After experiencing this past week’s decline into autumn weather, I’m glad to say I signed up for BioBlitz on the last summer day of the season. Having never previously visited the New York Botanical Gardens before, this was a great first.

Once we got off the bus, we were separated into groups; I had Herps/Reptiles. We went into the building where three of us got boots and off we went to catch some lizards, salamanders, and turtles. We walked through the park until we got to the Rock Gardens, where we spotted Italian Wall Lizards of assorted sizes. They were so much smaller than I expected – thinking back on it now, I don’t know why I thought we would be catching something bigger. While we were searching for these brown and green splotched critters, our herpetologist guide had no remorse as he stepped all over the shrubs and succulents planted along the path to catch a lizard, much to the horror of our Botanical Garden representative.

Next, we walked by the stream – completely disregarding the signs saying to keep on the path. It was a very steep and slippery descent and those wearing the boots were thankful for them now. The rocks along the small stream had to be flipped to find the salamanders hiding beneath them. We didn’t find much, but someone who went further down managed to bring back a crayfish and a baby snapping turtle. We passed the little turtle around and its shell was still soft and it hadn’t learned to bite yet.

For the rest of the day, we went around looking for the turtle traps the BioBlitz group set up yesterday. Most of them had turtles in them, one of them was estimated to be around thirty pounds.

BioBlitz was a good time, to say the least. It provided a hands on experience in a place I wouldn’t have otherwise gone and information about things I wouldn’t have otherwise known. Looking back, I’m very thankful for the sunny yet breezy weather because I know I would have hated the day and experience if it was any hotter.