Citizen scientists across the state can document plant and wildlife sightings in the month of April as part of the Virtual Spring BioBlitz!, hosted by the Oklahoma Biological Survey.
"Our regular BioBlitz! Oklahoma event occurs annually in the fall, so we miss all the fun spring bird migrants, the early flowering plants and so much more," said Priscilla Crawford, conservation specialist and BioBlitz! coordinator for the Oklahoma Biological Survey. "To exploit our BioBlitzers' enthusiasm for making biodiversity observations, we have organized this project to capture Oklahoma's incredible spring diversity."
To participate, you need to set up a free account at iNaturalist.org and join the Virtual Spring BioBlitz! OK 2017 Project. You can easily record observations using the smart phone app (android or iPhone) or add observations directly to the website. The official Virtual Spring BioBlitz! event doesn't begin until April, but feel free to get some practice with the app and start recording observations right away.
Participation is free and prizes will be awarded to the top observers. New challenges will be posted each week with opportunities to win additional prizes and compete with fellow citizen scientists statewide.
During last year's inaugural virtual BioBlitz!, more than 2,000 observations were made, inventorying 701 species in the state. Get more information about this and other Oklahoma BioBlitz! projects by searching for Oklahoma BioBlitz! on Facebook.