City Nature Challenge 2021: City of Cape Town's Journal

We will be running our Bingo Competitions again in 2021. However, we are keeping the actual bingo forms until closer to the time to make the event more fun and fairer. So watch this space on the Wednesday/Thursday prior to the event.
Not that it is not just the Bingo!! But also who gets Bingo on which combination of FORM, Row and Column.

So what this space.

Bingos claimed so far (note these need to be verified below to be valid!)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?d1=2021-04-30&d2=2021-05-03&place_id=52355&q=Bingo&verifiable=any

Eligible winners of rows and columns (not valid unless BINGO is called - yes: you need to click to see the results, and order by species):

• Wild
  rows
  row 1 row 2 row 3 (+free) row 4 row 5
  columns
  col 1 col 2 col 3 (+free) col 4 col 5

• Garden
  rows
  row 1 row 2 row 3 (+free) row 4 row 5
  columns
  col 1 col 2 col 3 (+free) col 4 col 5

• Coastal
  rows
  row 1 row 2 row 3 (+free) row 4 row 5
  columns
  col 1 col 2 col 3 (+free) col 4 col 5

• Alien
  rows
  row 1 row 2 row 3 (+free) row 4 row 5
  columns
  col 1 col 2 col 3 (+free) col 4 col 5

• Checklist

Please see our Facebook page for the courses available free if you want to get ready for the City Nature Challenge. All courses are 15-30 minutes with lots of time for questions and discussion. Please feel free to join.

https://www.facebook.com/CitynaturechallengeCT/events/

Please join both this project and the Facebook page to get the most from the Event.

https://youtu.be/vR18Iarb1W8

Next week this time we will all be busy observing, or planning our observing after work.
And following progress around the world at this link: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021

So what are your plans?

Just do some casual observations?
or do you have a quest? To visit your local nature reserve or open space and record all the spiders and plants (or birds and butterflies) there?
Or to visit as many nature reserves as you can and recording the common and special snails and millipedes (or whatever tickles your fancy: bees, bulbs, beetles?).

If you are are a little short of ideas, why not draw some inspiration from some of these projects. I guess the aim is to see which area makes the most interesting and useful observations (and not simply numbers, but that counts too):

Nature Reserves: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/nature-reserves-parks-of-cape-town
Tidal Pools: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/cape-town-tidal-pools
Wetlands: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wetlands-of-cape-town
&
Ants: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ant-atlas-of-cape-town
Chameleons: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/chameleons-of-cape-town-atlas
Rain Frogs: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/rainfrogs-of-cape-town
Alien Invasives devastating our trees: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/polyphagous-shothole-borer-beetle-pshb-atlas-s-afr
&
Schools https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/cape-town-school-nature-challenge
Scouts https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/scouts-south-africa &
Girl guides https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/girl-guides-south-africa-cape-town

or why not join in one of the many bioblitzes and bashes organized for the event: see -
https://www.facebook.com/CitynaturechallengeCT/events/
A little practicing beforehand will be useful, and afterwards you may be inspired to contribute to one of the projects above.

So load up the app, get some practice and get inspired.

Remember:
All Cape Town nature reserves will have free entry.
Free entry to Kirstenbosch if you can prove your participation at the gates with the app loaded on your smartphone.
Free entry to Cape Point section of Table Mountain National Park for participants who prebook on registered events.

If you have any ideas, or are looking for a partner in your quest, please respond below ...

This year the City Nature Challenge will focus more on getting people into nature than on the actual City Nature Challenge itself.

We want people to rediscover nature. To discover the city's open spaces and nature reserves. To get outdoors and - as far as Covid19 will allow - explore nature with our families and friends.
Go for a walk
Take a picnic
Go out and enjoy the sunshine and rain and water
With your friends and family.

To this end, the following places will automatically be tallying our adventures and excursions:

• Nature Reserves: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/nature-reserves-parks-of-cape-town
• Tidal Pools: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/cape-town-tidal-pools
• Wetlands: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wetlands-of-cape-town

So which are the areas nearest you? Why not visit a few of them and see what they are like. What plants and animals and mushrooms occur in them?

There is an adventure on your doorstep: take a friend and go explore!

.

At home, why not try some of these projects:

• Ants: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ant-atlas-of-cape-town (pests and friends: record them all - you should have at least 3 species in your home and garden: who has the most?)
• Chameleons: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/chameleons-of-cape-town-atlas (there is at least one in your garden!)
• Rain Frogs: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/rainfrogs-of-cape-town (explore observations with sounds!)
• Alien Invasives devastating our trees: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/polyphagous-shothole-borer-beetle-pshb-atlas-s-afr (help us control this scourge: remember to record healthy trees as well)

And if you belong to any school or society, please join the projects and add them to your observations:

• Schools https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/cape-town-school-nature-challenge (yes - you are allowed to have fun in the holidays!)
• Scouts https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/scouts-south-africa (not a Scout? Why not join soon?)

And if you are looking for things to do at home: then may of the lockdown activities will be fun.
Like attracting birds and butterflies and bees, picnics, moth blankets, nighttime safaris, and other options:

• https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/32290-bioblitzing-your-home-and-garden

So introduce your friends to our nature reserves. Entry for the City Nature Challenge is free, so make use of the opportunity and get out there.

A great Day Won (OK - Day One). Well done everyone!

Still too early to relax - the Americas must still hit their stride and we have set them a target, with a warning over the bow.

As in the past, we are not getting enough people participating. But those participating are doing so passionately. Thanks for the great observations.

Please bear in mind the theme, and try and get two family or friends to join in the fun over the weekend.

The weather looks great - sunny with little wind for the whole weekend. Perfect hiking, photography and diving conditions.

Except of course we need the rain - I think April is one of our lowest on record. But the forecasts suggest that the identification week may be a little wet, which is great for getting people to focus on their identifications.

A bit too early to make projections and checking targets. We will start looking for gaps tomorrow evening. But a fantastic job everyone. Please have a good nights rest and then up and early tomorrow.

Tally for the day:

Birds : 105 species
Mammals: 26 species
Herps: 21 species
Fish: 50 species

Mollucs: 22 species
Arachnids: 15 species
Insects: 116 species

Plants:
Mosses: 1 species
Ferns: 16 species
Monocots: 163 species
Dicots: 659 species

Fungi: 19 species

Sunrise 07:21
Sunset 18:05
Tides nearing neap (High 06:08 Low 12:30 High 18:47)

Please remember to check any events with the conveners. To double check and ensure Covid19 protocols