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! :)

Posted on 01 de julho de 2015, 04:04 PM by sambiology sambiology

Observações

Fotos / Sons

What

Sorgo-Bravo (Sorghum halepense)

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 18, 2015 07:38 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

What

Madressilva-Dos-Jardins (Lonicera japonica)

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 19, 2015 05:03 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 19, 2015

Descrição

Quite large!

Fotos / Sons

What

Chapim-da-Carolina (Poecile carolinensis)

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 19, 2015

Descrição

Very common yet still one of my favorite birds. :)

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 20, 2015 10:52 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 20, 2015 02:08 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 20, 2015

Descrição

Again, this male was so angry -- his face was red with fury! :)

Fotos / Sons

What

Tartaruga-Mordedora (Chelydra serpentina)

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 20, 2015

Descrição

Just finished crawling across the road. God speed, snapper. :)

Fotos / Sons

What

Sabiá-Setentrional (Mimus polyglottos)

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 22, 2015

Descrição

Enjoying a salad at lunch by doing some iNatting. :)

Fotos / Sons

What

Cobra-d'Água-de-Barriga-Pálida (Nerodia erythrogaster)

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 24, 2015

Descrição

Observed with some preschoolers... One of them said "where did the water worm go?" :)

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 24, 2015 07:04 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 24, 2015

Descrição

I think...

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 25, 2015

Descrição

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! :)

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 27, 2015 11:26 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 27, 2015

Descrição

I think...

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 27, 2015

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 27, 2015

Descrição

I should know this caterpillar -- it's quite unique.

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 28, 2015 04:08 PM CDT

Fotos / Sons

What

Erva-Cinderella (Calyptocarpus vialis)

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 29, 2015 09:29 AM CDT

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 29, 2015

Fotos / Sons

Observador

sambiology

Data

Junho 30, 2015

Descrição

Poecilognathus punctipennis, based on:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/581235/bgpage

Comentários

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.

Publicado por wildflowerenthusi... mais de 8 anos antes

Wow! 500 species. Isn't life grand!

Publicado por mchlfx mais de 8 anos antes

Yay! Well done Sam!

Publicado por susanhewitt mais de 8 anos antes

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. :)

Publicado por sambiology mais de 8 anos antes

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.

Publicado por wildflowerenthusi... mais de 8 anos antes

Impressive work, Sam. And some very interesting critters and plants.

Publicado por krancmm mais de 8 anos antes

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!

Publicado por sambiology mais de 8 anos antes

An impressive month indeed! Well done!

Publicado por carrieseltzer mais de 8 anos antes

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.

Publicado por becca_nh mais de 8 anos antes

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