Diario de sambiology

Hey friends,

I finally have an update to the Del Rio gathering! The dates are the same (April 5 - 8), but the location has been now been narrowed down a touch. Here are the details - big time thanks to @gcwarbler for scouting some of these places (oh, and these can change some, but this is the general vicinity):

April 5: explore around Lake Amistad National Recreation Park, black lighting in the evening around this area…

April 6: explore some more around Lake Amistad National Recreation Park, black lighting in the evening around this area…

April 7: explore the Dan A Hughes State Natural Area (normally closed to public, but I've got the ok for us to explore here!) around Devil’s Creek, black lighting in this evening around this area…

April 8: : explore more of the Dan A Hughes State Natural Area and black light somewhere in the vicinity…

I wish I could stay longer, but I’ve got obligations on Monday, April 9, so I have to leave after lunch on April 8 (although, I’m actively trying to get out of this!)...

I think there are some folks that are planning on staying longer and going over to Big Bend either before or after, and they will maybe stop by Seminole Canyon State Park (heard this place is great) or other spots in the vicinity.

Here are some more of the nitty gritty details...

There WAS an airport in Del Rio... Alas, the closest airport is a few hours away in San Antonio, probably...

I’ll be staying in Del Rio, at this Quality Inn and Suites. There are quite a few hotels in the area… , all at relatively reasonable prices. There is camping at Lake Amistad as well. Also, there may be some other lodging options. @brentano was mentioning this to me.

Food: I’m not expecting us to do any fine dining during this little venture, so if you are able to bring food, bring it! I’m planning on doing some grocery shopping, and hopefully I’ll get some stuff for a weenie roast or whatever on at least one evening.
NO FACILITIES at some of these places, especially the Dan A Hughes State Natural Area! Read up on how to poo in the woods. Bring lots of water — by this time of year, it may already get a little warm (great for moths!), so we need to prep for this. At the grocery store, we should load up on water and drinks to stay hydrated.

So, comment and let folks know if you’re able to make it, where you’ll be staying, if you’ve got room in the car, etc...

I’m making t-shirts too! If you plan on going, comment what size shirt you want. I’m not making moola off of these shirts, so if you could bring like 10 bucks if you want one, that’d offset the costs. And if you don’t want a shirt, that’s ok too. :)

The point of this trip is to collect data for these areas (Val Verde County doesn’t have too too many data points on iNat), but most of all to connect with other naturalists in real life. Bring collecting gear if you want (nets and stuff), but we’ll only plan on taking digital vouchers on iNat. If push comes to shove, I do have a collections permit for the SNA, but I’d rather us just collect via photos.

I hope you can make it! If you’re not able to, that’s totally ok — there will be others in the future, I promise.

Tagging these folks that have shown interest on this trip — tag others that you think may be interested too. Ideally, this is for some pretty hardcore iNatters. :) Oh, and if you’re not planning on coming and don’t want to get drowned out in notices, you can ‘unfollow’ this post in the settings.
@nathantaylor7583 @kimberlietx @naturemom @connlindajo @greglasley @scottbuckel @itmndeborah @finatic @pileated @james5 @muir @nanofishology @bouteloua @kueda @loarie @tiwane @tadamcochran @alisonnorthup @gyrrlfalcon @amzapp @cosmiccat @mikegras @beschwar @coreyjlange @hydaticus @wildcarrot @susanhewitt @bogslogger @neotomastolemykeys @birdsbatsandbugs @butterflies4fun @aspidoscelis @ptexis @silversea_starsong @psyllidhipster @jaykeller @sea-kangaroo @aztekium @annikaml @anewman @eric_keith @bosqueaaron @cgritz @treegrow @briangooding @joelle @tfandre

Calling all naturalists in and around Amarillo! We need YOU! This year's City Nature Challenge is on April 27 - 30, so you can go anywhere within the range (as seen in the above map on the project page) and make observations that will count this year. This is a competition among 65 cities in 15 different countries around the world. Can Texas compete? We think so! But we need your help. Any and all observations count, but the most valuable observations are made on public property (parks, right-of-ways, preserves, etc...) and are of wild (non-cultivated/not captive) organisms. Other observations count, of course, but the wild organisms found on public property can influence management and policy. Wherever you are, observe some things on April 27 - 30! Observations have to be uploaded before May 4 to count as well.

There is a global website here: http://citynaturechallenge.org/ Hopefully we'll have a TX website as well -- stay tuned!

