June 5, 2012

By David Nguyen

The results of Portland Parks & Recreation’s first-ever BioBlitz event at Forest Park are here! Wildlife experts compiled the data that was collected by over 140 volunteers during a 24-hour period in the park.

BioBlitz participants searched for and documented birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, snails, slugs, insects, spiders, and millipedes.

Here are some of the highlights:

• More than 90 vertebrate species and 130 invertebrate species have been documented, including 66 species of birds. The most often detected songbirds were American Robin, Wilson’s Warbler, and Pacific Wren. Cassin’s Vireo, Hutton’s Vireo, Bullock’s Oriole, Olive-sided Flycatcher, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Yellow Warbler were also found.

• Ten species of bats are now known to use Forest Park.

• The BioBlitz yielded five species of amphibians, all of them salamanders.

• BioBlitz teams found more than 120 different species of arthropods, which include insects, arachnids (spiders), crustaceans, and more.

• Eight species of true bugs were evident, including the Red-Cross Shield Bug, plus three different bumblebee and nine ant species.

Click here for a complete summary of this one-of-a-kind wildlife study!