2016 Goals

• Reach 1000 species here on iNaturalist (started the year at 476, am now at 483...need another 517)
• Learn my new DSLR camera--especially maximizing macro photography
• Visit three local areas I have not yet visited in Spring/Summer (Maidstone Conservation Area, Ojibway Park's Spring Garden area, and Devonwood Conservation Area)
• Find 10 new spider species
• Get spider IDs that henceforth have seemed impossible--perhaps some microscopy (grass spiders, crab spiders, wolf spiders, etc.)
• Find a fox snake and massasauga rattlesnake with @dwakefield in June
• Find a spotted turtle
• Find more leaf litter invertebrates (possibly through sifting or a berlese funnel)
• Contribute some more "firsts" on the country, province, and state level to BugGuide
• Get and use a sweep net
• Learn to identify birds of prey and add 2 new species
• 3 new Odonata (dragonfly/damselfly) species
• 10 to Lepidoptera (moth/butterfly) species

Pie-In-The-Sky Goals

• Find a Snowy Owl
• Find a Piebald Deer at Ojibway Park
• Prove that Cherry-Faced Meadowhawks exist in Essex County
• Prove that Smooth Green Snakes still exist in Essex County
• Get out to the South and/or West and find some animals!
Find all the spiders on Gerry Blagoev's Ojibway Checklist
• Find all the dragonflies on Paul Pratt's Odonata of Essex County Checklist

Posted on February 18, 2016 09:28 AM by marknenadov