Projektin City Nature Challenge 2023: Brazos Valley, TX Päiväkirja

This will be my last post for the City Nature Challenge this year. I hope to be posting to iNat soon from the Dominican Republic! There is still time upload observations taken between last Friday and last Monday. Identifications continue through next Sunday. The national (world) Coordinators will automatically harvest our “official” total on Monday, the 8th.

When I started this post, we had 3,170 observations of 1,141 species by 120 observers. At the moment, we’re at 3,170 observations by of 1,139 species by 120 observers, so we’re headed in the wrong direction! Actually, the species number is likely to vary in both directions as identifiers confirm (or deny) identifications.

In fact, I’m ecstatic with the results! Last year, we had 2,812 observations. I had hoped for 3,000, which we hit. Our 3,170 observations are a 13% increase over last year. Last year, we had 822 species. I had set us a real stretch goal of 1,000 species this year. You blew that out of the water with 1,141 species, a 39% increase! We had a slight decrease from 139 to 120 observers, a 14% decrease.

The breakdown by taxon group follows. Last year’s numbers are in parentheses, along with significant percentage changes.

Plants 1,640 (1,630) observations of 487 (407) species by 74 (74) observers
Fungi and Lichens 104 (42) observations of 47 (17, +176%) species by 26 (17) observers
Mollusks 22 (4) observations of 9 (4) species by 11 (4) observers
Arachnids 69 (40) observations of 41 (22, +86%) species by 18 (20) observers
Insects 765 (544) observations of 360 (227, +59%) species by 55 (66) observers
Fishes 7 (6) observations of 5 (5) species by 5 (4) observers
Amphibians 12 (43, -72%) observations of 6 (8) species by 8 (20) observers
Reptiles 37 (116, -68%) observations of 22 (23) species by 23 (51) observers
Birds 397 (334) observations of 139 (92, +51%) species by 39 (33) observers
Mammals 43 (43) observations of 14 (12) species by 12 (22) observers
Other species 22 (10) observations of 7 (5) species by 8 (4) observers

Significant gains included fungi and lichen species (up 176%), arachnid species (up 86%), insect species (up 59%), and bird species (up 51%). Reptile and amphibian observations were significantly down, by 68% and 72%, respectively, though the number of species was only slightly down for both. Perhaps the first couple of cold and dreary days weren’t suitable for observing herps?

We had 19 species of warbler this year, compared to 17 last year. We really had a great shorebird year, with 18 species, compared to only 4 last year! There were some real surprises on the bird list. Among the rarities were black-billed cuckoo, black-chinned hummingbird, ruddy turnstone, red-breasted nuthatch (late), gray-cheeked thrush, bronzed cowbird, cerulean warbler, and lazuli bunting! And that’s just the best of the best! Last year, we missed black-bellied whistling-duck, rock pigeon, chimney swift, both cormorants, purple martin, and eastern meadowlark. This year, observers picked up all of those!

What constitutes “other species”? Well, in 2022, it was New Guinea Flatworm; Common Pill Woodlouse; Eastern Grass Shrimp; slender springtails; and round-backed millepedes. This year, it was Common Earthworm; ostracods; Common Pill Woodlouse; slender springtails; globular springtails; lithobiid centipedes; Greenhouse Millipede.

The breakdown by county was
Brazos 1,952 (1,572) observations of 920 (598, +54%) species by 84 (94) observers
Burleson 473 (256) observations of 267 (182, +47%) species by 17 (19) observers
Grimes 57 (248, -77%) observations of 47 (17, 176%) species by 7 (21) observers
Leon 131 (72) observations of 96 (56, +71%) species by 12 (9) observers
Madison 211 (273) observations of 167 (172) species by 9 (4) observers
Robertson 337 (391) observations of 211 (219) species by 4 (8) observers

The top 10 observers, by observations, were:
scopic 425
shardintx 371
Dwight Bohlmeyer 365
Bruce Neville 331
Laura Sare 212
Megan Kossa (meganopteryx) 157
Mark McDermott 138
Laurie Brown (bugnerd) 118
mustelidmoon 115
Cindie Dillard (ctdbryantx) 107

The top 10 observers, by species, were:
Dwight Bohlmeyer 354
scopic 315
shardintx 218
Bruce Neville 200
Laura Sare 152
Mark McDermott 120
Laurie Brown (bugnerd) 90
Megan Kossa (meganopteryx) 89
mustelidmoon 65
Brent Cox (brent329) 56

It has to be noted that, of Dwight’s 365 observations, he had 354 species, meaning he had a species-to-observation ration of 1.03, probably the most selective ratio of anyone with more than one observation!

