Author: Manu Saunders

Ecologist, writer.

Wild Pollinator Count starts Sunday!

Published on by Manu SaundersLeave a comment

Autumn 2020 Wild Pollinator Count starts this Sunday 12 April and runs until the following Sunday 19 April. Take time out with nature for 10 minutes and get to know the insects in your backyard!

Find out how to contribute here. It just takes 10 minutes: find a flower to watch and record what you see. You can watch any flower you like, even weeds, and you can do as many counts as you want during the count week! Observations must be submitted via our online form.

We’ve got lots of tips to help you identify what you see on our resources page. You can share your pics with us via our iNaturalist page, or on social media with the #ozpollinators hashtag (observations must be submitted via our website to be included in the count data).

Happy counting! We understand some people won’t be able to contribute this time, as staying at home is priority right now. Our next count will be on in November. Stay safe and well and hope you enjoy getting to know the insects in your neighbourhood.

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One week until Autumn Wild Pollinator Count

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It’s almost time for our next Wild Pollinator Count! The autumn 2020 count starts next Sunday 12 April and runs until the following Sunday 19 April.

If you’re new to the project, you can find out details on how to contribute here. It just takes 10 minutes: find a flower to watch and record what you see. You can do as many counts as you want, any time during that week, on fine weather days (most insect pollinators don’t like poor weather, especially high winds, heavy rain, or frosts). Observations must be submitted via our online form.

Read more about the project here, and also check out some Frequently Asked Questions and other resources to help you identify what sort of insects you see. You can share your pics with us via our iNaturalist page, or on social media with the #ozpollinators hashtag.

You can join in anywhere in Australia, if you have a backyard, a pot plant, or a balcony garden. You can even watch a dandelion in your footpath if that’s all you can find! We ask you to tell us the name of the plant, but you don’t need to know its scientific name.

We understand that some people won’t be able to join in this time, because your safety is a priority while we are all staying home. Please make sure to follow your state or territory’s COVID19 restrictions and don’t travel to parks or reserves to look for flowers. If you are unable to contribute this time, our next count will be on again in November, so please join us then.

Happy counting! Stay safe and well and hope you enjoy getting to know the insects in your neighbourhood.

Last chance to count for spring 2019

Published on by Manu Saunders4 Comments

Wild Pollinator Count ends this weekend! Counts can be done anywhere in Australia until Sunday night, 17 November.

We will leave the submission form open until next weekend to allow everyone time to get their counts uploaded.

Hope you enjoyed counting, wherever you were this spring. Many parts of Australia are experiencing unprecedented weather and fire conditions. It will be interesting to see how wildlife, including our wild pollinators, respond to these conditions in coming years.

If you weren’t able to count this spring, our next count will run 12-19 April 2020.

Hoverfly on Mexican Orange Blossom by Kay Muddiman

 

Spring 2019: time to count

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Spring Wild Pollinator Count starts now, Sunday 10 November.

You can do as many 10-minute counts as you want, anywhere in Australia, until Sunday 17 November 2019. Submit your observations via our submission form. We will keep the form open for the following week to allow everyone time to get their submissions in.

Enjoy some time out with nature this week and be surprised at what you find!

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Nearly time for Spring 2019 Wild Pollinator Count

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Our spring Wild Pollinator Count starts this Sunday November 10 and runs until the following Sunday 17 November.

Remember, your 10 minute count must be done during the count week, but the submission form will remain open the following week for you to get all your observations submitted. And you can do as many counts as you want during the count week!

We’re currently in the worst drought on record here in the New England region (and much of eastern Australia). The spring flowers in my garden are mostly dandelions. But there are still quite a few wild pollinators around if I look hard, including lots of beeflies, hylaeine bees, caper white butterflies, and some cute colletid bees I found roosting on our dying cherry tree. Fingers crossed for rain soon! Continue reading “Nearly time for Spring 2019 Wild Pollinator Count” →

Australian Native Bee identification survey

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Are you interested in Australian native bees? How do you rate your bee identification skills?

Dr Toby Smith is a native bee expert who runs Bee Aware Brisbane and is a long-time friend of Wild Pollinator Count. He is keen to understand more about native bee identification skills and has made this survey that is open to anyone.

If you’re an enthusiast who loves identifying bees, a professional working with bees, or have newly discovered the wonderful world of native bees, you’re invited to answer the survey about how you rate your bee identification skills and what information you currently use to identify bees. Toby will use results to develop more accessible bee identification materials.

You can find the survey here. It will remain open until November 18 2019.

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Reminder: citizen science survey

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Dear Wild Pollinator Counters,

A few weeks ago, we invited you to participate in an online survey on the personal experiences of citizen science participants – that means YOUR experiences.

Have you had a chance to complete the survey? If not, you only have a few days left. Take the opportunity and tell us what you think about our project!

If you have already completed the survey, thank you very much! We appreciate your time and feedback.

This is the link to the survey:

http://www.umfragen.uni-kiel.de/index.php/712751?lang=en

Thank you for your time!

Survey: Citizen Science Research

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We are contributing to research on biodiversity citizen science projects, run by colleagues in Germany. If you have ever participated in one of Wild Pollinator Counts, please consider answering this short survey about your experiences. We will share results here when they become available.

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Dear Wild Pollinator Counters,

We would like to invite you to participate in an online survey by Kiel University (Germany) on the personal experiences of citizen science participants – that means YOUR experiences.

Your answers will help researchers to better understand what participants get out of their involvement in citizen science projects. This will help researchers to develop projects in such a way that they are better tailored to the needs of their participants.

The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete.

Projects that involve volunteers in scientific research go by many different names. In this survey, the term ‘citizen science’ is used.

This is the link to the survey:
http://www.umfragen.uni-kiel.de/index.php/712751?lang=en

Enjoy completing the questionnaire!

***You must be 18 years or older to participate in this survey.***

Hylaeus bee by Emma Croker
Picture: Emma Croker

Last chance to count

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Autumn Wild Pollinator Count ends this weekend – Sunday 21 April is the last day you can do a 10 minute count.

Thank you to everyone who contributed! We hope you enjoyed getting outside and looking for insect pollinators in your backyard or local park.

Don’t forget, the only way to make sure your count is included in our dataset is to submit your observations via our submission form. The form will remain open until April 29 to give you time to get your observations in. We will post a results summary in May.

If you missed out this time, our next count will be in spring: 10-17 November 2019.

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