Results of the 2018 BioBlitz

On August 3rd and 4th of 2018, we held our second BioBlitz at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge. More than 75 citizen scientists joined 30-plus experts in 24 hours worth of surveys of the site’s biodiversity, seeking to find and identify every type of living organism from fungi to bats. In total, we recorded 915 species - far exceeding our tally of 675 from the 2015 BioBlitz! You can view lists from each survey type below. Scroll down to see the results of the 2015 BioBlitz.

In addition, we used iNaturalist to gather data directly from citizen scientist participants. iNaturalist users helped us to record, identify, and confirm 668 of the 902 total species we found during the Blitz. You can view our iNaturalist project here.

Banner, bird, plant, mammal, reptile & amphibian, and fungi photos by Rafi Wilkinson. Fish and insect photos by Lindsay Appel. Spiders & Mites photo by Gary Sullivan.

BioBlitz Field Guides

To help less experienced citizen scientists get involved in technical surveys, TWI staff collaborated with the Field Museum’s Rapid Color Guide team to create 7 full-color guides to the biodiversity of the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge. These free, downloadable guides are a great addition to a nature walk anywhere in the region, and are accessible to all experience levels.

Birds of Sandy Hollow photo by Bill Glass. All other photos by Gary Sullivan.

Results of the 2015 BioBlitz

On June 13th and 14th of 2015, we held our first BioBlitz at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge. More than 30 experts helped us search the site for organisms from birds to bees, for a total of 675 species. There are currently no lists available for 77 additional species of insect, and 4 species of spider. View the results of the surveys below.