Were there any “best” species? The national Coordinators asked for suggestions for “interesting” observations for an infographic that will be shared next week. Dwight and I have suggested:

Drapetes rubricollis, an elaterid beetle, by scopic, 1st Brazos County record, only 4 total records in iNat (3 TX, 1 KY), https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/157911015

Cryptocephalus pumilus, a chrysomelid beetle, by (who else?) scopic, 2nd Brazos County record, only 6 total records in iNat (3 TX, 1 FL, 2 presumably not research grade), https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/157406066

Largefruit Sand Verbena, Abronia macrocarpa, an endangered plant, by taylorgarrison, from Leon or Robertson County (iNat automatically obscures locality data on listed species), only 10 research grade records in iNat, all from Leon or Freestone Counties, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/157392523.

Best name still goes to Hackberry Nipplegall Psyllid.

This is where I again thank EVERYONE who participated or will participate in the Challenge. Your contribution is valued. Together, we blew last year’s results out of the water. I can’t even imagine what kind of goals we can set for next year! Sambiology, watch your back!

Till next year,
Bruce Neville
Brazos County CNC Coordinator

Day four and the observation phase is officially over. Last year, we had 822 species, total. I said I was hoping for 1,000 this year. At the moment, we're at 1,119! Last year, we had 2,812 observations. This year, I said I wanted to hit 3,000. Right now, we're at 3,069! Last year, we had 139 observers. This year, we currently have 115. Okay, so we're down a few. But the ones we did have really worked their collective tails off!

All of these totals are sure to go up as we enter the identification phase. You can still upload observations. As long as they were taken between 12:01 am on Friday and 12:00 midnight tonight, the project will still capture them. shardintx asked in a comment about uploading Merlin sound files. I've had others ask, as well. I don't have direct experience, but there is a discussion on the iNat forum at https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-do-i-upload-a-merlin-audio-song-file-to-my-first-inaturalist-observation/41144

I'm too tired to do a breakdown tonight, but I want to take a moment to thank everyone who took part in the observation phase. As the title says, YOU ARE AWESOME!! Whether you contributed 400 observations or just one, every observation matters. When all is said and done, we'll have learned a lot about the flora, fauna, and funga of our six-county area. I hope you had fun. As Jane Lynch says, "If you had half as much fun as I did, then I had twice as much fun as you did." :-)

Bruce

Lepidoptera (49)

Forest Tent Caterpillar Moth
Evergestis sp.
Fractured Western Snout
Genista Broom Moth
Celery Leaftier Moth
White-lined Sphinx
Funereal Duskywing
Horace’s Duskywing
Common/White Checkered-Skipper
Tropical Checkered-Skipper
Fiery Skipper
Pipevine Swallowtail
Black Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Checkered White
Orange Sulphur
Southern Dogface
Little Yellow
Dainty Sulphur
Gray Hairstreak
Reakirt’s Blue
American Snout
Queen
Gulf Fritillary
Variegated Fritillary
Pearl Crescent
Phaon Crescent
Common Buckeye
Question Mark
American Lady
Hackberry Emperor
Carolina/Intricate Satyr
Fawn Ruddy
Salt Marsh Moth
Giant Leopard Moth
Isabella Tiger Moth
Virginia Tiger Moth
Agreeable Tiger Moth
Amsacta albistriga
Deduced Graphic
Vetch Looper Moth
Brindled Beauty Moth
Eight-spotted Forester Moth
Yellow-striped Armyworm Moth
Knot Grass Moth
Wedgling Moth
Hackberry Dagger
Laudable Arches
Symmerista sp.

Bad misses:
Southern Skipperling
Sachem
Eufala Skipper
Giant Swallowtail sp.
Cloudless Sulphur
Oak Hairstreak
Red-banded Hairstreak
Dusky-blue Groundstreak
Monarch
Tawny Emperor
Silvery Checkerspot
Bordered Patch
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
Goatweed Leafwing
Gemmed Satyr

Birds (119, 92 last year)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Canada Goose
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Mallard (wild, hunter carcass)
Rock Pigeon (thank you, brent329!)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Sora
American Avocet
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Upland Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Phalarope
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Plegadis sp.
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Mississippi Kite
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Peregrine Falcon
Great-crested Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Cedar Waxwing
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Swainson’s Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Swainson’s Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Dickcissel

It looks like we're still missing:
Chuck-will's-widow
Common Nighthawk
American Coot
Cooper's Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecked
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
(any other empid)
Red-eyed Vireo (call?)
Eastern Bluebird
Savannah Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Northern Parula
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler

What will we do when the observation phase is over? Identifications, obviously. I hope you're having fun. shardintx is cleaning up in Robertson County with 331 observations of 204 species! That's the most observations by one individual so far. I'd say that it would be untouchable, but Dwight Bohlmeyer is hot on her heels with 326 observations of 314 species! That's the highest individual species total. Again, I'm highlighting the competitive nature, but even those who have only contributed one or two observations are helping tremendously7.

