Washington DC area iNaturalists are chomping at the bit as the first day of the City Nature Challenge 2018 opens to a steady rain. Anticipating the bad weather conditions, @carrieseltzer was first out of the gate at the stroke of midnight with a flashlight-illuminated ichneumonid. Not to be outdone, @krosenthal scored the second observation with a shot of raccoon footprints on a trash can (which have surely washed off by now), reminding us that observations can also include tracks, nests, scat, shells, bones, etc., not just living organisms. A fine shield lichen represented Family Parmeliaceae in @ana_kaahanui’s stunning shot submitted at 00:06, representing the best in midnight botanizing. @dbarber got mileage out of some nocturnal nuisance species with observations of an Indian meal moth, a garden-munching Eastern cottontail, and audio evidence of a very loud mockingbird before retiring for the evening.
Meanwhile, in arch-rival city Baltimore, National Aquarium staff member @mduffy submitted a stunning triple photo of a celery leaftier moth, demonstrating that an overturned jar is a great way to photograph the underside of any tiny animal that would prefer escaping to becoming an iNaturalist observation. Early the next morning, Mduffy’s Aquarium colleague @laurabankey captured observations of a sleepy earthworm, soon to be followed by many plant observations in the weak morning light. Clearly the Baltimore team will be a force to be reckoned with and will keep the DC team on their toes as they try to keep up!
Back in the DC area, @jacobogre has pulled into the lead as of this writing with multiple observations from Charles County MD. @jmgconsult is not far behind with native and exotic plant observations from the Hyattsville area, and @arbiess has Front Royal, VA covered with bird feeder observations representing both mammals and birds. @jyeingst and @christopherhugh have also submitted multiple valuable observations.
As weather conditions remain bleak through the morning, anticipate a string of DC-area sightings heavy with rain-soaked outdoors organisms liberally sprinkled with cellar and garage creepy crawlies (ahem, invertebrates).
Great job iNaturalists, keep those observations coming!
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