Final species tally revealed!

Yes, that’s right! By the end of this year’s epic 30 hour BioBlitz at Kings Weston House we had identified and recorded a huge 463 species, beating our target of 454. That number is due to rise in the coming days as the more obscure species that the team recorded are correctly identified. A massive thanks goes to everyone who took part in the count and participated in the learning activities. We hope to see you at next year’s event!

But our work doesn’t stop here. The Bristol BioBlitz is just the first event of Bristol99 – our exciting new project to reconnect people with the nature of their doorstep. You can look forward to 6 weeks of fun events, from mini-BioBlitzs to bughunting, wildlife walks to fossil-finding, all culminating in the 10th Festival of Nature on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June in Bristol’s Harbourside. See you there!

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Bird and bee boxes!

Interview with the fabulous Keith and Linda from Specialised Nestboxes.

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What does nature mean to you?

Here at BioBlitz people have been asked ‘What does nature mean to you?’. Please let us know your answer to this question. Here are a few other people’s answers to give you some inspiration!

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New tally!

With the 30 hour BioBlitz deadline looming, we have a fantastic new tally for you! Our naturalists and members of the public have increased our species tally to a mind blowing 418! How many have you found here at BioBlitz 2013?

Latest species tally

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If you go down to the woods today…

You’re sure to find something interesting! Explore the woods of Kings Weston Estate with naturalist Gill.

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Kings Weston House

While we’re very interested in the nature at BioBlitz, this blog wouldn’t be complete without including a few photos of the spectacular house. Built between 1712 and 1719, the house is currently undergoing restoration to bring it back to its former glory.

The stunning central staircase is a particular favourite of ours!

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It’s all happening at BioBlitz headquarters

The field lab at Kings Weston House is abuzz with naturalists identifying and verifying the species discoveries from around the site. As well as microscopes to help identify grasses via their minute differences, there is also a range of kit for people to come and borrow.

If you have an unidentified species, or need some help with ID, pop into the field lab!

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Flowers at Kings Weston House

The sun is out and the flowers are enjoying the opportunity to attract some insect pollinators. Check out these beauties that we’ve found at Kings Weston House.

What flowers have you spotted?

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Up with the larks!

Well it was a bit of a damp dawn chorus walk this morning as part of the Bristol BioBlitz at Kings Weston Estate.

We started out at 6am and took a short stroll into the woods to place ourselves under a tree and pricked up our ears for the first set of bird calls.

Led by naturalist Trudi Clarke we heard over twenty song & contact calls (the difference between the song & contact call are surprisingly different). The usual suspects were around, robins, blackbirds, blue tits & great tits but we also heard a green woodpecker, a great spotted woodpecker, a nuthatch, a white throat & a black cap.

We continued our walk through the rain and came to a clearing which not only provided us with a host of other bird calls but some spotting took place as well. We were fortunate to see a goldcrest, a chiff chaff & a tree creeper & to announce summer is here, a swallow! We also heard a long tailed tit, a jackdaw, a jay & a wood pigeon.

After two hours it was back to the house for some well earned bacon sandwiches before the rest of the activities started at 10am.

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The signs are out there!

Mammal expert Gill Brown has been giving us the lowdown on the best signs to look for when scoping out mammals on her upcoming mammal walk. The furry critters themselves can be difficult to catch sight of but they can be identified by the signs they leave behind such as footprints, teeth marks and poo!

Watch our video later of Gill explaining the signs and differences between various mammal species.

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