The first tally is in!

The dedicated team here have been logging our species sightings throughout the day and we are thrilled to bring you the first official tally – 95 species and counting!

Don’t forget, you can keep up to date with the live tally by heading over to the BRERC Online Recording website.

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The holly and the miner

David Brown examining the holly leaf miner

Finding the species is just the first hurdle. Identifying the species can prove more difficult! We joined David Brown in the struggle to ID a holly leaf miner. There was confusion as to whether subspecies are recognised in the UK.

After much research and head scratching, the answer was given by the Natural History Museum which led to our miner being identified simply as Phytomyza ilicis as no subspecies are found in the UK. Unfortunately this only adds one to our total tally!

Holly leaf with miner

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The Meeting

There’s no going back now; the UK’s biggest BioBlitz is only a day or so away. Not to worry though, everybody is well prepared for the 30 hour race against the clock to catalogue every living thing that does or doesn’t move in Bristol’s Ashton Court estate.

Berry Goddard, the BioBlitz co-ordinator

Volunteers and event organisers met today in the Bristol University Medical Sciences building for a final briefing before everything kicks off. Berry Goddard, BioBlitz co-ordinator, ran everybody through the necessary procedures.

Volunteers listen on in earnest

The room was packed full of eager scientists and naturalists, each on hand to lend their expertise and enthusiasm. Many points were raised and questions asked, but Berry and the team are ready for just about anything.

Scientists and naturalists fill the stands

Keep an eye on this blog for further updates in the build-up to the BioBlitz!

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