BioBlitz Activities
Scheduled activities for the Arnos Vale BioBlitz
Friday evening -
Bat Walk 21:00 - 22:30 with David Brown from Avon Bat Group,
and Moth trapping 21:00 - 22:30 with Ray Barnett from Bristol Museum
Please note both these surveys have limited availability. To book a place, please phone Matt H on 0117 317 8751
Saturday -
Dawn Chorus walk 05:00 - 07:00 with Alex Rhodes - Please note this survey also has limited availability, to book a place, please phone Matt H on 0117 317 8751
Bird ringing demonstration 10:00 - 12:00 with Ed Drewitt
Mini Beast Hunt 14:00 - 1500 with Pete the Bug Man
please note times of activities may change closer to the date of the event
To learn more about some of the naturalists and organisations that will be helping with the BioBlitz, please see the links below
As well as having lots of experts leading wildlife surveys, a field lab and a fantastic blog we'll also be having some musicians playing on the saturday, as a taster of one of the bands playing - listen here to their great music - www.facebook.com/fromoceans
There were a number of activities that ran throughout the 2011 event, all including the opportunity to learn from experts in their specialities, such as getting up close and personal with moths, searching for the important waxcap, seeing and learning about all the different plants growing in the area, the amazing adaptations of insects, listening to the dawn chorus as the sun rises, and discovering what comes out after dark. There was something for the whole family, and all the activities are free.
Last years fantastic BioBlitz blog gives a great idea of some of the fantastic activities that took place at the BioBlitz on the National Trust Tyntesfield Estate. We are hoping that with your help this year's BioBlitz at Arnos Vale Cemetery will be even bigger and better than last years. We also have some great video footage on you tube from previous BioBlitz's, which can be viewed here. We hope you're inspired: get involved!
Further examples of previous years activities are -
During last years Tyntesfield BioBlitz Ecologist and Entemologist (insect expert) Matthew Oates, a Nature Conservation advisor with the National Trust, ran several public surveys looking for insects and his speciality: butterflies. Matthew has been working with butterflies for over 40 years and is an expert on the elusive purple emperor butterfly. Within 100 meters of setting off Matthew found examples right across the insect world, including a fantastic nomadic bee. Many of the examples found were new to the visitors, and many insects found were even new to Matthew!. When viewed through a hand lense or magnifying glass the detail and adapations of insects we found really captivated the imagination of the groups.
Dusk Walk -
A twilight walk at the Ashton Court BioBlitz was led by David Brown of Avon Bat Group and Roger Moses from the Hawk and Owl Trust. David and Roger led a walk which looked for all the creatures that emerge at dusk and into the night - the focus is on bats but on a night walk you never know what you may see or hear. Just a note to remember - similar to their daylight emerging friends, nocturnal creatures like the quiet and won't come out if there's too much noise or lots of torches flashing around.
This started at 8:30PM and lasted around 2hrs - suitable clothing and footwear was needed and a small torch was useful.
Moth Trapping -
Orange Footman, Small Yellow Wave, The Mocha, Flame Shoulder - just some of the multitude of moth species that hide away by day and appear by night. To see the many surprising and attractively coloured moths we joined the Bristol & District Moth Group who ran powerful lights in the Tyntesfield estate that drew 'moths to the flame'. Questions answered included "Why are moths attracted to lights when they fly in the dark? " and "How many different species occur in our gardens, parks, woodlands and meadows?" We learnt why they are important for the health of wildlife habitats and how they can help monitor climate change.
The moth trapping started at 9:30PM and lasted 2 hours, Please wear suitable clothing and footwear as it does get a bit chilly waiting for moths.
Dawn Chorus Bird Walk -
Rising with the birds: a dawn chorus walk by Ed Drewitt
This was a great opportunity to get up early with the birds in late May and hear their dawn chorus. We explored Tyntesfield Estate and listened to the birds as the chorus peaked before the birds settled and continued with the rest of their day. We heared many birds, from song thrushes to goldcests and chiffchaffs to nuthatch. Please note being a dawn chorus walk, it starts early, 4:30 am!
The dawn chorus starts at 4:30am from base camp and the duration will be around 1.5hrs - please wear suitable clothing and footwear (can be quite chilly this early); bring binoculars if you have them but it is also just a great opportunity to listen with your ears.
Activities in the Field Lab
Each Bristol BioBlitz has a dedicated area for a field lab full of field guides, specialist equipment and high powered microscopes on loan from University of the West of England. This is a great way of looking at all the detail and amazing colours of the speceis we find and an opportunity to learn from the experts how to identify all those tricky species. Even looking through a microscope at a simple nettle leaf reveales the stinging hairs too small to see with the naked eye or reveals the wonderful microscopic world living on some rotting wood.
