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City Nature Challenge 2021

Once again Calgary (and the nearby communities of Cochrane, Okotoks, Airdrie, and Chestermere, plus Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park) will be participating in the City Nature Challenge. From April 30 to May 3, anyone can participate in this fun, important, and fast-growing citizen-science project. People in hundreds of cities around the world will be photographing plants, birds, mammals, and anything else in nature to capture a record of worldwide urban biodiversity.

White-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrows should be around for the CNC. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

From the CNC 2021 Calgary Metropolitan Region website:

City Nature Challenge Calgary is back for the third year! Take photos of urban flora and fauna April 30-May 3 2021, then share to iNaturalist. Look for nature in your yards, neighborhoods, and local parks. Explore anywhere in Calgary, Cochrane, Okotoks, Airdrie, Chestermere, and Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. Any photos taken April 30-May 3 and shared to iNaturalist before May 9 will be included.   Join the 2021 iNaturalist Project to Stay up to date!

So starting on Friday morning, take as many photos as you can of birds, plants, insects, and any other living things. You will have until May 9 to upload your photos to iNaturalist.

Calgary City Nature Challenge Results

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Back in April, Calgarians participated for the second time in the City Nature Challenge. This year, with better weather and the addition of participants in Cochrane, Airdie, Okotoks, and Chestermere, we exceeded all of the 2019 results. This was despite the inability, due to Covid-19, of having organized field trips with many observers. Participants were more or less on their own, but nevetheless 248 observers submitted 5,557 observations, from which 759 species have so far been identified.

Downy Woodpecker
A Downy Woodpecker I photographed on April 24, 2020 for the City Nature Challenge.
Calgary, photo by Bob Lefebvre

You can view the Project Page on iNaturalist to see all the local observations. Some highlights include a bobcat with prey, a raccoon seen downtown, and a moose in Fish Creek Park. There were 110 bird species reported, including uncommon species like Steller’s Jay, Turkey Vulture, and Wild Turkey (the local celebrity Ramsay Turkey).

You can explore all of the bird reports here.

Calgary was one of eleven Canadian Cities that took part in the Challenge, and led them all in number of particpants, number of species reported, and number of observations made.

There were 244 cities worldwide which took part in 2020. See the Project Page on iNaturalist to view all the results. The most observations made was 34,474 in Cape Town, South Africa. San Francisco had the most people making observations with 2,678. The highest number of species reported was 2,937 in Houston-Galveston. In all, over 33,000 species were reported.

City Nature Challenge 2020

Congratulations to Matthew Wallace for his efforts in organizing and promoting the Calgary City Nature Challenge. I look forward to next year’s event!

Birding and the City Nature Challenge

I mentioned before that a smartphone is the best tool for taking photos of insects and getting close-ups of plants, but not great for birds since they are usually too far away. But many of you birders carry cameras these days, and you can submit your bird photos for the City Nature Challenge. They can easily be uploaded to the iNaturalist website on your desktop computer.

So if you are out this weekend (anytime until Monday at midnight), take lots of bird photos to upload later. You have until May 3rd to upload them, and if they are taken in the city, in Airdrie, Chestermere, or Cochrane, they will be added to the Calgary Challenge.

If you’re lucky you might find an unusual species. Last year I found a Fox Sparrow at Carburn Park.

Fox Sparrow
Fox Sparrow, Carburn Park, Calgary, April 28, 2019. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

But remember, iNaturalist and the City nature Challenge is about documenting all living things, so don’t neglect common species, and get them in multiple locations too. You may also see some mammals, trees, and other things you can photograph. You can also photograph evidence of life, such as feathers, nests, spider webs, hare forms, and so on.

Check out this page to see how many species and observations have been submitted so far in Calgary. We are at over 1000 observations and 300 species reported already by 10 am Saturday morning!