Cherokee BioBlitz 2023's Journal

August 2, 2023

2023 Wrap Up

Our Cherokee BioBlitz is officially over! Thank you to everybody that participated this summer and contributed to cataloging our home’s biodiversity! Here’s our wrap-up:

As of August 1st, there were 2,129 observations made in Cherokee County by 214 different observers! Of those observations, we found over 920 different species. The most common taxon group identified were Insects, which make up 41.49% of identified species in this project.

However, the top 5 most observed species only contain one insect! They were:

  1. American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus), 34 observations
  2. White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), 17 observations
  3. Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica), 15 observations
  4. Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina), 14 observations
  5. Carolina Ruellia (Ruellia caroliniensis), 14 observations

It’s so cool to see so many native species in the list! The only introduced species on the list is the Japanese Beetle, and the rest are native to Georgia and the United States.

There were observations made all over the county, from the edges of Ball Ground in the north to the southern border in Acworth! However, Woodstock and Canton took the lead with the most number of observations: Woodstock had 793 observations, and Canton had 578.

Here are our top 10 observers!

  1. metroatlantanatives (578 observations)
  2. fart_monster87 (167 observations)
  3. captainmantis37 (116 observations)
  4. taco2000 (89 observations)
  5. herpfaerie (71 observations)
  6. northerly (59 observations)
  7. ashleymhendel (54 observations)
  8. syclneyb (54 observations)
  9. nativewitch (52 observations)
  10. skitterbug (48 observations)

Finally, compared to the period of June 1st through July 31st from 2022, there was an 8.8% increase in observations in Cherokee County during the same period this year! Last year there were 1,957 verifiable observations, and this year there were 2,129. We hope some of that increase was because of this project!

Remember, you can still identify observations and help move them into the Research Grade category even though the project is over! There are still over 1,100 observations in our project that need identification. Even if you don’t know the exact species, it can still help to identify the taxon you’re most confident of.

Thank you for your participation this year! We hope you keep using iNaturalist and continue your journey as a citizen scientist!

Posted on August 2, 2023 09:41 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

July 26, 2023

Week 8 Update: 7/21-7/27

The Cherokee BioBlitz 2023 is almost over! As of 7/26/23, we have 1,985 observations featuring 825 different species! Do you think we can hit 2,000 observations by the end of the challenge? We are so close!

Even if you do not have any observations to add you can still help by identifying the observations of others. That helps our observations get moved from the "Needs ID" category to "Research Grade." The more "Research Grade" observations we have, the more beneficial our project is for scientists and researchers. Currently over HALF of our observations need community identification.

For more information on how to identify observations, take a look at the Identifications section in the iNaturalist help page.

Week 8’s Observer of the Week is sarah_beller. This week they observed a Grey Ratsnake while it was eating some eggs!

We've made some amazing discoveries this summer!

Posted on July 26, 2023 10:33 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

July 20, 2023

Week 7 Update: 7/14-7/20

The Cherokee BioBlitz 2023 is almost over! As of 7/20/23, we have 1,803 observations featuring 825 different species! Do you think we can hit 2,000 observations by the end of the challenge?

Even if you do not have any observations to add you can still help by identifying the observations of others. That helps our observations get moved from the "Needs ID" category to "Research Grade." The more "Research Grade" observations we have, the more beneficial our project is for scientists and researchers. Currently over HALF of our observations need community identification.

For more information on how to identify observations, take a look at the Identifications section in the iNaturalist help page.

Week 7’s Observer of the Week is northerly. This week they observed several arachnids such as the White-banded Fishing Spider and the Joro Spider. Always cool to see all the details on our 8 legged friends!

Don’t forget to share the challenge with your friends and family members who love nature and the outdoors. Check back next week to see how many more species have been identified! Remember to fill out an observations bookmark that is available at the Cherokee County SRLS libraries to also receive a small 3D print for participating!

Posted on July 20, 2023 05:55 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

July 13, 2023

Week 6 Update: 7/7-7/13

We are almost halfway through July for our Cherokee BioBlitz 2023 and the number of observations is astounding! We have over 1,500 observations featuring almost 750 different species!

Don’t forget to help identify observations that still need it, so we can get more “Research Grade” observations that help scientists. It is amazing to see how diverse the native wildlife is in our county!

For more information on how to identify observations, take a look at the Identifications section in the iNaturalist help page.

Week 6’s Observer of the Week is nativewitch. This week they observed many different types of fungi that have sprouted up after all this rain! It’s so cool to see all the different types of mushrooms that pop up.

Don’t forget to share the challenge with your friends and family members who love nature and the outdoors. Check back next week to see how many more species have been identified!

Posted on July 13, 2023 01:53 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

July 6, 2023

Week 5 Update: 6/30-7/6

We are halfway into the Cherokee BioBlitz 2023 and the number of observations keep growing! We have over 1,400 observations featuring nearly 700 different species!

Even if you do not have any observations to add you can still help by identifying the observations of others. That helps our observations get moved from the "Needs ID" category to "Research Grade." The more "Research Grade" observations we have, the more beneficial our project is for scientists and researchers. Currently over HALF of our observations need community identification.

For more information on how to identify observations, take a look at the Identifications section in the iNaturalist help page.

Week 5’s Observer of the Week is matt_eldridge. This week they observed a Common Five-lined Skink with its eggs!