Just a quick look at some stats on day three:

Total 2,092 observations of 865 species by 93 observers
(for comparison, we had 2,812 of 822 by 139 for all four days last year)
Plants 413 spp (407 last year)
Fungi 25 spp (17)
Insects 220 spp (227)
Arachnids 28 spp (22)
Mollusks 10 spp (4)
Fishes 0 spp (5)
Amphibians 4 spp (8)
Reptiles 13 spp (23)
Birds 119 spp (92)
Mammals 9 spp (12)
Other animals 5 spp (5)

Brazos 1,235 observations of 675 species by 62 observers (I don't have last year's numbers)
Burleson 249 of 162 by 13
Grimes 45 of 33 by 6
Leon 129 of 95 by 10
Madison 137 of 109 by 8
Robertson 297 of 193 by 4

Maybe tomorrow is a day for filling in the gaps. I have lists of the birds and lepidoptera, in case anyone wants to go chasing. We're filling in some of my "bad misses" from last year. My chimney swifts were back in the cul-de-sac today, but I couldn't get a decent recording. We're still missing some obvious things, like monarch?! Maybe tomorrow will finally be a good day for butterflies.

Lists to follow.
Bruce

Yesterday, I tried to make a complete list of the species we had so far. I worked on it for a couple hours, but yesterday became today, and I had more field work to do. I never even finished the plants. Today, I thought I'd see how the bird list is coming. We're currently at 87 species. The list of rarities is mind-boggling! As is the list of what we're still missing.

The current bird list is:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Mallard (wild, hunter carcass)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Sora
American Avocet
Killdeer
Ruddy Turnstone
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Phalarope
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Peregrine Falcon
Great-crested Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
Crow sp.
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Cedar Waxwing
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Veery
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Orchard Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Swainson’s Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Dickcissel

Bruce

Well, the observation phase is almost half over. I now know that someone out there reads my posts and needs to get a life. I hope you're having fun with the challenge. Maybe getting out and exploring new areas or learning something new about nature. I was surprised to find that I needed a winter jacket in almost-May! Lake Limestone today not only had whitecaps, but the surf was spraying 8 feet in the air when it hit the breakwater! Not a very great day for butterflies!

I'm going to do today's post early, not wait until it's practically tomorrow. As of 20:30, we have 1,248 observations of 528 species by 67 observers. The breakdown by organism group is:

Plants 281 spp
Fungi 25 spp
Insects 128 spp
Arachnids 17 spp
Mollusks 8 spp
Fishes 0 spp
Amphibians 3 spp
Reptiles 9 spp
Birds 87 spp
Mammals 8 spp
Other animals 4 spp

The breakdown by county is:

Brazos 667 observations of 407 species by 44 observers
Burleson 160 of 106 by 9
Grimes 42 of 31 by 5
Leon 108 of 80 by 9
Madison 102 of 83 by 4
Robertson 140 of 95 by 2 (great work, shardintx!)

307 observations (24.7%) have reached research grade, i.e., have the identification supported by two or more independent identifiers and are at the best possible level of identification.

Y'all are doing a great job! Keep it up, and don't forget to help with the identification phase!
Bruce Neville
Brazos Valley CNC Coordinator

By the time I got up and rolling this morning, several observers had already uploaded observations into the project. That's super. By the time I write this, almost midnight, we already have 673 observations of 375 species by 32 observers! The breakdown is:

Plants: 398 observations of 197 species
Fungi 24 of 11
Arachnids 12 of 10
Insects 142 of 88
Amphibians 2 of 1
Reptiles 7 of 7
Birds 67 of 49
Mammals 3 of 3 (sorry, Mark, I just couldn't accept the cats at A&M)
Mollusks 7 of 6
Other Animals 10 of 3 (pillbugs, springtails)

We had representation in all six counties:

Brazos 428 observations of 282 species by 25 observers
Burleson 75 of 46 by 1
Grimes 2 of 2 by 1
Leon 12 of 12 by 3
Madison 79 of 70 by 3
Robertson 67 of 66 by 1

I started making a list of all the species, but didn't get close to finishing, so, the most commonly observed plants were Indian Blanket, Common Hedge Parsley, and Yaupon Holly, each with 6 observations. The most commonly observed birds were Carolina wren, northern cardinal, and cerulean warbler(!), each with 3 observations. The most commonly observed insect was salt marsh moth, with 6 observations, all of the larva.

