The Rules
No challenge is complete without a set of rules, and this will be no exception. This isn't just a test to see how many species can be found in this area, or to prove how much diversity abounds. This is a test of observational skills as well.
Rule #1: Only animals, plants, and fungi (read: macroscopic life) which can be identified with certainty may be counted. None of this "well, that looked like a ________" business. For example: I have passed several sumacs - and known that they were sumacs - but since several sumac species occur in this region and I can't tell with my naked eye while passing at 15-20 mph which is which, I have omitted them from my list. That said, if only the merest shred of doubt as to a specimen's identity can be raised, I will count it.
Rule #2: Species are eligible for this list only if they can be identified without making any "unnatural" stops. A "natural" stop is one which must be made for the purposes of the ride only. Reasons for such a stop include but are not limited to: traffic signals, bicycle maintenance, checking directions, nutritional intake, and waste evacuation. Since the spirit of this exercise is rapid identification, stopping to literally smell the roses is not allowed. Nor is stopping to fondle the trees, collect the mushrooms, gawk at the squirrel, etc.
Rule #3: Retroactive identification is not allowed, except for refining information I already possess. In other words, I have to know what I'm seeing when I see it (at least a common name, and vague things like "maple" or "frog" don't count). This doesn't mean that I can't research and build my knowledge base between rides, but if I find something in a guide and think "oh, so that's what that was!" I cannot count it unless I see another specimen on a later ride. Here's an example in practice of one I did count: I knew that a flower I was seeing was called fleabane, and I noticed that some patches were very pink and others almost pure white. When I got home, I discovered that "common fleabane" and "daisy fleabane" are separate but related species. This I consider refining. If, however, I thought "oh, that thing looks like daisies but isn't...I wonder what it is," and then looked it up, that would be right out.
Rule #4: Humans, dogs, cats, horses, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and any other domesticated animals do not count. I specify those eight because I have seen all of these on one ride or another...but this rule extends to iguanas, ferrets, spider monkeys (you get the idea). Plants in planters or obviously landscaped (private) gardens do not count; however, plants in a park or other public space which were obviously planted by humans do count. I may regret this rule if I come up eight or fewer species short of either goal, but identifying pets and livestock isn't really in the spirit of what I'm trying to do.
Rule #5: No, there will be no draft. This rule simply states that any specimen that can be seen from my apartment, place of employment, or other frequented locale are not fair game. This is to prevent pseudo-accidental cheating, in which I ride past the white ash trees in my apartment complex and pretend I really could tell in passing that that's what they are. The species as a whole are not excluded from the game, but I must find a specimen elsewhere, and ID it from the bicycle, in order for it to make the list.
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| I didn't cheat and count this deer - believe me, I've seen plenty. |
The List
I will copy the list so far here. Before this morning's epiphany and formal self-challenge, it stood at twenty species.
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| This was not taken while biking, but does feature a couple of species listed below. |
- Vulpes vulpes (red fox)
- Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer)
- Ardea herodia (great blue heron)
- Sciurus carolinensis (eastern gray squirrel)
- Sylvilagus floridanus (eastern cottontail)
- Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagle)
- Turdus migratorius (American robin)
- Castor canadensis (North American beaver)
- Cardinalis cardinalis (northern cardinal)
- Mimus polyglottos (northern mockingbird)
- Phalacrocorax auritus (double-crested cormorant)
- Anas platyrhynchos (mallard)
- Procyon lotor (raccoon)
- Branta canadensis (Canada goose)
- Marmota monax (groundhog, woodchuck) added 4/30/11
- Spinus tristis (American goldfinch, eastern goldfinch) added 4/30/11
- Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) added 4/30/11
- Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum) was deceased, so maybe it shouldn't count. added 4/30/11
- Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple) added 4/30/11
- Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy) added 4/30/11
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| Lamb's ear |
- Zenaida macroura (mourning dove, rain dove, western turtle dove) added 5/3/11
- Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) added 5/3/11
- Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust, false acacia) added 5/3/11
- Pinus strobus (eastern white pine) added 5/3/11
- Cornus florida (flowering dogwood) added 5/3/11
- Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper) added 5/3/11
- Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore) added 5/3/11
- Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip poplar, yellow poplar, tuliptree) added 5/3/11
- Conopholis americana (bear corn, American cancer-root, squawroot) added 5/3/11
- Trifolium repens (white clover) added 5/3/11
- Typha latifolia (common cattail) added 5/3/11
- Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) added 5/3/11
- Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) added 5/3/11
- Erigeron philadelphicus (common fleabane) added 5/3/11