Tagging some of the big users around Amarillo -- please tag others that you think would also want to participate. It's also quite fun to get together with others and deeply explore an area -- connect with some of the other naturalists in the area! :)

Calling all naturalists in and around Austin! We need YOU! This year's City Nature Challenge is on April 27 - 30, so you can go anywhere within the range (as seen in the above map on the project page) and make observations that will count this year. This is a competition among 65 cities in 15 different countries around the world. Can Texas compete? We think so! But we need your help. Any and all observations count, but the most valuable observations are made on public property (parks, right-of-ways, preserves, etc...) and are of wild (non-cultivated/not captive) organisms. Other observations count, of course, but the wild organisms found on public property can influence management and policy. Wherever you are, observe some things on April 27 - 30! Observations have to be uploaded before May 4 to count as well.

There is a global website here: http://citynaturechallenge.org/ Hopefully we'll have a TX website as well -- stay tuned!

Tagging some of the big users around Austin -- please tag others that you think would also want to participate. It's also quite fun to get together with others and deeply explore an area -- connect with some of the other naturalists in the area! :)

Calling all naturalists in and around Dallas/Fort Worth! We need YOU! This year's City Nature Challenge is on April 27 - 30, so you can go anywhere within the range (the ten counties that make up the DFW metroplex: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Wise) and make observations that will count this year. This is a competition among 65 cities in 15 different countries around the world. Can Texas compete? We think so! But we need your help. Any and all observations count, but the most valuable observations are made on public property (parks, right-of-ways, preserves, etc...) and are of wild (non-cultivated/not captive) organisms. Other observations count, of course, but the wild organisms found on public property can influence management and policy. Wherever you are, observe some things on April 27 - 30! Observations have to be uploaded before May 4 to count as well.

There is a global website here: http://citynaturechallenge.org/

Texas website here: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/naturechallenge/

Tagging some of the big users around DFW-- please tag others that you think would also want to participate. It's also quite fun to get together with others and deeply explore an area -- connect with some of the other naturalists in the area! :)

Also, if you would like to join with some of the other naturalists in DFW, please come to one of these events! Remember, ANY and ALL observations count!

City Nature Challenge - BioBlitz events in DFW

Friday, April 27
Burleson – 9 – Noon at Wakefield Heights Park (704 Elizabeth Dr., Burleson, TX 76028)
Denton – 10:30 – 11:30 AM at UNT Discovery Park at the Pollinator Prairie (3940 N Elm St., Denton, TX 76207)
Dallas – 1 – 2 PM - UTD Campus Monarch/Bee Waystation (2114 University Parkway, Richardson, TX 75080)
Grapevine – 4 – 6 pm at Parr Park (3100 Parr Ln, Grapevine, TX 76051)
Midlothian – 8 – 11 PM - Mothing at Mockingbird Park (1361 Onward Road, Midlothian, TX 76065)
Cedar Hill – 8 – 10 PM - Mothing at Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center (1206 W Fm 1382, Cedar Hill, TX 75104)
Pilot Point – 8 – 10 PM – Moth madness at Ray Roberts State Park (Kid Fish Pond, Ray Roberts State Park, TX 76258)

Saturday, April 28
Flower Mound – 9 – noon at the Flower Mound (2450 Flower Mound Road, TX 75028)
Dallas – 9 – noon - BioBlitz at Crawford Park (8600 Elam Road, Dallas, TX 75217)
Dallas – 9 – noon – BioBlitz at Hines Park (9701 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75220)
McKinney – 9 AM – 1 PM at Heard Museum (1 Nature Pl, McKinney, TX 75069)
Pilot Point – 10 – 11 AM – Bioblitz at Ray Roberts State Park (Kid Fish Pond, Ray Roberts State Park, TX 76258)
Grapevine – 10 – noon at Grapevine Botanical Garden (411 Ball St, Grapevine, TX 76051)
Pilot Point – 11 – noon – How to use iNaturalist (Kid Fish Pond, Ray Roberts State Park, TX 76258)
Flower Mound – 1 – 4 PM at Green Acres Farm Memorial Park (4400 Hide-A-Way Lane, Flower Mound, TX 75022)
Grapevine – 1 - 3 PM at Parr Park (3100 Parr Ln, Grapevine, TX 76051)
Dallas – 2 – 5 PM - BioBlitz at L.B. Houston (1775 California Crossing Road, Dallas, TX 75220)
Pilot Point – 3 – 4 PM – BioBlitz at Ray Roberts State Park (Picnic Pavilion 1, Ray Roberts State Park, TX 76258)
Arlington – 4 – 10 PM – BioBlitz at Southwest Nature Preserve (5201 Bowman Springs Road, Arlington, TX 76060)
Fort Worth - 6 – 7:30 PM – Wildflower walk at Tandy Hills (3400 View St., Fort Worth, TX 76103)
Cleburne – 7 – 10 PM – Mothing at Cleburne State Park (Cedar Lodge Patio, Cleburne State Park, TX 76033)
Plano – 6:30 – 9 PM – Night hike at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve (5901 Los Rios Blvd., Plano, TX 75074)
Fort Worth – 8 – 11 PM – Mothing at Ranches East Park (3801 Lazy River Ranch Road, Roanoke, TX 76262)

