Each time I walk into Whiterock valley, I generally find at least one new and amazing living thing. This spring I was able to ask myself, “what will 76 people find if they go out and walk together?” On Memorial Day weekend, participants in the first annual Whiterock BioBlitz answered this question for me— 442 different living things to be exact. On a soggy day in the middle of a very late spring, migratory songbirds were flitting through the newly leafed-out oaks, the frog orchestra was in full swing, spring ephemeral wildflowers were winding down, and folks of all ages in raingear were traipsing through Whiterock valley, binoculars and butterfly nets ready, eyes and ears peeled for signs of previously unobserved life. It was so very exciting!
The Whiterock BioBlitz, funded by a grant from the Guthrie County Community Foundation, was modeled after the first BioBlitz, an event held in 1996 in Washington DC’s Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, when National Park Service employees and participants attempted to document all of the living species on the garden property in one day. For the Whiterock BioBlitz, 14 volunteer-scientists led groups of enthusiastic participants out onto the landscape during the“24-hour snapshot” of Whiterock Conservancy-managed lands. We managed to find a handful of plants, birds, mollusks, and snails that had never been observed on the property before, the most exciting of which were probably the Northern Parula and Blackburnian Warbler, two of the most beautiful wood warblers to visit our state, in my mind. Two oak savanna remnants were also located, and have been added to the priority management area for oak savanna restoration projects that will continue this autumn and winter. Sensitive migratory songbird habitat was distinguished along two small creeks, and will be monitored next spring for other rare birds.
The Whiterock BioBlitz was a wonderful event, possible only because of the graciousness of the volunteers, the inquisitiveness of the participants, but most basically, the wild diversity in Whiterock valley. It is so simple: if we keep our eyes open, we’ll continue to find new and wonderful things. Please join us next summer for the Second Annual Whiterock BioBlitz, and until then, search on your own while scheme and dream of what we may find!
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