Co-hosted by The Clifton Institute and Virginia Working Landscapes, this bioblitz will take place on Oxbow Farm in Warren County near Front Royal. This beautiful property, which is located along the Shenandoah River, boasts a fantastic variety of habitats such as bottomland riparian forest, higher elevation forest, native grassland, and cool-season grass fields. The farm is well known for its thriving population of Bobolinks and its diverse meadows, but we still have a lot to learn about the species found on the property. Given the differences in habitats, we will surely turn up a lot of species that we didn’t find on the Clifton Institute or Bull Run Mountains bioblitzes. Mid-July will be a great time of year for some of the groups that were not well represented in April (e.g. fungi and insects). This event is for people of all skill levels—we encourage beginners and families to attend.

We will again use iNaturalist to catalogue and identify the species we find. The draft schedule is below, but this could change depending on participants’ interests. Once you are registered we will contact you with details, so please make sure your email address is entered correctly. If you have questions, please email Alison Zak at azak@cliftoninstitute.org. Thank you!

Draft schedule

6:30-9:30 AM: Bird walk

10:00 AM-12:00 PM: Reptile and amphibian walk

3:00-4:00 PM: Flying insects walk

4:00-5:00 PM: Terrestrial arthropod walk (turning over logs and rocks)

3:00-5:00 PM: Fungi walk

3:00-6:00 PM: Plants & wildflower walk

8:30-10:00 PM: Night creatures (insects at black lights, reptiles and amphibians)

In collaboration with: