31 January 2022
Strong wind may have made photography difficult and heat added to the intractability of insects – which sometimes zipped around too much to have their portraits taken – but Wildlife Queensland’s Fraser Coast Branch members and nature enthusiasts managed to make more than 430 observations during the first BioBlitz of 2022.
Part of a series of seasonal flora and fauna surveys coordinated by the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland’s Fraser Coast Branch and shared on a specific iNaturalist Australia page for each event, the quarterly BioBlitzs simultaneously invite a love of wildlife and wild places and help record the biodiversity of the region, providing research-grade citizen science observations that make useful data for researchers. Over time, these observations give an idea of population numbers and potential declines in sightings and biodiversity, as well as inform species seasonality, movements and distribution.
Observations can be made anywhere across the Fraser Coast region from the northern Sunshine Coast to Bundaberg. While photographs are necessary for posting on the site, participants can perform a blitz in their own backyards, on K’gari, in Great Sandy National Park and Cooloola, or on beaches and in local parks and reserves – anywhere they spot flora or fauna. Of course, it is a major win when flamboyant or at-risk species are observed, such as the amazing ground parrot or endangered green turtle, but all observations have merit, from the tiniest beetle to the intrigue of lichen or fungi, to larger mammals, reptiles and snakes (a coastal taipan over weekend, no less). View the complete list of species observed during the Summer BioBlitz weekend of 28–30 January on iNaturalist here.
Join Fraser Coast Branch & Get Involved
The Autumn Fraser Coast BioBlitz is scheduled for 23–24 April 2022, so those throughout the region are encouraged to sign up as a member of the Fraser Coast Branch and get involved.
However, members and enthusiasts elsewhere can also join iNaturalist for free and record their weekly sightings across Queensland – a fun way to start identifying and photographing Australia’s unique flora and fauna.