Sunday, April 29
Flower Mound – 8 AM – Noon at Cross Timbers Trail (Dunham Road Trailhead, east of Hwy 377, south of FM 1171)
Dallas – Noon – 3 PM - BioBlitz at Emerald Lake (6102 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, TX 75249)
Dallas – 1 - 4 PM - BioBlitz at Twelve Hills Nature Center (817 Mary Cliff Rd, Dallas, TX 75208)
Grapevine – 2 – 4 PM - Nature walk at Meadowmere Park (3000 Meadowmere Ln, Grapevine, TX 76051)
Fort Worth – 2 – 5 PM at Chisolm Trail Community Park (4936 McPherson Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76123)
Lantana– 2 – 5 PM at Lantana Trails (11555 Lantana Trail, Argyle, TX 76226)

Calling all naturalists in and around El Paso! We need YOU! This year's City Nature Challenge is on April 27 - 30, so you can go anywhere within the range (as seen in the above map on the project page) and make observations that will count this year. This is a competition among 65 cities in 15 different countries around the world. Can Texas compete? We think so! But we need your help. Any and all observations count, but the most valuable observations are made on public property (parks, right-of-ways, preserves, etc...) and are of wild (non-cultivated/not captive) organisms. Other observations count, of course, but the wild organisms found on public property can influence management and policy. Wherever you are, observe some things on April 27 - 30! Observations have to be uploaded before May 4 to count as well.

There is a global website here: http://citynaturechallenge.org/ Hopefully we'll have a TX website as well -- stay tuned!

Tagging some of the big users around El Paso-- please tag others that you think would also want to participate. It's also quite fun to get together with others and deeply explore an area -- connect with some of the other naturalists in the area! :)

Calling all naturalists in and around Houston! We need YOU! This year's City Nature Challenge is on April 27 - 30, so you can go anywhere within the range (as seen in the above map on the project page) and make observations that will count this year. This is a competition among 65 cities in 15 different countries around the world. Can Texas compete? We think so! But we need your help. Any and all observations count, but the most valuable observations are made on public property (parks, right-of-ways, preserves, etc...) and are of wild (non-cultivated/not captive) organisms. Other observations count, of course, but the wild organisms found on public property can influence management and policy. Wherever you are, observe some things on April 27 - 30! Observations have to be uploaded before May 4 to count as well.

There is a global website here: http://citynaturechallenge.org/ Hopefully we'll have a TX website as well -- stay tuned!

Tagging some of the big users around Houston -- please tag others that you think would also want to participate. It's also quite fun to get together with others and deeply explore an area -- connect with some of the other naturalists in the area! :)

Calling all naturalists in and around the Lower Rio Grande Valley! We need YOU! This year's City Nature Challenge is on April 27 - 30, so you can go anywhere within the range (as seen in the above map on the project page) and make observations that will count this year. This is a competition among 65 cities in 15 different countries around the world. Can Texas compete? We think so! But we need your help. Any and all observations count, but the most valuable observations are made on public property (parks, right-of-ways, preserves, etc...) and are of wild (non-cultivated/not captive) organisms. Other observations count, of course, but the wild organisms found on public property can influence management and policy. Wherever you are, observe some things on April 27 - 30! Observations have to be uploaded before May 4 to count as well.

There is a global website here: http://citynaturechallenge.org/ Hopefully we'll have a TX website as well -- stay tuned!

Tagging some of the big users around LRGV -- please tag others that you think would also want to participate. It's also quite fun to get together with others and deeply explore an area -- connect with some of the other naturalists in the area! :)

Calling all naturalists in and around San Antonio! We need YOU! This year's City Nature Challenge is on April 27 - 30, so you can go anywhere within the range (as seen in the above map on the project page) and make observations that will count this year. This is a competition among 65 cities in 15 different countries around the world. Can Texas compete? We think so! But we need your help. Any and all observations count, but the most valuable observations are made on public property (parks, right-of-ways, preserves, etc...) and are of wild (non-cultivated/not captive) organisms. Other observations count, of course, but the wild organisms found on public property can influence management and policy. Wherever you are, observe some things on April 27 - 30! Observations have to be uploaded before May 4 to count as well.

There is a global website here: http://citynaturechallenge.org/ Hopefully we'll have a TX website as well -- stay tuned!

Tagging some of the big users around San Antonio -- please tag others that you think would also want to participate. It's also quite fun to get together with others and deeply explore an area -- connect with some of the other naturalists in the area! :)