Last Saturday, September 23, we held the first Bioblitz at the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve. This event was organized as part of National Estuary Week and featured several group tours that assessed birds, reptiles, amphibians, marine life, plants, and nocturnal wildlife. There were also workshops on bird censuses, botany, and nocturnal animals.
During the week, we offered workshops designed to train participants in conducting an effective Bioblitz. These workshops covered the flora and fauna species found in the estuary, and the use of iNaturalist, the platform used for species documentation.
We thank the volunteers and citizen scientists who accompanied us, as well as the resources and collaborators who supported us: botanist Mario García, biologist and professor Dr. Rafael Joglar, Wilkins Otero from the Puerto Rico Bat Conservation Program, the Estuary's bird census coordinator, Eliezer Nieves, the Reserve management officer from the DRNA, Ricardo Colón, our education manager, Ivangs Rivera, the aquatic waste program manager, Cristina Ramírez, and the education and coastal resilience activity coordinators, Coral Avilés and Daritzel Cintrón.
Thanks also to the botanists and naturalists, Rita Cáceres, Roqui Bello, Alejandro Cubiñá, Carlos Laboy, Steve Maldonado, George Locassio, Jadiel García, Ianis Rivera, Naomi Rohrbaugh and all the other citizen scientists who in one way or another have collaborated with the identifications even days after the event.
Life in the Reserve was cataloged using the iNaturalist platform. See the observed species, their photos, listen to some of their sounds, and learn more about them here.
