On another thread someone asked about wildlife challenges, and I mentioned a 'find 100 species in a day' challenge. There appeared to be some interest, so i thought I would post up a set of rules for those who wanted to trry it.
Basic rules
1. You must see the plant, animal or fungus for it to count.
2. You must be sure of your identification (best guesses and probablys don't count). If you don't know what it is, it doesn't count.
3. Only species count. Varieties and sub-species just count as one, regardless of how many you see. Therefore, domesticated animals like cat, dog, sheep, cow can only be counted once.
Options rules
Adopt any or all of these as you see fit.
Options to make it easier:
4. Dead animals count (a dead badger is still a badger)
5. Include calls and sounds (very useful for birds, but only if you are sure of your identification from the sound)
6. Include tracks and signs (molehills, prints, etc, but again, you have to be sure of your identification)
7. Include vague identifications (A good rule for beginners at identifying stuff. Essentially, you can say grass, moss, deer, etc even if you don't know what species it was. So long as you can tell them apart you can count eg red beetle, green beetle. The drawback to this rule is the risk of double counting)
8. Allow the use of identification aids like books
Options to make it harder:
Impose a time limit or do it against the clock or competively with a friend (especially if you can't count something your opponent saw first)
Limit your area e.g. just your garden
Do from inside a car (My brother and I used to play this on long car journeys)
Restrict to particular sorts of things (plants, birds, fungi)
Only count plants that are in flower
Only count native and/or naturalised species
Personally I tend to use rules 1-6, although I only use rule 6 for molehills. A lot of birds are heard but rarely seen (such as cuckoo). I don't use rule 7 because I have good identification skills, but it works well with children. I tend only to count native or naturalised species, mainly because the plethora of garden plants is beyond my knowledge.
The exercise is an enjoyable way to pass the time, and will improve your observation skills and natural history knowledge.
Basic rules
1. You must see the plant, animal or fungus for it to count.
2. You must be sure of your identification (best guesses and probablys don't count). If you don't know what it is, it doesn't count.
3. Only species count. Varieties and sub-species just count as one, regardless of how many you see. Therefore, domesticated animals like cat, dog, sheep, cow can only be counted once.
Options rules
Adopt any or all of these as you see fit.
Options to make it easier:
4. Dead animals count (a dead badger is still a badger)
5. Include calls and sounds (very useful for birds, but only if you are sure of your identification from the sound)
6. Include tracks and signs (molehills, prints, etc, but again, you have to be sure of your identification)
7. Include vague identifications (A good rule for beginners at identifying stuff. Essentially, you can say grass, moss, deer, etc even if you don't know what species it was. So long as you can tell them apart you can count eg red beetle, green beetle. The drawback to this rule is the risk of double counting)
8. Allow the use of identification aids like books
Options to make it harder:
Impose a time limit or do it against the clock or competively with a friend (especially if you can't count something your opponent saw first)
Limit your area e.g. just your garden
Do from inside a car (My brother and I used to play this on long car journeys)
Restrict to particular sorts of things (plants, birds, fungi)
Only count plants that are in flower
Only count native and/or naturalised species
Personally I tend to use rules 1-6, although I only use rule 6 for molehills. A lot of birds are heard but rarely seen (such as cuckoo). I don't use rule 7 because I have good identification skills, but it works well with children. I tend only to count native or naturalised species, mainly because the plethora of garden plants is beyond my knowledge.
The exercise is an enjoyable way to pass the time, and will improve your observation skills and natural history knowledge.