My favorite plant was northern bugleweed, Lycopus uniflorus, with 2 observations by shardintx. It's not a particularly showy plant, but I'd never heard of it, and the name is kind of catchy. My favorite bird was a tough one. There were some fantastic birds today, but how can you not give Bird of the Day to cerulean warbler?! Favorite insect was also a tough one. The beetle Pachybrachis stygicus has both charisma and the name going for it. The name might be beaten, though by Hackberry Nipplegall Psyllid. (Sounds painful!) A giant walkingstick also had to be a thrill to find.

I tried to knock off some of last year's worst misses, bird-wise, but failed on every count. I've had chimney swifts in the cul-de-sac every day for the past couple weeks, but this morning? Silence. Never found a rock pigeon. I did see a purple martin, but couldn't get it in the camera, and it didn't call. The only cormorant was a fly-by as I was driving. Oh, well, you win some, you lose some, and some get rained out. REALLY rained out!

Bruce Neville
Brazos Valley CBC Coordinator

As I write this, there are barely 3 hours before the City Nature Challenge begins! In fact, it’s already begun in New Zealand, where it’s early afternoon tomorrow! They’ve already chalked up 331 species, including little spotted kiwi, New Zealand bellbird (wow!), common brushtail possum, puriri moth, queen paua, pie crust crab, Wellington tree weta, taupata, karamu, pohutukawa, and kotukutuku. Check them out at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-te-upoko-o-te-ika-wellington. Observers will be waking up in a few hours in Paris (France, not Texas) to start their observations. While these posts have often highlighted citizen science value and the competitive nature of the competition, what I want to emphasize tonight is something else entirely--HAVE FUN!! This is a great excuse to get outside and appreciate the nature of the Brazos Valley. Take the kids. Let them revel in and point out the small things to you. Find some new creatures, animal or vegetable. Find a new group to learn about.

If you have additional questions, the CNC organizers have created a FAQ at https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/faq. I’ll be out in the field as much as possible, but you can email me at b2neville@gmail.com and I’ll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Happy hunting!
Bruce

The identification piece is just as important as the observation piece. That’s how we’ll get to 1000 species this year. You can actually start the identifications as soon as the first observations start to roll in.
You’ve already found the project. Click on “Observations.” Click on the “Identify” box above the grid of photos (not “Identify” in the top menu; using the box above the grid assures that you’re just getting CNC 2023 observations). If you don’t want to see everything, you can use the “Filters” to the right of the “Go” button. There is a series of icons so that you can limit yourself to just birds, just plants, just amphibians, just mushrooms, etc. (Click on multiple icons, if you wish, like amphibians and reptiles to get all herps.) There are other filters you can use. Now click go to see the observations that haven’t made it to Research Grade*.

If you don’t feel yourself comfortable being the final authority in any particular group, but you can tell a robin from an oak tree, you can use the “unknown” filter, the outline of the leaf with the question mark inside. Identifiers who are just looking for their own group (birds, beetles, grasses) will miss these unknowns. You can help by putting in a preliminary identification. Go as far down in the identification as you feel comfortable. If you know a Northern Mockingbird or an American Beautyberry when you see it, go ahead and confirm it. If all you know is “plant,” put “Plants.” If all you can do is put “bird,” put “Birds.” Even that little bit of help will bring additional observations to the attention of the appropriate “expert” and your effort will be worthwhile.

As mentioned in earlier posts, we are looking for wild organisms. You can also help by identifying observations that are obviously not wild. If you see something that is obviously not wild (in a clay pot, in a garden surrounded by mulch, an obvious pet or zoo animal), you can scroll down to the bottom and mark “captive/cultivated.” Be careful, though. I almost marked something cultivated today, before I saw the note “fly” and a small fly hiding on one leaf.

*Research Grade generally means that two independent identifiers agree on the identification. If there is disagreement among the identifiers, then a complicated algorithm determines when and if Research Grade is achieved. Sometimes it never is.

Bruce Neville
Brazos Valley CNC Coordinator