BioBlitz (n): wildlife surveying, citizen science event which we aims to find, record, and identify as many different species as possible in a set time period in a specific place.
The site for the society’s first ever BioBlitz was the Trap Grounds – a local wildlife site in North Oxford and one of the only remaining ‘wild’ places along the canal within Oxford city. It is home to a wide array of different habitats from freshwater ponds to reed beds to woodland and scrub. Any characteristic species call it home like water voles, kingfishers and more than 33 species of dragonfly!
The day involved sampling for insects with sweep nets, visual sampling for plants, freshwater sampling for zooplankton, freshwater invertebrates, and molluscs and much more. We had experts, who kindly volunteered their time and expertise for the day, from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Department of Plant Sciences and Zoology and the Oxfordshire Mammal Group.
7th June 2022
Our second annual BioBlitz at the Trap Ground was a great success. Students and staff had the opportunity to learn ID and surveying tips and tricks from our amazing experts who helped out on the day.
Together we recorded 322 species (92 more than last year), including a record 195 plant species! Species highlights of the day include lots of slow worms (both juvenile and adult), a water scorpion and 38 species of bryophytes.
Download a list of the species we found here:
Photo credits to Bethany Smith and Taras Bains
2nd June 2021
“It was a great day for our BioBlitz at the Trap Grounds. Thanks to everyone who attended and to all the amazing experts who helped out and volunteered their time and expertise. Together, we were able to record 230 species in total including 128 insects and 65 plants.
Some key highlights included some slow worms, lots of zooplankton, baby stickleback fish, wild strawberries, and a possible sparrowhawk.” – Edited from our Facebook posts
Download a list of the species we found here:
Photo credits to Zhen-Huan Zhang and Taras Bains
Oxford University Nature Conservation Society 