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Index of Subjects Hi Clarence: Are the species lists (not just those for birds) available on-line anywhere, or do they exist only as files maintained on the organizers' computers? Quoting Clarence Stevens <birder_ca@yahoo.com>: > Hi All, Here are some of the birding highlights I promised from the > Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness Area BioBlitz. First let > me say that this area is rich in bird life and that the 75 species we > found, while not a bad total was low for this area due to lots of > morning rain. A couple weeks before the BioBlitz during roughly a 2 > hour walk in the same area I encountered 69 species of birds. > > However, highlights from last weekend should provide a taste of the > type of birds one can expect to find there. Two of the best daytime > birds was a Mourning Warbler seen by Andrew Horn and a Lincoln’s > Sparrow observed by Suzanne Borkowski. Both of these species are > hard to find in the Metro area. > > Other woodland goodies included, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Pileated > Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Brown > Creeper, Winter Wren, Cape May Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, > Blackburnian Warbler, White-winged Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak, and Red > Crossbill. (Some species present in the area that were missed > include Bay-breasted Warbler, Black-backed Woodpecker, Canada > Warbler, Northern Goshawk, & Great Horned Owl) > > My favorite part of the event was the nighttime birding. My team > encountered an American Woodcock near Susie’s Lake, 8 Barred Owls, > and one Long-eared Owl in the Blue Mountain region and near the > summit we heard a migrating Gray-cheeked Thrush. Another Long-eared > Owl was netted by Bob McDonald & Suzanne Borkowski as well as > additional Barred Owls and a Northern Saw-whet Owl. > > This was the second year for the BioBlitz which event organizers plan > to make an annual event. As I mentioned in my last post these events > certainly have room for a whole lot more birders. In birding terms > the Bioblitz offers the fun challenge of a Big Day because > participants have just 24 hours to find as many birds as possible. > The difference is all the birding teams work together to cover as > much area as they can and pool their birding results, similar to a > Spring Migration Count. This is combined with tons of free food for > participants and support staff to aid in everything from list tallies > to first aid. > > The birding results are added to all the various species of plants > and animals found during the event. This in turn helps to develop a > more complete picture of the area demonstrating the biodiversity of a > site and its overall importance in the greater scheme of things. > Another big plus is that as soon as the reports make it back to base > camp they are tallied up by volunteers into a data base so that by > the end of the 24 hours everyone knows exactly how many species were > identified. > > The 24 hour period spans two days and on the second day the public > are welcomed to come and rub shoulders with the various naturalists > and scientists hard at work, identifying, classifying and cataloging > all kinds of species. Displays show some of the creatures > encountered and nature walks lead the public into the woods to see > and hear even more species in their natural habitats, and to learn > about how those species impact their own lives. In addition the > public are shown trails where they can come back and do some further > exploration of their own. > > Lastly the BioBlitz serves to better highlight natural areas of > importance and further establishes their significance by providing a > large chunk of scientific data that clearly shows the capabilities of > a particular site. Such locations are then easier to protect. > > I can hardly wait for the announcement of the where and when of next > year’s BioBlitz. - All the Best in Birding, Clarence
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