Congratulations to everyone who contributed to City Nature Challenge 2024. The results were announced yesterday, an amazing total of over 2 million observations were recorded globally. The most observed species was the same as last year, Mallard duck Anas platyrhynchos. La Paz in Bolivia remain impossible to beat, they recorded the most observations across every category with: 165,839 observations, 5352 species and 3593 participants!

Greater Belfast and the surrounding areas by numbers: we recorded 3177 observations, 841 species and had 63 participants across the four days. The average number of observations per observer was 50 and 67% of our observations were research grade. We were placed in the middle of the UK leader board 12th out of 24 cities. Our most observed species was the green shore crab, Carcinus maenas. It would be interesting to know if we are the only city with a crab as the most observed species. There were lots of interesting records, one particular highlight is a new plant species for Ireland, white rocket, Diplotaxis erucoides recorded by @grahamday in Belfast. You can look at the “STATS” page for Greater Belfast on iNaturalist for some nice graphics of our results.

Finally, thanks once again for participating and put the dates for City Nature Challenge next year in your calendar: 25 – 28 April 2025.

Thanks to everyone for submitting observations and being involved in the project so far. I hope that everyone is enjoying the good weather, which makes it much easier to get out and record. So far, we have over 1500 observations. I think we will easily reach our (somewhat arbitrary) goal of reaching 2000 records. The most frequently recorded groups are plants, which account for well over half of all records, followed by insects. Interestingly we had only three mammal observations at my last count!

The number of participants that have submitted observations to the project is 47, many of whom are new iNaturalist users and possibly new to recording nature observations, which is super. Well done to everyone who has contributed.

As far as the UK Leaderboard goes York are way out in front with over 6000 observations.
We are currently placed towards the middle, at a respectable 11th place and just behind Warwickshire and Solihull.

A few iNaturalist recording tips...

1. Don't forget to always write something in the "what did you see" box. Even if you don't know the species, it is perfectly acceptable to just put animal or plant etc. This increases the likelihood that your observation will be identified as many iNaturalist users filters to only view observations of groups they are interested in.
2. The automated species suggestion in iNaturalist is a great tool especially for species that are easily distinguished by physical features but it is only a suggestion. If you can try to cross reference this suggestion with other identification tools like keys or guide books.
3. Following on from the point above, the species distribution maps in iNat are very useful to consult when identifying species. It is possible you could find a species never recorded here before but always apply a healthy dose of scepticism and consider if it is more likely to be a misidentification.

We have a day and half of recording left. All observations need to be submitted to the iNaturalist website or app by midnight Monday 29th April. Don't worry if they are not yet identified to species. Identifications can be added up to Sunday 5th May.

City Nature Challenge is fast approaching! You are more than welcome to independently record, however, we have a number of events lined up for you to attend by a range of collaborators and partners to get into biological recording. Broad overview of what City Nature Challenge is about available here: https://www.ulstermuseum.org/activity/city-nature-challenge

Friday 26th April 2024

• 10am - noon

  Kicksampling & quadrats with Eastside Partnership and Buglife at Cregagh Glen
  More information to follow.

• 10am - noon

  Green Beans (Drawing & recording in nature)with Creative Beans & Buglife at Cregagh Glen
  https://www.instagram.com/creativebeanscollective/p/C5-WxD2IpUz/

• 11am-1pm

  Bumblebee Walk with Belfast Hills Partnership at Slievenacloy
  https://belfasthills.org/events/city-nature-challenge/

• 1.45pm

  Expedition to find Ruby-tailed Wasps with Buglife at Blackhead Coastal Path
  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/59701?

