Bioblitzes and other iNaturalist events

Lovers of nature we are all and that has been the foundation of our new circle of friends. Observing nature in all forms is a fabulous pastime and we have all found it even more to fun share not just with one another, but on this terrific platform, iNaturalist. A place where we learn a lot, make friends, commune with other nature enthusiasts, and even get into a little friendly competition.

No matter the reason we get out there, I find it super enjoyable to share the experiences with you all virtually, and on rare occasion, in a safe social distance manner :)

Per Andrea's suggestion, I have started this journal as a place to share upcoming and ongoing iNaturalist events that you may or may not be aware of. Very quickly, let me say that I find most of the information through various social media channels as well as being subscribed to a handful of newsletters and memberships, like the Natural History Museum. Once in a while, I will receive an invitation directly from a group recruiting iNat users to participate as well.

Without further babble, add these to your calendars if you are so inclined :

Snapshot Cal Coast bioblitz - ongoing until November 16 - any observation along the coast. Hopes to hold a more traditional 2 week event from Nov 28 - Dec 16, 2020 (somehow that feels too optimistic right now)
2020 SACNAS bioblitz - October 14-18 - anything not casual grade, anywhere
Socially Distant Bioblitz - every 3 weeks, next one October 18 - anything not casual grade, anywhere

That's all I have for now, and please chime in with others you are aware of.

Posted on October 10, 2020 11:13 PM by scubabruin scubabruin

Comments

Thank you Laura!

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Thanks for providing this info Laura!

Posted by naturephotosuze over 3 years ago

Lovers of nature, indeed! Loving this community. Thank you Laura.

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

Not an event, but curious if you all dislike the new iNat format on the cell phones as much as I do? Too many extra things to tap and the projects link is downright awful now. Thoughts?

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

I don't use the mobile app for posting observations so I can't comment but I do find in general, many "improvements" to various softwares are not as good as the original.

Posted by naturephotosuze over 3 years ago

I typically upload on desktop, however I do like the new multi-photo upload from the app.

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

I'm also only using the desktop... Sorry Laura things got more difficult, but usually the iNat tech team is responsive to user feedback and will hopefully tweak the changes.
Quick reminder on https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/socially-distant-bioblitz-10-18-2020 next Sunday. This is the last one in the series, and the organizers asked we recruit a few more participants... They engage in such a sweet way, highlight and award interesting observations and photography during and after the bioblitz, and really deserve support, no matter how many observations you might contribute next Sunday.

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Thank you, Andrea, for the catch on the date for the upcoming SDB -- I had it wrong on the original post and have not fixed to reflect the event this coming Sunday.

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

Did you see the sweet recognitions for the last one? They picked some great observations, including of course one of yours!

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Yes, saw it just a bit ago. And, I've just shared your quick reminder about the bioblitz on 3 FB community science groups I follow. Maybe someone will join in. I'm off to King Gillette in a few minutes, but do so with trepidation due to all of the decoration for Night of Jack. At least the workers won't be there making so much noise and disturbance as last time. Hoping to go the Broad Beach this afternoon for an MPA Watch transect and tide pooling :)

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

Despite my concerns about the disruption at King Gillette, it turned out to be a nice outing. Two new species of birds me, a Cooper's hawk letting off a stream of defecation, and a pair of turkey vultures relaxing on the ground under the sycamores on the far western edge of the property where the out-buildings butt up to Las Virgenes.

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

Found three more species that are new to my iNat observations this morning in Franklin Canyon. A western skink, a common yellow-throat, and a rough cocklebur. It was pretty busy around the reservoir, but most people were wearing their masks, so that made it a little more tolerable. And, two pairs of gorgeous wood ducks were holding court around the small turtle pond. Surprisingly, when we arrived a bit after 9am, the area was still covered in pretty heavy fog, but it did lift and that helped bring out more activity for observing.

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

I ventured to Malibu Lagoon really early, and it was fabulously gloomy and cold. The surfers were already in the water, otherwise there were just a handful of bird nerds out and about, all masked. We admired a Vermilion Flycatcher (my first), but otherwise far less birds than just a week or ten days ago because the high tide was really high, and that left little real estate. Among the highlights: I found a severed shark head! I went home before the usual Sunday crowd arrived and had a splendid time, a time "in the zone," little distraction. Plus I did some street siding up here before noon, and now will post my obs. It was a really nice SDBB for me this Sunday, really pleasant.
Franklin Canyon is on my list for during the week, and I want to spend a morning or so in Kim's territory soon.

