q3b - Backyard Bio

I realized a while ago that Josh had several observations at his home property. Until he was added to the umbrella, I had NO idea that 381 of the 522 species (almost 73%) were insects! Obviously some of this is selection bias… he’s taking more time than others to find and photograph insects. The sheer number also suggests that his stewardship of the property is attracting them. At the very least, he’s doing a terrible job chasing them away! I’m guessing some of the insect loving bird species he’s documented are happy with his work.

If we get more members, maybe I can persuade him to do a journal post about his insect observations, the birds he's observed that may be eating them, and the plants he’s established that support the insects.

I don’t mind if he keeps going exactly in the way he has been, journal post or not. He’s gonna make it interesting to compare this project’s insect species count over time to the total count for Hamilton County. 401 insect species on the umbrella’s two acres vs. 2983 insect species documented on Hamilton County’s 259,840 acres. 13.4% of Hamilton County’s documented insect species on just .0008% of Hamilton County land.

If all of these insects are merely the result of Josh looking more carefully for them, what explains some of the birds he sees on his micro-preserve that I don’t see on mine? I’ve looked pretty carefully for birds on my lot and I’ve never seen a Chestnut Sided Warbler, American Redstart, Red Headed Woodpecker or a Red Breasted Nuthatch. It’s possible that these same bird species would have sat for a picture if he had cleared his land and planted only grass. But I doubt it.

Posted on December 12, 2022 10:35 AM by stockslager