• 5:30pm

  Marine Recording with Wild Belfast at Loughshore
  https://www.wildbelfast.org/events-1/city-nature-challenge-marine-recording

Saturday 27th April 2024

• 7am - late

  BioBlitz at Lagan Meadows hosted by Wild Belfast with Buglife and more joining in
  https://www.wildbelfast.org/events-1/city-nature-challenge-day-1

• 10am - 2:30pm

  NI Recorders Day at Cultra Manor with Butterfly Conservation and CEDaR, with a BioBlitz to follow
  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/butterfly-conservation-northern-ireland-recorders-day-nird-2024-tickets-861647580107

• 11am onwards

  9 ft in Common Alleyway Safari
  https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/alley-safari

• 1.30pm - 5:30pm

  Spring Fair at Malone House hosted by Belfast City Counci. BCC biodiversity officer and Buglife's Belfast Buzzing Officer will be present to discuss biological recording
  https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/Events/Spring-Fest-2024

• From 3pm

  Expedition to find Cryptic Species with Buglife at Crawfordsburn
  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/59699?
• Ulster Wildlife will do pond dipping at Bog Meadows - event link to follow

Sunday 28th April 2024

• 7am - late

  BioBlitz at Black Mountain hosted by Wild Belfast & Black Mountain Rewilding Project, with guests including Buglife
  
  https://www.wildbelfast.org/events-1/city-nature-challenge-day-2

• -

  1.30pm - 5:30pm

  Spring Fair at Malone House hosted by Belfast City Counci. BCC biodiversity officer and Buglife's Belfast Buzzing Officer will be present to discuss biological recording
  https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/Events/Spring-Fest-2024

Monday 29th April 2024

• 9am - 11am

  Bird survey with RSPB NI at Whitehouse Lagoon registration required
  https://www.facebook.com/events/315693284876172/?ref=newsfeed

• 9:30am - 11am

  Rock Pool Ramble with Greyabbey at Ulster Wildlife
  https://www.ulsterwildlife.org/events/2024-04-29-city-nature-challenge-rock-pooling-ramble
• Ulster Wildlife, session in Bangor Marina to look at the cages - limited capacity, event link to follow

Post-event

After the event there will be until 5th May to verify records. The Ulster Museum will be hosting an open recorders day on 3rd May: https://www.ulstermuseum.org/activity/city-nature-challenge-inaturalist-identification-event

Hello, very soon it will be time to start recording for the City Nature Challenge. You already have iNaturalist, so what is next?

1. Join a BioBlitz!

A BioBlitz is a great way to get introduced to recording, as well as meeting those with experience or specialism. The idea is to go to a specific site where there is a hub, and spend a set amount of time finding and recording species. In this setting, you can take specimens or photographs back to the hub to ask the experts or consult the ID material. There are a number of BioBlitzes occuring during this, so far, those confirmed include:

• Lagan Meadows with Wild Belfast & Buglife on Saturday 27th April (all-day)

1. Join a biodiversity walk or event

These are family-friendly events that can go at a more gentle pace. They are typically more targetted, for example a bumblebee walk. Some potential opportunities:

• Cregagh Glen with Eastside Partnership to kicksample for freshwater invertebrates
• Creative Beans at Cregagh Glen - come draw nature!
• Slievenacloy with Belfast Hills Partnership to survey for bumblebees
• Bog Meadows with Ulster Wildlife for pond dipping
• Belfast City Council Spring Fair - 27th - 28th April at Barnett's Desmense and learn about recording https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/Events/Spring-Fest-2024

1. Join an expedition

An expedition is a specialist hunt for specific of-interest taxa, like rare species or non-native species. These will be limited for engagement but can help increase certain records. Some examples may include:

• Blackhead Coastal Path to search for Ruby-tailed Wasps
• Colin Glen to search for New Zealand Flatworms
• Belvoir Forest for 18-spot Ladybirds

1. Independent

You are also welcome to independently record. As long as you are recording during 26th-29th April and in the project area, your record will count. You will still be on the leaderboards too if you are competitive.

Finally, on Saturday 27th April, Butterfly Conservation & CEDaR NI will be hosting Northern Ireland Recorders Day at National Museums NI's Cultra Manor. If you are attending, it would be great to see your records on site!