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Curious as to the shark ID and if it was severed by man or another predator. Andrea, your vermilion flycatcher is gorgeous! I'm going to remove my excited commented from the observation b/c I realize that's not the forum for random chatter.

On my end, I've made a few audio recordings. Common species but I really do love raven sounds and luckily this guy flew over to me this morning as though he knew it was all about him.

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

The shark was indeed a Leopard Shark. I think the head is cut off in such a clean manner only a knife could achieve. Terrible that these animals still get slaughtered... Laura, what do you think?
And now I will check out your audio recordings, in particular of the Raven.

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

I suspect the shark was caught by a shore fisher person and head was left there as its not needed/used/necessary. Due to the good shape it is in, I rather doubt it was washed into shore. Just my opinion (and that of my marine science graduate son too)

As for the Raven, I still need to listen as well. Looking forward to it :)

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

A possibility is the shark was caught during the night and left on the beach, then washed further up with the incoming tide. When I spotted it, it was washing in and out. I got quite wet when I pulled it out for measurements and pictures. I thought these harmless sharks are protected in CA... By the way, shore fishing at the popular surfing spots can be dangerous, because the surfers won't have it. I saw a surfer go after a fisherman when she got caught by his hook and line and was fully expecting a fist fight...

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Shore fishing is not wise in my mind in the bay anyway, but never even considered the surfing issue -- wow!

And, though this isn't related, I wanted to share this lichen observation I made, not because it is anything special, but the comments generated are rather interesting: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/62926039

(sorry for run-on sentence and poor punctuation)

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

Definitely think the shark head was the result of some human activity. So sad to see all the havoc humans cause. Last week I saw a man and his son at the beach with a pail. They left it unattended for a few minutes and I walked by. It was filled with hermit crabs...just no need to do that. But I find it hard to confront people on these things as I’ve had poor results in the past.

I enjoyed seeing everyone’s contributions to the bio blitz. Wish I could have participated but had personal stuff to deal with. The lichen comments are interesting.

Posted by naturephotosuze over 3 years ago

Mossgeek is very passionate about lichen and has helped me out. I agree a conversation would be preferable before lowering the classification.

About the shark, I thought there was also a gaff mark in the head. Leopards are legal at 36". I just read about that and found fishermen writing about them no longer being considered trash fish, along with rays. On a related note, I haven't been back to White Point/Royal Palms for months...because it was devastating to see the tide pool carnage by scavenging humans. Ugh.

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

Mossgeek is a pro and if she weren't around I'd know a lot less (make that nothing) about lichens. With her guidance, I'm now able to correctly ID about 10 or so species, because she took the time to point out the important details, discussing substrate, wetting lichens, how to take pictures of them, etc. And I think she doesn't suffer fools much. The person from Japan is new to iNat, and just as naive as I was in the beginning when it comes to throwing IDs around. I didn't like his passive-aggressive reply, but some of that could also be lost in translation. I agreed with mossgeek's ID, and if a few more agree we get this to RG with or without weedsky's help. (Funny how she turned this slightly stoner name into "weekday.")

As to the human scavengers/collectors... There are a few signs posted at Topanga and Leo Carrillo asking people to not collect anything, but these signs are getting ignored just as the "no dogs on beach" signs. It would be a great opportunity for parents to teach their kids about wildlife, but they seem to not know better. But on a slightly more optimistic note, we are 10 million people in L.A. County and still have quite a bit of wildlife, and awareness of its fragile state is increasing. More power to iNat!!

On that note, yesterday I was contacted by a graduate student from Vanderbilt. She wrote, "I am interested in how people develop science identities and how we can design learning environments and tools to equitably support that. For a class on designing and studying informal learning environments, I'm looking at the iNaturalist community..." She had seen a comment I wrote on https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/40699-50-million-observations-on-inaturalist, and was probably intrigued by me writing, "A very special thank you to the many professionals on iNat who help amateurs like myself become a better observer and identifier. There’s so much teaching, sharing and encouragement happening on this platform, it’s one of the best places on earth." We will speak Thursday. I'll keep you posted.

