Big month of June -- we aren't alone! :)
June! My big month! With all the rains of May here in Texas, I foresaw that we'd have a nice green June, so I took advantage of this and went out iNaturalisting… a lot. Again, forgive me for spamming up your dashboard with lots of plants and bugs. I saw some cool stuff this month!
I set my personal goal to observe as many different species as I could in this one month. I ended up seeing around 500 species in about 1000 observations. Of this 500, about 300 were plant species, 130 were bugs (47 dragonflies and damselflies!), and about 40 bird species. If you do want to see the fun list, here it is:
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/taxa?hrank=species&on=2015-06&user_id=sambiology
So, what did I learn? Well, again, this is a reason that I’m soooo bonkers about iNaturalist… We share this planet with lots of different organisms. We interact with lots of different organisms each day – if just with our eyes. I tried to intentionally notice as many different species as I could. I documented as many as possible (although, I do restrict myself with plants – I try to only observe/document plants that have reproductive structures like flowers or fruits) where ever I went. I tried to find some new spots that I hadn’t been before too! I didn’t travel too too far around TX this month, but I still spotted quite a few critters and plants in a small area.
I documented a lot of super common species and several of these are non-native, invasive species. It's still very important to document all of the common species. We interact with these common ones quite a bit. Even the non-native, invasive species are important to document – they share the planet with us too. :)
I encourage everyone to go out and observe even the common species. Get to know your neighbors! :)
Observations
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What
Silky Rosegill (Volvariella bombycina)Observer
sambiologyDescription
Quite large!
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What
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)Observer
sambiologyDescription
Very common yet still one of my favorite birds. :)
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Checkered Setwing (Dythemis fugax)Observer
sambiologyDescription
Again, this male was so angry -- his face was red with fury! :)
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Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)Observer
sambiologyDescription
Just finished crawling across the road. God speed, snapper. :)
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Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)Observer
sambiologyDescription
Enjoying a salad at lunch by doing some iNatting. :)
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Plain-bellied Watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster)Observer
sambiologyDescription
Observed with some preschoolers... One of them said "where did the water worm go?" :)
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What
Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus)Observer
sambiologyDescription
With the summer camp KidZone, we tried to catch as many different bugs as we could today. It was a bit difficult as it was around 93 degrees (feels like 97!)... We caught some, collected them in baggies, and brought them back to the front to group them.
This was the highlight bug we caught... It's one of the eyed click beetles (I think Alaus oculatus... although, it might be A. lusciosus). We watched it "click" and correct itself when it was on its back. Then, we dared each other to let it walk on our faces! After a few did it, then all 21 kids wanted to do it. :) Fear of bugs -- gone! :)
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What
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)Observer
sambiologyDescription
I should know this caterpillar -- it's quite unique.
Photos / Sounds
Observer
sambiologyDescription
Poecilognathus punctipennis, based on:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/581235/bgpage
Comments
Sounds like congrats are in order for what sounded like a good big month. Don't worry about people spamming up my board, this isn't facebook. Because here I know its going to be something that is worth looking at. Even considering how large Texas is I had no idea the state had such wide array of native flora. Will have to consider taking a botanical expedition to Texas someday and hope the heat does not kill this northern boy.
Wow! 500 species. Isn't life grand!
Yay! Well done Sam!
It was indeed a fun month of observing nature! :)
And Matt, let me know when you're coming down to TX! We have some crazy cool plants down here. :)
Unfortunately, at this point any big road trip is more wishful thinking than anything. Hopefully, it will be a someday when I have the time and money trip.
Impressive work, Sam. And some very interesting critters and plants.
I am extraordinarily lucky that I have a job where this sort of stuff is encouraged. :) I get to go out with kiddos and iNat with them too!
An impressive month indeed! Well done!
I've been thinking about trying a challenge like this! But for me, I think I'll shoot for a species a day kind of thing. haha. Of course, the goal would be to learn what I can about the species and at the end of the month feel more depth on 31 species. :)
I've been going through your journal. I love reading it. Thanks for sharing everything you do and the enthusiasm you have. I always feel like I went to college for the wrong thing, and am so grateful for iNaturalist being so accessible so I can learn as I go.
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