What is a bioblitz?

A bioblitz is an activity that involves recording any nature you might find in a particular area, from plants and birds, to insects, fungi and much more! Bioblitz events are a great way that communities can help us understand, protect and restore nature in their local area.

On Friday 11 August with the help of volunteers, staff and the public we carried out a mini bioblitz at Gentleshaw Common, some of which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a rare remaining fragment ancient heathland.

Armed with sweep nets, identification charts, bug pots and the iNaturalist app we walked across the Common, soaking in the sun and enjoying the views whilst looking out for anything and everything nature related!

What did we find?

A few of the best finds of the day were the huge variety of shield bugs and their nymphs.  Nymphs are the young hatched shieldbugs which eventually become adults. Other amazing things we saw were solitary wasps hunting for prey, grasshoppers bouncing around our feet and many swallows flying around us.

In nearly five hours we counted just over 100 different species and recorded them. 87 using the iNaturalist app and more from lists provided by our knowledgeable volunteers. A fantastic collection of records by all involved! Insects were the largest group recorded followed by plants.

How does citizen science help nature?

Bioblitz events can help us to record large amounts of species in a short space of time, and maybe even find some new species too!  This in-turn helps us with our future management plans for our nature reserves and helps us to continue to protect our wonderful wildlife.  The data from iNaturalist also feeds into wider county records, held by the Staffordshire Ecological Records (SER), based at our very own Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Wolseley Centre. SER use the data for species distribution reports, mapping for our nature reserves and various county and countrywide projects. SER data also helps towards discovering which sites are most important for our wildlife, and where nature is struggling. You can help by submitting your own records to them too: www.staffs-ecology.org.uk

Citizen science is a great way to get out in the fresh air and learn something new, and spending time in nature is proven to be beneficial for our health and wellbeing.  If you are interested in a particular type of wildlife, such as birds, we can guarantee you will end the day wanting to find out more about all sorts of species!

It is very easy to walk past a lot of wildlife whilst getting from A to B and especially on heathland habitats where a lot of the wildlife is on the smaller side. But did you know, our lowland heathland habitats (like Gentleshaw) are rarer than the rainforests and they hold some very special wildlife which you may not see anywhere else?  It is therefore especially important for us to monitor these precious habitats and look after them in the best way we can.

This event was kindly funded by the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL).

If you’re interested in joining us on a future bioblitz, be sure to subscribe to our weekly emails: https://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/sign-our-e-newsletter

Please note, we’d always recommend joining an organised bioblitz run by a landowner. If you’re interested in casually recording nature yourself, you can download and use the iNaturalist app or report via the SER website.