Antsanity! Bats over the Kokopelli! Creatures of the Night! While the titles might evoke ideas for new video games, they are the names of outdoor, hands-on excursions that are part of a 24-hour BioBlitz happening at the Petrified Forest National Park from 9 a.m. this Saturday, Aug. 25, through 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 26.
This is the third year the Petrified Forest has hosted a BioBlitz and National Park Service (NPS) Biologist Andy Bridges said that it is a great way to get a snapshot of the natural diversity in a specific area at a specific time. “By doing intensive sampling during one 24-hour period with ‘experts’ who focus on different taxa (birds, bats, plants, reptiles, etc.), you can get a pretty good idea of what species inhabit an area. BioBlitzes have been done in a number of natural areas all across the country, and they yield some pretty fantastic results.”
Bridges said it is not uncommon for people to discover a new species for an area. But perhaps the best part of the BioBlitz is the chance for NPS staff, volunteers, student groups and other organizations to come together and experience the park in new and different ways. “All plant and animal observations will be documented using the iNaturalist app and eBird,” noted Bridges.
From hikes and active trapping to searching for snakes and other reptiles along the park roads, volunteers are welcome to sign up and be a part of the adventure that includes biologists, herpetologists, research assistants, specialists and graduate students from Arizona Game and Fish, Northern Arizona University, Museum of Northern Arizona, Desert Botanical Gardens, Arizona Chapter of the Wildlife Society, McDowell Sonoran Conservancy and the Petrified Forest staff.
Most of the excursions are two to three hours long, with a few that require an overnight camp out to study the creatures of the night. Listed excursions include: Active-Trapping at Long-Term Monitoring Sites; Searching the Park Road for Snakes and other Reptiles and Amphibians; Reptiles and Birds of the Park’s South End; Creatures of the Night; Bats over Kokopelli; Birds of the Painted Desert; Birds of the Rio Puerco; Bobbing for Bugs and Snails; Snails in the Desert; Eight Legs and Counting; Antsanity! and other Cool Invertebrates; Black Light: It’s Hard to Resist if You’re a Nocturnal Creature; Pollinators in the Park: Moths and Butterflies; What’s Small and Furry and Scampering Around the Park-The Preparation and The Identification; Discover the Plants of the Rio Puerco; Discover the Plants of the Park’s Back Country; The Past is the Key to the Present; Paleontology Hike to the Dying Grounds; Paleontology Hike to Billings Gap; Off-the-beaten-path Hike to the Flatiron; Archaeology Hike to the McCreery Pueblo Site; Archaeology Hike to the Stagecoach Stop; and Printmaking Drop-In Workshop.
Three excursions are currently filled: Searching the Park Road; Bats over Kokopelli; and Birds of the Rio Puerco, but volunteers are still needed to fill remaining excursions.
Registered volunteers will receive free entrance into the park for that day and a chance for personal interaction with excursion leaders, the experts in charge.
Registration is on a first come basis and some excursions have very limited space. To sign up and to receive a list of open excursions, email pefo2018blitzers@gmail.com. Once registered, an email will be sent informing you which excursion you will join as well as what to bring and where to meet.
