Bristol BioBlitz final tally!

The naturalists are back from searching the estate, the tally-team have been frantically adding up the final numbers and your ever faithful media team are standing by to bring you the information you’ve been waiting 30 hours for – on closing at 3pm on Saturday the grand total was …

569 species!

This isn’t the final version, as there’s more work to be done in detail, but it’s a great return on the effort!

“A huge thank you to all of our volunteers, naturalists, guides and everyone who came out. The Bristol Natural History Consortium has an aim of getting everyone involved in nature conservation, and our first Bioblitz has shown the amazing things that happen when people work together.” Savita Custead- BioBlitz Director.

“I second those thanks. Without the help of everybody involved in this event it really wouldn’t and couldn’t have happened – THANK YOU everyone involved! I’ve had awesome time and look forward to thinking about BioBlitz plans for next year’s International Year of Biodiversity!” Berry Goddard – BioBlitz Program manager.

Martin Brasher of DEFRA announces the total

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Grass hunting

Everywhere you look you can see grass, but did you know that there are thousands of different types of grasses here in the UK? In fact, hundreds of different types can be found on Ashton Court Estate!

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Macro montage

This video shows some of the smaller species found throughout the BioBlitz in a big way!

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Sweep spot

Conservation biologist Tom Selby talks us though sweep netting, banded snails and sawfly larvae.

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Why would you recommend BioBlitz?

Find out why you should come to the next event!

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Fun-guys

Sorry about the title, but it was going to happen sooner or later. We weren’t really expecting a plethora of fungi in the estate this weekend (late summer and autumn things will start to change) but whilst on an general search this afternoon BioBlitz naturalists came across some interesting species.

Dryads saddle - Polyporus squamosus

One fairly common spring bracket fungus, the Dryad’s saddle Polyporus Squamosus was found on dead wood not far from the BioBlitz base camp. We found both young and old specimens, the young ones being good (well, ok) to eat. This fungus is unique to me as being the only thing in the world that smells of watermelon (except the obvious).

Turkeytail - Trametes versicolor

Also found was a Turkeytail bracket Trametes Versicolor. Very common and fairly easy to spot, with multicoloured concentric rings. Quite tough and not edible.

King Alfred's cakes - Daldinia concentrica

King Alfred’s cakes, or cramp balls Daldinia concentrica are also quite common and easy to spot throughout the year. They hardly look like a standard ‘mushroom’, but more like lumps of coal attached to dead wood. These ‘cakes’ can be broken apart where you can see concentric rings inside. They also burn quite well, so mistaking them for pieces of coal will not cause too much disappointment….

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Tally Embargo

As we enter the last hour of Bristol BioBlitz 2009 the tension is mounting in the ID tent . In anticipation of the fast approaching 3pm finish, the powers that be are keeping the total tally a secret from all, including the honourable folk on the media team.

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The One Minute Interview

Who are you?

I’m Joe McSorley – I work for the Avon Wildlife Trust.

Why are you here?

I really wanted to get involved by volunteering and helping with surveys and walks. I hoped to be able to to learn some things myself, as well as passing on some of my knowledge.

What’s your favourite find?

The orchids we found today were very nice. I also thought the bat surveying was really good, so I’d say my favourite species was a Leisler’s bat – I’ve never seen one before.

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The Ashton Court ponds

The ponds at Ashton Court aren’t exactly the stuff of legend, but there are still some interesting beasts to be found there – ones that can change from water-living gill breathers to fast-moving land predators ; ones that catch their prey with exploding jaws ; and ones that are relatives of the giant octopus…

(that’s frogs, dragonfly nymphs and water snails, to you and me…)

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The One Minute Interview

Ivan Teage

Who are you?

Ivan Teage

Why are you here?

To look at fungi at the worst possible time of the year and to learn more about identifying the wildlife of Ashton Court.

What’s your favourite find?

The dryad’s sadde mushroom, which I’ll be having for dinner!

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