On the 29th of September 2023 we took part in EuroBioBlitz, which is a Europe wide event aiming to record as many sightings as possible on iNaturalist. We had 3 walks across the day, each lasting for one hour. One was focussing on birds, one on grassland species and one where we recorded all the species we could see. In total, we recorded 66 species through 99 observations throughout the day!

In our first walk we went bird watching. For this we headed behind the Sports and Wellness Hub, to explore the green wooded areas. Due to the recent rain, it was very muddy, and despite this leading to some very muddy trainers it also meant we were able to spot some interesting footprints, which we believed to be a roe deer! There is a high level of serenity involved in wondering quietly through the trees listening out for bird calls and scanning the trees for different birds. You can find a variety of campus walking routes here which are a brilliant way to explore the local surroundings – great if you want to go for a walk on your lunch break.

Next, we headed to Scarman and walked around the green areas to the rear of the building. Here we recorded all the different plants and animals that we could spot. There were a lot of mushrooms in various shapes and sizes and some beautiful red admiral butterflies (Vanessa atalanta). If you are interested in mushrooms, our next biodiversity walk will be led by Elspeth from Coventry City Council on 11th October between 1-2pm and will focus on fungi. You can sign up to this here.

Finally, we headed along the path by the allotment, which follows Canley Brook, looking at grassland species. We saw a grey heron (Ardea cinerea) in the water, and a lot of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) along the water’s edge. It is amazing to see the abundance of different species in such a small area. We walked by the Allotment, which is managed by the student led Allotment Society. You can find out more about the society and join it here.

We encourage everyone to use the iNaturalist app when on campus, to record any plant and animal species that you can see. We have a University of Warwick project that you can join which can be found here and this allows you to see the total species and observations done on campus. Using this app helps us gain a broader understanding of what species we have on campus. If you see an animal which you can’t record on the app (e.g. a bird which flies away), you can email us at sustainability@warwick.ac.uk with the what.3.words location and the species, and then we can record it.

We hope to take part in this event again in 2024, so keep your eyes peeled for the dates. In the meantime, you can come along to our litter picks, repair cafe and other events on campus, which you can find here. We hope to see you soon!