Diario del proyecto City Nature Challenge 2021: North East England

Here’s a little more detail on the final City Nature Challenge results for our area, North East England.

Throughout the recording days nbrodin and jmcommon were neck and neck for gaining the top spot for making the most observations. In the end nbrodin came out top with a fantastic set of 321 records, but jmcommon gained top place for most species recorded with a whopping 262! We must also credit bumble_being for putting in a serious shift helping to identify species and completing the most at 254 identifications! Top work all three of you but also to everyone who took part and submitted even one record!

From the map, you can see we had pretty good coverage of the area.

Nicola35 collected some records right up on the Scottish border, whilst sianeileen was out recording along the North Yorkshire border. Over to the west, right on the Cumbrian border duncan34 was contributing and we had much more coastal representation this year all down the east coast.

Nicola35 even sent in photos and records from a dive beneath the waves of the sea! In case you didn’t know, the border for our region extends 10km out into the North Sea, so, thinking ahead...does anybody know any boat-going sea fishermen who could help us out next year? Or more scuba divers?

We got records from all the main groups of organisms apart from reptiles, which is hardly surprising given the cold weather. Plants were the most widely recorded group and the species that got the most records overall, was Lesser Celandine.

It was nice to get several sound records of various birds singing. Being able to record bird song and other sounds is a great feature of the iNaturalist app.

Fungi gained some records and one of the most interesting was the Beech Woodwart spotted by lazza who also put in great effort for the challenge.

Invertebrates seemed few and far between for the time of year. Again this was probably due to the cold weather we were experiencing. Quite a few slugs and snails were recorded and a special shout out to kathryndt for doing some river sampling and spotting a mayfly larva!

Mammals and amphibians were spotted or signs of their presence. Did you know, feather, fur, poo and other signs can still count as a record as they provide evidence of the presence of a particular species?

There are plenty of photos to look at and I would urge you to have a browse around the results to see some of the wonderful wildlife in our area. For example, duncan34 got a great camera trap shot of a fox, tracy-ann63 got a super snap of a Red Kite as well as a lovely Roe Deer.

Have a look too at the results from around the globe too. It’s wonderful to consider that we were part of a world-wide effort to explore, spot and record the amazing wildlife to be found around the world.

Thank you once again for participating. It’s absolutely fantastic to know you are out there caring about nature and wildlife. If you missed participating in the CNC this year, then block out your diary for the end of April/beginning of May next year and we’ll see you there!

A MASSIVE THANK YOU once again to everyone who joined in!

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021-north-east-england

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021

Why get involved in this world wide wildlife recording event?

It’s easy, it’s fun and it will make a big difference

The information you share will play a part in helping to shape conservation efforts, assist with scientific studies and land management

The more we know the more we can to do support the natural world and make sure it thrives and survives alongside urban development

All the observations are shared in a global database, with information checked and verified by a worldwide team of experts. The data collected is available to individuals, organisations and businesses across the world and used for a huge variety of purposes.

It can help with conservation, tracking how nature impacts on the health of our population or how new developments are affecting the natural world. It’s endless! And it couldn’t be done without your help

Over the last 12 months we’ve all had the chance to explore our local areas more than ever before. At times it might have longed for a change of scene – but now let’s reap the benefits and share what we’ve learnt about the world around us

So come on! Charge up that smartphone or camera, get yourself out and about within government guidelines this weekend and spot some nature!

Last year 189 people made 5279 observations of 805 species in our area. We need your help to beat those figures this year!

Find out how to join in here: https://www.ericnortheast.org.uk/citynaturechallenge/

Once again, we, the Environmental Records Information Centre North East are delighted to host the City Nature Challenge (CNC) for our region. This world-wide wildlife recording event is a fantastic way to spot the wildlife around you and record it. Wildlife records are really important and are a great way to actively help the natural world in your local area. This year we really want to beat our totals for last year and we need you to help us do this. During the CNC 2020, 189 people took part and made 5279 observations of 804 species in our area. The iNaturalist app, which is the recording app used for the CNC, is pretty simple and straight forward to use. It is a great way for beginners to start recording. If you are a previous participant, could you use the CNC as a way to invite a friend or two to join you on a walk over the 4 days the challenge runs, 30 April to 3 May and perhaps they will be inspired to keep recording beyond the CNC? If you are new to this, then download the app, make an account and have a go! Every record counts!