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Any advice on parking, etc. for Malibu Lagoon? I've never visited...it's high time.

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

I always park on PCH. haven't had much trouble finding parking on beach side either north or south of entrance. Then its a lovely walk around the lagoon to the beach. When are you going? Maybe we could meet for a socially distanced outing?

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

I'm not sure yet but considering tomorrow mid-afternoon. The high tide of 5.4 is at 1PM and the 0.0 low is at 8:50PM, so somewhere between 3PM to sunset perhaps. No significant daytime low tides this week.

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

darn, bad timing for me and for the tides :(
I'll keep an eye out for your observations though.

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

Andrea, I saw your vermilion friend today! What a joy. Sorry the timing didn't work to safely explore with Laura but I enjoyed my first wander around Malibu Lagoon.

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

...and I enjoyed following along via your observations. Great finds!

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

PS. Tracy, I'm not so sure it's a good idea to add all your observations to the group unless of course you think they all should get eye balls. I was looking for Laura's moth and it was hard to locate now... (Just my 5 cents and no biggie.)

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Another event if you are inclined to drive...

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sbnf/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD832045
the ranges are out near Palm Springs/palm desert

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

Hi Andrea -- yeah, I'm glad you spoke up. I've been a little unclear about posting to the group. The vermilion flycatcher was a biggie and therefore made sense, yes? Otherwise... common and a tad too noisy I'm thinking. Holler if I'm too hot or too cold ;-)

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

I went to Franklin Canyon Park today in pursuit of Wood Ducks, and found two males in the main reservoir, my first sighting of the species. Especially precious was a Barn Owl who flew overhead, then briefly perched in a tree, then continued. It's heart stopping to see this amazing bird... only my second such encounter. The park was very peaceful and sheltered from the Santa Ana. Just a few people around, all very mindful and masked -- really amazing, actually.
I'm so nervous about the election, I have a bit of a stomach ache. One week to go (plus however long the count takes, plus the days until January 20th). Nature time is more important than ever in this last week... Any suggestions what else to explore outside my usual roaming area in the north west Santa Monica Mountains?

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

You all make me a bit envious of your incredible interactions with nature! Bobcats, barn owls, vermillion flycatcher, a whydah? Such wonderful creatures all around us.

Andrea, I share your nervousness and feel quite anxious about next week - worse yet, it is my birthday :(

In terms of places to explore, I recall enjoying Stetson Ranch Park (near Sylmar) and Hahamonga Watershed (near the Rose Bowl), both places I went to with NHMLA folks on a bioblitz. Also, would recommend the back areas of Griffith park near the old zoo and a park near JPL where I went on a birding outing with Kimball Garrett, I'll have to find the name if you are interested.

Meanwhile, if any of you are going back to Paramount Ranch, please let me know in the hopes that I can join you for a social distance outing as I don't know the trails.

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

Yes, these are nervous times. And next week may not be the end of it...

Barn owls are unusual to see during the day but they can be found occasionally. There are quite a few in the Santa Monica Mountains. I've seen a screech owl and a great horned owl at Franklin but never a barn owl there so that was a great find and great photo. I have been fortunate to see quite a few barn owls in the SM Mountains but don't usually post too many of them.

A couple of places I've been are Apollo Park--granted a public park but nonetheless its in the Antelope Valley so you can see different species there and they have a large artificial lake. There is also Piute Ponds which is fantastic but you do need to apply for a permit--check out their website. Closer to us is Placerita Canyon in the Santa Clarita area that has many trails. The Millard Canyon area just east of Pasadena is nice but can get crowded. The waterfall trail is the most popular so you can avoid the biggest crowds by avoiding that trail. Finally, if you want to see a lot of wildlife you and don't mind driving to the OC, I highly recommend the San Joaquin Marsh in OC. However with the fires down there it may not be the best time to visit.