- Liquidambar styraciflua (American sweetgum, redgum) added 5/5/11
- Picoides pubescens (downy woodpecker) added 5/5/11
- Juglans nigra (eastern black walnut) aded 5/5/11
- Sturnus vulgaris (European starling, common starling) added 5/5/11
- Quiscalus quiscula (common grackle) added 5/7/11
- Papilio glaucus (eastern tiger swallowtail) added 5/7/11
- Stachys byzantina (lamb's ear) added 5/7/11
- Chrysemis picta picta (eastern painted turtle) added 5/7/11
- Ulmus rubra (slippery elm) added 5/7/11
- Acer saccharinum (silver maple, white maple, water maple, etc) added 5/7/11
- Ondatra zibethicus (muskrat) added 5/7/11
- Ardea alba (great egret) added 5/7/11
- Cercis canadensis (eastern redbud) added 5/7/11
- Pieris rapae (cabbage white, small white [butterfly]) added 5/7/11
- Corvus brachyrhyncos (American crow) added 5/7/11
- Polyporus squamosus (dryad's saddle) added 5/10/11
- Glechoma hederacea (ground ivy) added 5/10/11
- Potentilla indica (mock strawberry, Indian strawbeery) added 5/12/11
- Ilex opaca (American holly) added 5/14/11
- Acer rubrum (red maple) added 5/14/11
- Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) added 5/14/11
- Coragyps atratus (black vulture) added 5/14/11
- Acer platanoides (Norway maple) added 5/14/11
- Trifolium pratense (red clover) added 5/14/11
- Cathartes aura (turkey vulture) added 5/14/11
- Coluber constrictor (black racer) another deceased specimen - but count it! added 5/14/11
- Trifolium dubium (least hops clover, yellow shamrock) added 5/14/11
- Silene latifolia (white campion) added 5/14/11
- Rumex acetosa (commen sorrel, garden sorrel) added 5/21/11
- Tamias striatus (eastern chipmunk) added 5/21/11
- Colias philodice (clouded sulfur, common sulfur) added 5/21/11
- Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk) one more deceased specimen - added 5/21/11
Goal 1 reached; 51 species as of May 10th! This is great news, as it gives me an opportunity to hopefully clear the mark by a wide margin. I'll feel a lot better about, say, 62, than 51. I want that cushion in the event of a mistake or two...I'm trying to be careful but I'm probably not above deceiving myself on one or two species.
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| My training partner, Dustin, and I pause for a photo 55 miles into our century ride. |
With the added entries of 5/21/11, the date of part one of this challenge has come and passed. I have exceeded my goal by sixteen species, coming in at 66, which is a solid two-thirds of the way to my second goal. I will say that this is becoming increasingly difficult, as the number of species easily identified while riding dwindles with each new addition to the list. I will need to continue to brush up on my flowers and trees in the coming months if I am to identify 34 additional species this year.
It's time to break this thing up - that list above is getting to be a bit of an exercise for the scroll-wheel finger. There is not yet a ton to add, but as above it has to start somewhere. I'm starting to get a "bucket list" of species that I just can't believe I haven't picked out yet. Maybe that'll be the next challenge?
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| The train-wrecker mushroom, so named because it is wont to grow on railroad ties and weaken or destroy the wood. |
- Iris pseudacorus (yellow flag) added 5/23/11
- Quercus alba (white oak) added 5/23/11
- Panaeolus foenisecii (mower's mushroom) added 5/23/11
- Coprinus comatus (shaggy mane mushroom) added 5/26/11
- Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) added 5/26/11
- Neolentinus lepideus (train wrecker) added 6/1/11
- Quiscalus major (boat-tailed grackle) added 6/1/11
- Morus alba (white mulberry) added week of 6/13/11
- Morus rubra (red mulberry) added week of 6/13/11
- Fraxinus americana (white ash) added week of 6/13/11
- Persicaria perfoliata (mile-a-minute) added week of 6/13/11
- Carya laciniosa (shellbark hickory) added week of 6/13/11
- Hedera helix (English ivy) added week of 6/13/11
- Alliara petiolata (garlic mustard) added week of 6/13/11
- Cichorium intybus (common chicory) added week of 6/13/11
- Cucumis sativus (cucumber) added 7/5/11
- Dumetella carolinensis (gray catbird) added 7/5/11
- Plantango lanceolata (English plantain) added 7/5/11
- Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) added 7/7/11
- Hybiscus syriacus (rose of Sharon, shrub althea, rose althea) added 7/7/11
- Agelaius phoeniceus (red-winged blackbird) added 7/8/11
- Columba livia (pigeon, rock dove, rock pigeon) added 7/10/11
- Salix babylonica* (weeping willow) added 7/10/11
- Sassafras albidum (sassafras, white sassafras, red sassafras, silky sassafras) added 7/10/11
- Phytolacca americana (American pokeweed) added 7/10/11
- Aesculus flava (yellow buckeye) added 7/10/11
- Persicaria maculosa (lady's thumb) added 7/10/11
- Hemerocallis fulva (daylily, tiger daylily, orange daylily) added 7/10/11
- Campsis radicans (trumpet creeper) added 7/10/11
- Sphecius speciosus (eastern cicada killer) added 7/10/11
- Albizia julibrissin (silktree, bastard tamarind, Lenkoran acacia) added 7/10/11
- Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo) added 7/15/11
- Leucophaeus atricilla (laughing gull) added wk of 7/24/11
- Uniola paniculata (sea oats) added wk of 7/24/11
- Pelecanus occidentalis (brown pelican) added wk of 7/24/11
- Yucca filamentosa (yucca, Adam's needle) added wk of 7/24/11
- Ammophila breviligulata (American beachgrass) added wk of 7/24/11
*"weeping willow" is actually a cultivar of Salix babylonica and one of two other species. I didn't make a rule for handling cultivars, and I know what it is, so I'm counting it.
New species from most recent edit: 5
Running Total: 103
Animals: 40 (11 mammals, 23 birds, 4 insects, 2 reptiles)
Plants: 58
Fungi: 5
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