Tags: bioblitz

Highlights:

•     Seven groups of 40 volunteers recorded 25,287 individual birds, and 118 species

•     The most common birds recorded were Canada Goose, European Starling, Ringed-bill Gull, Herring gull and White-throated Sparrow

•     Highlights for the Freshkills Park territory included Orange-crowned Warblers and a Baltimore Oriole

 On December 18th Staten Island held its annual National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count.

When you think about the most biodiverse places in the world, where do you think about? Maybe the Amazon rainforest or Madagascar? Many are surprised to find out that New York City lies within one of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots (the North American Coastal Plain), as defined by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, a global program focused on providing funding for projects aimed at protecting these areas of extreme biodiversity.

In April 2017, sixteen U.S. cities participated in the City Nature Challenge (CNC). For this multi-day event, urban residents competed to observe the most species in their city, at the same time collecting data that conveys a snapshot of the local biodiversity.

Written by Susannah Aziz.

Many New Yorkers benefit from the great parks and preserved nature settings throughout NYC for recreation. After spending several years at home raising my young children and relying heavily on so many of the beautiful parks to entertain them, I realized how truly valuable they are.

In 2015, sophomores from CUNY Macaulay Honors College worked with professional scientists across 233 acres and two days in August to conduct a BioBlitz at Freshkills Park. A BioBlitz is a 24-hr biological survey event aimed at developing a snapshot of as much biodiversity as possible in a given area at a particular time of year.

On August 29^th and 30^th, Freshkills Park teamed up with CUNY Macaulay Honors College to conduct a BioBlitz of North Park. A BioBlitz is a 24-hr biological survey event aimed at developing a snapshot of as much biodiversity as possible in a given area at a particular time of year.