Posted by naturephotosuze over 3 years ago

Great suggestions, many thanks! Lots to research and map. And Laura, I'll let you know any Paramount Ranch outings I'm planning. As to your birthday, I spent mine last week in Long Beach and it was great! Someplace new, a bit of an adventure, paired with a quest for a bird... It helped me to miss friends and family a little less. If you want to have a morning hike around Paramount Ranch next Tuesday, I'm game.

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Charmlee still has a sign up saying it’s closed with a locked chain fence. I think you could walk around but I’m always nervous going into supposedly closed places. I drove by there maybe a week and a half ago. Nice place though.

Posted by naturephotosuze over 3 years ago

Thanks for the collections, Laura. Oak Grove with all these fungi... We need some rain!!

Charmlee and Rocky Oaks are on my regular drive route through the mountains toward Leo Carrillo and/or Nicholas Flats. Both have been closed since Woolsey 2018. During the parks closure March to May, I saw people climbing over the barricades at Charmlee, but I don't think this is a good idea at all. Last year, I once stopped at Rocky Oaks because I saw a ranger going inside and asked if I could come along for a few moments. He said ok as long as I stayed in the parking area. He said they fine people who enter closed parks/trails and may even go as far as banning people from the park areas. (This was well before Covid.) Not worth the risk, I think, especially now as the mountains are bone dry and there isn't all that much to see.

Laura, I don't think you've ever been to Nicholas Flats, in the mountain up from Leo Carrillo, the nice area with the pond. At least I don't see any observations by you on iNat. That would be also a really nice birthday destination. About 20 minutes more to drive than Paramount Ranch, but worth it to look for some winter birds there.

My obs from there in October/November:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?month=10,11&nelat=34.07817689865965&nelng=-118.86690099636326&place_id=any&subview=grid&swlat=34.05862453178622&swlng=-118.93763979052892&user_id=andreacala

Your choice. Let me know and I email coordinates for parking/meeting.

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

You are right, I've never been to Nicholas Flats. I would very much like to go sometime, but I must confess, I cannot go unless someone drives me as I am terrified of Decker Canyon Road. So, let's stick with Paramount Ranch this time :)

Your observations do make me want to go to Nicholas Flats. Perhaps I can have Allan drive me on a weekend sometime soon.

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

Just imagine driving down Decker at night, with a wildfire right behind you... That's what I'm thinking about when I'm on Decker! You should try it though, with Allan right next to you just in case. It's not as bad as it looks.

Paramount Ranch it is. I'll email coordinates since I would like to show you the north end of the area, where I found the Bobcat kitten...
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=34.12628434193314&nelng=-118.74144184381294&place_id=any&subview=grid&swlat=34.12139945101983&swlng=-118.75912654235435&user_id=andreacala&verifiable=any
Susan also made some great observations in this area.
Looking forward!!

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Happy birthday to you both, Andrea and Laura!

I'm heading north next week to check on family and handle some business. Hoping to find some nature time (my sister has seen the first California newts of the season). On my last visit, I spotted a golden eagle and a gumboot chiton.

If all is well when I return after the election, I'd love to participate in Nicholas Flats and volunteer to drive...mask on...if you're comfortable with that, Laura. Otherwise, a safe meet-up... somewhere.

Regarding daytime owl sightings, one of my peak observation moments was in the Hawaiian islands a few years ago this month. I had hoped to see a pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl) but night excursions weren't looking good. Then, while watching an i'iwi in close range (!!!), I saw a motion in my periphery. Out of a large tree, a pueo takes off and flies over me. At high noon. Unbelievable. 🥰 I wish this experience on you all!

Anxiety is high in my home, neighborhood, and across my global friend network. And oh my is the calendar line-up royal: Supreme Court next steps, Halloween with a full moon, time change, THE election, Friday the 13th. Maybe there's an asteroid collision in the mix. All I can say is: breathe deeply when you notice you aren't (I might be speaking to myself right now); take one easy thing at a time; and know you're in good company. xo

Posted by redrovertracy over 3 years ago

Have a nice trip, Tracy, and yes, please, put in some nature time so we can see what you've seen! XO

Posted by andreacala over 3 years ago

Safe travels Tracy. And, please do let us know when you're back and we will put together a visit to Nicholas Flats :)
Hugs to all

Posted by scubabruin over 3 years ago

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