City Nature Challenge 2022: South Florida (#CNCSOFLO)'s Journal

Hello CNCSOFLO Participants!

On behalf of all of the organizers involved in the City Nature Challenge, including Frost Science, Florida International University, Miami Eco Adventures, Virginia Key Outdoor Center, the Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program, Miami-Dade County, and Citizens for a Better South Florida, a big thank you goes to all of the observers, identifiers and everyone that put events together to get people outside, helping to showcase South Florida's amazing biodiversity.

We improved on all of our metrics this year with more observations, species and participants than ever before! Despite beating our own numbers, though, some of the competing cities outdid us and we dropped in ranking in all categories! See our rankings below and let's use this as motivation to do better next year :-D

2022 City Nature Challenge- SOFLO results ranked against 445 other cities/areas (up from 419 cities last year)
-33rd by observation count (down 4 places from 29th last year)
-23rd by species count (down by 4 places from 19th last year)
-23rd by observer count (down by 1 place compared to last year)

You can look through the City Nature Challenge leaderboards, which compare all the cities, here:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2022

Check out our stats from this year compared to 2021 and 2020 below:

Remember, these numbers will change as more observations are added (better late than never!) More identifications will also continue to come in as the iNaturalist community looks through observations that haven't been identified yet (in the Needs ID stage- we still have almost 5,000 observations in this stage).

Besides going up in observation count (11,329 compared to 10,327 last year), species count (2,109 compared to 1,978 last year) and observers (593 compared to 582 last year), it's also nice to see we had a smaller percentage of Casual observations compared to last year. Casual observations include organisms that are not wild, such as landscaped, potted, and garden plants, along with pets or zoo animals. Since iNaturalist is meant to primarily document wild organisms, it's great to see that more people posted observations that translate into more useful data. We went from 9.8% Casual observations last year to only 5.3% this year, so that is a huge improvement! The percent of Research Grade observations we posted is around the same as it was at this point last year for our 2021 CNC, around 52%.

Alright, so besides all the numbers... I looked through a ton of observations and picked some to highlight! There were probably hundreds of observations that stood out, so it was especially hard to not put a ridiculous amount of links below. Hope you like them!

Plants
Pink sundew observed by @kuchipatchis
Locustberry observed by @fherrerav
Milkbark observed by @osmunda
Mangrovevine observed by @nature_is_awesome
October flower observed by @pondcypressstudio
Marsh pink observed by @plruiz
Blackroot observed by @sky245
Fourvalve mimosa observed by @bennypoo

Insects & Spiders
Half-blind sphinx observed by @bluemayo
Miami tiger beetle observed by @tiffany_moore
Green lynx spider observed by @noaboa
Y-shaped streaktail fly observed by @djringer
Amethyst hairstreak butterfly (AGAIN) observed by @unlikelycharming
Conchylodes diphteralis moth observed by @lt422
Hypsipyla grandella caterpillar observed by @alexsalcedo
Florida duskywing skipper observed by @laylahm
Atlantic grasshopper observed by @lisnel
Diogmites esuriens robberfly observed by @ericrupert
Polydamas swallowtail caterpillar observed by @northmiamiyardrestoration

Reptiles, Amphibians & Mammals (I know the way I grouped these was a little weird :-)
American crocodile observed by @dean_hester
Eastern narrow-mouthed toad observed by @glennmagusharvey
Hawksbill sea turtle observed by yours truly
Virginia opossum mom and joey observed by @isaacthelord
Eastern gray squirrel observed by @alyssacritters

Birds
Snowy egret observed by @b_gonzalez Bella was our top IDer for the CNC this year! Thanks Bella!
Pileated woodpecker observed by @gatorhawk
Common yellowthroat observed by @ungerlord
Mangrove cuckoo observed by @alcedo77
Swallow-tailed kite observed by @rockjetty
Red-shouldered hawk eating grasshopper observed by @carmenferreiro
Bahama mockingbird observed by @jasonghedges
American coot observed by @waterfowl

Fishes, Elasmobranchs & other marine life
Spotted eagle ray observed by @elesulkv
Hardhead silverside fish observed by @aliandbrice
Caribbean Christmas tree worm observed by @levent90
Florida horse conch observed by @shabrobtilus
Mangrove root crab observed by @david275
Ram's horn squid observed by @dylannt

If you posted any observations you are particularly proud of, or ran into any that stood out, please share the link in the comments below (only possible on the website and not on the app).

If you'd like to share this post with anyone, here's the link:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2022-south-florida-cncsoflo/journal/65814-2022-cncsoflo-results

Thanks for participating and don't forget to follow CNCSOFLO's official Instagram page @cncsoflo and you can also find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CNCsoflo

One more thing! Make sure to join next year's project so you can get updates when we start planning: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-south-florida-cncsoflo

Oh yeah, and here's a link to the official City Nature Challenge's journal post with a neat infographic:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2022/journal/65711-city-nature-challenge-2022-results

Okay, really, only one more thing... remember iNaturalist is up and running all year! One of the best ways to train your eyes to find biodiversity is to keep on the lookout all the time. You never know what you will learn or find!

Thanks again,
Joe MDO & the CNCSOFLO team

Hi everyone!

We had a great City Nature Challenge! I will write up an overview on how we did in the next few days once the results are in. With a few more observations we might jump up a place or two for the observation/species categories. If you know anyone who took nature photos during the blitz period (Friday, April 29th to Monday, May 2nd) and can post them to iNaturalist, that could also help us climb the ranks for the observers category.

As it stands right now, we are in 31st place for observation count (11,229), 23rd place for species count (1,782) and 22nd for number of observers (588). We are very close to going up a place or two in the all three categories, so any observations you post can make a difference!

