Hosting this event was a learning experience for everyone, both guests and staff.

A Bioblitz is a communal data collection event with the goal of recording as many species as possible within a defined area. They are a useful tool that can give us a snapshot of the biodiversity of a location at a single point in time. Anyone can take part in one and they are a fantastic opportunity to meet fellow naturalists and to learn about the native plants and animals in your area.

We used iNaturalist to record sightings throughout the event. iNaturalist is a non-profit organization that maintains a website and app whose goal is to collect useful data about biodiversity and to champion citizen science initiatives around the world. Everyday people like you contribute biodiversity data to iNaturalist and help both scientists and the public learn more about species distribution and phenology (seasonal changes).

We also used the occasion to host a bird banding demonstration for the public. Bird banding is a crucial tool for tracking and understanding bird migrations. During this demonstration we succefully banded a Painted Bunting, Pine Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatch, and a House Finch.

Overall we feel that our first Bioblitz was a success. We had 15 people participate, posting 146 sightings representing 107 species. You can view all of the sightings posted during the Bioblitz here. We are hoping to host another Bioblitz soon during a different time of the year. Many species are seasonal so we are hoping to record different species over time as we continue to host these events. We will announce when our next Bioblitz will be held on our social media channels.

Finally, we would like to thank our guest naturalists: Jeff Dennis and Katherine Brundrett, our Audubon volunteers: David & Corinne Ramage, Kerri Barrett, Katie Baucom, Judith Kramer, and Pat Gowran, and the public for participating and making our first Bioblitz a success!