Don’t forget to share the challenge with your friends and family members who love nature and the outdoors. Check back next week to see how many more species have been identified!

Posted on July 6, 2023 05:44 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

June 29, 2023

Week 4 Update: 6/23-6/29

We are a month into the Cherokee BioBlitz 2023 and the number of observations keep growing! We have over 1,200 observations featuring over 600 different species!

Even if you do not have any observations to add you can still help by identifying the observations of others. That helps our observations get moved from the "Needs ID" category to "Research Grade." The more "Research Grade" observations we have, the more beneficial our project is for scientists and researchers. We currently have over 600 observations that still need community identification.

For more information on how to identify observations, take a look at the Identifications section in the iNaturalist help page.

Week 4’s Observer of the Week is autumnskullcap. This week they observed a White-Tailed Deer mother and fawn! Such a cute baby animal and a unique find!

Don’t forget to share the challenge with your friends and family members who love nature and the outdoors. Check back next week to see how many more species have been identified!

Posted on June 29, 2023 03:34 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

June 21, 2023

Week 3 Update: 6/15-6/22

Almost a month into the Cherokee BioBlitz 2023 and the number of observations keep growing! We have over 900 observations featuring over 500 different species!

Even if you do not have any observations to add you can still help by identifying the observations of others. That helps our observations get moved from the "Needs ID" category to "Research Grade." The more "Research Grade" observations we have, the more beneficial our project is for scientists and researchers. We currently have over 500 observations that still need community identification.

For more information on how to identify observations, take a look at the Identifications section in the iNaturalist help page.

Week 3’s Observer of the Week is metroatlantanatives. This week they observed Red Raspberry Slime Mold! Such a cool and colorful form of mold!

Don’t forget to share the challenge with your friends and family member who love nature and the outdoors. Check back next week to see how many more species have been identified!

Posted on June 21, 2023 09:55 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

June 16, 2023

Week 2 Update: 6/9-6/15

Only 2 weeks into our BioBlitz Challenge and we have 618 observations! This week we rounded out our special BioBlitz-themed programs with a presentation about native plants and backyard biodiversity with Laura from the Cherokee County Master Gardeners! We even got to see some invasive species in the Rose Creek Library’s parking lot! Thanks to everyone who attended one of these programs. SRLS has gardening programs year round, so be sure to check our calendar for more nature and garden-themed programs.

This week we added a lot of different animal species to our observations. Our observer of the week, cloudyfissiped, was lucky enough to spot a Barred Owl of the Strix varia. Don’t forget you can add plant and animal observations from anywhere in Cherokee County, so always be on the lookout for new species to document!

Keep the observations coming!

Posted on June 16, 2023 05:41 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

June 8, 2023

Week 1 Update: 6/1-6/8

We’re officially 1 week into the Cherokee BioBlitz 2023! In just one week, we’ve already collected 286 observations featuring 203 different species. That’s an amazing job! Our map shows us that we have observations all over the county, from Acworth in the south, to Ball Ground in the north. We’d love to see the entire map filled by the end of the summer!

Each week we’ll also be picking our Observer of the Week. For Week 1, that’s jfornuto! This week, jfornuto found a House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) and a cicada from the subtribe Cryptotympanina.

Have you attended one of our BioBlitz-themed programs yet? This week, we learned about native plants at R.T. Jones, built our very own bird feeders at Ball Ground, and discovered the best ways to encourage biodiversity at Woodstock. Join us at Rose Creek Library on June 14th at 3 PM for Backyard Biodiversity and Ball Ground Library on June 20th at 11 AM for Growing Your First Garden.

We can’t wait to see what you find next week!

Posted on June 8, 2023 06:07 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 31, 2023

Welcome!

Welcome to the 2023 Cherokee BioBlitz! This project is organized by Woodstock, Rose Creek, R.T. Jones, and Ball Ground Public Libraries, part of the Sequoyah Regional Library System.

We live in a beautiful community, full of diverse plants, animals, and habitats. This summer, we’d love your help in cataloging what can be found in our environment! From June 1st through July 31st, all wild nature findings will be collected here to create a record of Cherokee County’s biodiversity. Make sure to join this project to receive weekly journal updates and interact with other iNaturalist users. Even if you can’t get outside, we still need your help with identifying species. And if you’re near one of our libraries, stop by to learn more about prizes for participating in the challenge!

We also have programs happening in our libraries to help you learn more about our local environment and how to participate in this BioBlitz. We’d love to see you at one of them!

Native Plants 101, June 2nd, 11 AM @ R.T. Jones Library
DIY Bird Feeders, June 2nd, 4 PM @ Ball Ground Library
Biodiversity in Your Backyard, June 6th, 3 PM @ Woodstock Library
Backyard Biodiversity, June 14th, 3 PM @ Rose Creek Library
Growing Your First Garden, June 20th, 11 AM @ Ball Ground Library

This citizen science project goes hand-in-hand with our Summer Discovery 2023: All Together Now program, where we’ll be celebrating our incredible community in Cherokee County! Visit our Summer Discovery website to learn more about our awesome reading challenge and other cool programs happening these next two months.

We can’t wait to see what you discover!

Posted on May 31, 2023 04:44 PM by seqlib seqlib | 0 comments | Leave a comment

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