Thanks,
Joe MDO & the CNCSOFLO team

Hi everyone,

We've had an amazing group of observations posted so far! Remember today is the last day to get pics or audio of organisms in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties for our City Nature Challenge team. We have until 11:59PM to continue documenting biodiversity.

Another thing to keep in mind is that we have from tomorrow, Tuesday until Sunday to add our observations. In other words, you can just take pictures with your phone/camera or record audio and then post it to iNaturalist before the end of the day on Sunday, May 8th. Posting through the website is much more efficient than posting observations one by one on the app, so you might want to consider that if you've found the app to be a little slow. Here is video tutorial on how to post through the website if you want to give uploading through the website a try: https://vimeo.com/167431843?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=7188222
Just remember you need to know how to get your photos onto your computer! Many people use cloud drives to transfer the photos but I like using a USB cable with my old Samsung phone.

Thanks for all your contributions so far and keep up the good work!

-Joe MDO & the CNCSOFLO team

Hi everyone!

We are a little over 24 hours away from the start of the City Nature Challenge in South Florida! If you are up on Friday at midnight, you can post some of the first observations for our team :-D You can check porch lights for moths, beetles and other bugs or photograph some lawn weeds, too.

If you are looking for info on events you can attend, check out our calendar here:
https://www.cncsoflo.com/events-2

Some locations include Virginia Key, Crandon Park and a few EEL (Environmentally Endangered Lands) locations that are normally not accessible to the public! Trinity Pineland, Rockdale Pineland and Zoo Miami's pineland are great places to explore with EEL. To learn more about the amazing work done by EEL, see here: https://www.miamidade.gov/environment/endangered-lands.asp
Note that many of the events require advanced registration so make sure to check out the link above!

On another note, keep in mind you don't need to go far to observe biodiversity. For some advice on where to look, check out this document:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PWxA4Ge8ab5Qg9w2UPinVrMnwDIJgbTz/view?usp=sharing

For more documents and resources similar to this one, check out the journal entry from last Monday here:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2022-south-florida-cncsoflo/journal/63977

Good luck everyone and happy iNatting!
-Joe MDO & the CNCSOFLO Team

Hi everyone!

We are a little under two weeks away from the beginning of the 2022 City Nature Challenge! With the CNC right around the corner, we wanted to make sure everyone is aware of a few resources that may be particularly helpful.

CNCSOFLO website:
https://www.cncsoflo.com/
Check the site out for events during the CNC weekend.
If you are planning on hosting an event, make sure to register your event so we can include it on the site!

@cncsoflo Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/cncsoflo/?hl=en
Follow our Instagram for interactive posts including quizzes and polls about South Florida biodiversity.

iNat document
Looking for best practices and other info about iNaturalist? The link below contains a document with plenty of info and help on how to navigate the website and app, with a focus on our SoFlo biodiversity.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bqiz6b1QgJr6wVIA2F906U-5txKsvdSu/view?usp=sharing

I also broke the document into some of the more important bits if you are looking for specific info:
Why iNaturalist?- https://drive.google.com/file/d/11LcTj8tdiafHMA-U6dUjcr5EJq_Mjeku/view?usp=sharing
Best practices & things to avoid- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P0CSyCk0v8czcVXliH5ldAeHgnCsNpvU/view?usp=sharing
How to upload and use iNaturalist- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l1-JvixUc9AQI6nsefjCDixQHGvlYlHf/view?usp=sharing
Research Grade, Needs ID, Casual Grade explained-https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OmLzvL_l-PjDXbfDgLjXkF0x_qgO2U19/view?usp=sharing
iNat extras (cool features newer users may not be familiar with-https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YQ5-X9Q7UFS4baukgAVqLW1KC-Mai-BI/view?usp=sharing

South Florida Lawn Weeds Guide:
https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9022
Did you know lawn weeds are one of the easiest examples of biodiversity to observe just about anywhere you go? This guide includes the most common lawn weeds found in South Florida, loosely in order from most common & widely distributed to least common. While photographing lawn weeds, keep an eye out for pollinators and other little critters that use them as habitat!

Community service
Do you know any students in need of community service hours? You can contact me at joemdo.inaturalist@gmail.com with the student's username and I will provide community service hours equal to 1 hour for every 10 observations posted during the City Nature Challenge. The observations need to be either Needs ID or Research Grade to count. For more info, check out the following document:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wnT6_MFbu6zIdjT9fknLXnRGsW_EOGZi/view?usp=sharing

Thanks for reading and happy iNatting!
-Joe MDO & the CNCSOFLO Team

Hi everyone!

I have been meaning to post a journal entry here with some useful resources for anyone interested in the City Nature Challenge and will get to that soon... In the meantime, I realized I should share this ASAP as it's a fantastic opportunity to get out into Everglades National Park with some fellow nature lovers this Saturday!

The trip is completely free and open to the public!

It's a guided hike through Long Pine Key to Osteen Hammock. Entrance to Everglades National Park is normally a minimum of $30 (7-day pass is the cheaper option and the year pass for $55 is the more expensive, but probably cheaper-in-the-long-run-option) BUT this trip happens to fall on a "Free Entrance" day, so make sure to take advantage of that!

This trip will mainly focus on the plants in the area but Lydia, the botanist leading the field trip, also has a keen eye for insects, including native butterflies and bees that we will see out there! Check out Lydia's iNaturalist profile here: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/lydiamc & her Instagram here: @lydia.cuna

You can read more about the field trip (9AM-12PM), including meeting place and other details here:
https://teamup.com/event/show/id/7BruNscug6wcoApNcAGGLUuGbC6RNx

Here is a link to the organization that set the field trip up, the Dade Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society:
https://dade.fnpschapters.org/

Hope to see some of you out there!
-Joe MDO