Hagerman NWR to participate in Texas Pollinator BioBlitz
Hagerman NWR Texas Pollinator BioBlitz events are scheduled between October 7 and October 16, 2016. The public is invited to attend several Butterfly Garden Walks and observe as Monarch Butterflies are tagged and sent on their way.
The monarch population across the Eastern United States, Canada, and Mexico has declined by nearly 80% over the past 20 years. In addition to Monarchs, 30 native pollinator/flower-visiting species such as bees, butterflies, and moths, are designated as Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Pollinators such as butterflies, bees and moths, bats, hummingbirds, wasps, flies, and beetles, sustain native plant species, human food crops, and even crops for livestock.
The Butterfly Garden at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was created to help educate the public about pollinators and pollinator habitat. Through free nature programs, the public is encouraged to create native landscapes with nectar-producing plants and pollinator gardens.
What is a Pollinator BioBlitz?
Pollinator BioBlitz participants will observe and identify pollinators between October 7th and October 16th. All ages and abilities are encouraged to find pollinators and nectar-producing plants in their communities. Observations can be shared by posting a photo or video to Instagram or iNaturalist. Daily observations are encouraged.
Instagram is the selected social media tool by which any observer can share their observations. Pollinators can be difficult to identify, so observers are encouraged to post what they know, which may be a simple description of the species or its behavior. The more experienced naturalist can post a photo and more details on iNaturalist, which records the date and location of the observation and allows other naturalists to help with identification.
Hagerman NWR will hold several BioBlitz events in cooperation with the Bluestem Chapter Texas Master Naturalist.
October 8th, 9th, 15th Butterfly Garden Walk (9 or 9:30 – 11:00 am)
October 9th Bluestem Chapter Texas Master Naturalists will conduct Monarch Tagging, not open to the public
How to Participate
- Join:Join the The Pollinator BioBlitz event page on Facebook to stay up to date with all the events and to share information.
- Register: Sign up to receive daily challenges, event information, and more during the Texas Pollinator BioBlitz.
- Observe:Head outside to look for pollinators! (Need help with identification?)
- Identify: Identification can be as simple as ‘butterfly’ or ‘bee’ or as detailed as ‘monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) pollinating a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)’.
- Share:Take a photo or video of any pollinators you find as well as your daily challenge images and share it on Instagram (hashtag #SaveThePollinators). For those wanting to take their observations a step further, join the Texas Pollinator BioBlitz iNaturalist project!. By posting your images you contribute to citizen science and national pollinator data. You can attempt to ID your photos and biologists will confirm or make suggestions to identification for species posted.
More information and helpful guides
We formerly reported that the Monarch Tagging event conducted by the Bluestem Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist was open to the public when in fact it is not. Sorry for any inconvenience our earlier report may have caused.