CNC 2020 During CV19
I’m charging ahead with an enthusiastic City Nature Challenge, but of course, this year is very different. While I could probably safely meander around our 6-county “Greater Austin Area”, I have chosen this year to honor the stay-at-home order still in place and focus all my efforts on Salton Drive. More specifically, I’m confining my CNC efforts to my own 0.4-acre urban lot and the adjacent segment of Laurel Oak Creek, about 100 yards up- and downstream. My wife and I are blessed to have a real suburban nature enclave here on Salton Drive:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/salton-drive-biodiversity
Our lot backs up to a beautiful small Hill Country creek (Laurel Oak Branch of Bull Creek) and, although somewhat urbanized, it still constitutes a tremendous urban wildlife amenity. It is perennial, partially naturally spring-fed, and runs clear all year except after heavy rainstorms. See the banner image for the Salton Drive Biodiversity project, linked above. I have spent much of the past 17 years here eliminating invasive species such as Elephant Ears, Ligustrums, Hedge Parsley, and Chinese Tallow, and replanting with a high diversity of native species. Similar efforts have been focused in the front and back yards; we maintain only a minimal San Augustine grass front yard patch for our dog and devote all the rest to native plants and butterfly gardening.
The results of my iNat efforts on Salton Drive thus far are very gratifying, yet we are still finding new biota all the time. This CNC will probably push the cumulative effort to over 7000 observations which have documented upwards of 1300 species of plants and animals. (I know, I know! Nearly half of that total are moths, but, hey, it's all "biodiversity"!) The next four days will be an effort to create a snapshot in time (late April in a fairly wet year so far) of this Salton Drive Biodiversity. My uploads will include everything native and naturalized that I can encounter, uncover, capture, or otherwise document with my little point-and-hope camera, along with some sound recordings with the Voice Memo app on my phone, and perhaps a few trail camera pics as well. This will include, among other efforts, some time spent wading in the creek to document aquatic species, and at least a few moments in my dusty garage to chase down at least one of the silverfish that continue to eat my old papers and books stored therein.
We are all happy and healthy here on Salton Drive. Enjoy all of the CNC efforts and be safe!
Chuck Sexton