Bioblitz 2026
As part of the Great Big Green Week 2026, we hosted our annual Bioblitz, between the 12th and 13th of June, – 24hrs of counting every species we could in St Annes Wood.
The event kicked off with an evening Bat Walk on Friday, we were very pleased to have had Miguel from the Avon Bat Group take us to the Woodland at night and introduce us to their world.
Armed with Bat detectors, we were able to listen into their chatter and identify some of the species resident in Brislington, who often use the two woodlands as a highway to commute to their River Avon hunting grounds. We were able to spot three species, Common and Soprano pipistrelles and Serotine Bat.
On Saturday we set up Camp near the Holy well and invited the public to get stuck in with identifying different species found in the Woodland that day and try out using iNaturalist to record. We also ran a few guided walks throughout the day.
The highlight for many was the tree walk, run but the very knowledgeable Gundula, who familiarised us with any of the different species of tree present in the valley, their defining traits, which ones were native and the history of those that are newer arrivals. If you asked some of the kids who took part they might of said that their favourite activity was the River dipping, armed with nets they got stuck in helped identify many of the smaller critters that call our Brook home, from Great Pond Snail to tiny Mayfly.
In total we ID’s 171 species, of which 84 Plants, 43 Insects, 19 birds, 8 arachnids, 5 mollusks, 5 mammals (if you count the goats), two fish, and a few other groups. This is less than what we spotted last year, however in fairness we did not have our moth trapping session this year which would have probably bumped up our insect count.
Some of our highlights included the Tawny Owl, Green Woodpecker, Demoiselle nymphs, and the White Letter Hairstreak (not seen in the woodland before).
It was a lovely day out in nature that was made possible by all of our great volunteers, and we hope everyone enjoyed it.
