Hobson’s Brook Bioblitz took place on the 8th and 9th June 2018. The Bioblitz was held at Hobson’s Park, Trumpington. Hobson’s Park was created from former agricultural land, and borders a significant development of new-build housing. A dozen experts and volunteers ran hour-long identification sessions and guided walks at the site. More than a hundred people participated in the event. The Bioblitz sessions covered plants, small mammals, birds, bats, moths, and other insects, fish, amphibians and freshwater invertebrates.
Hobson’s Park produced 203 different taxa (mostly identified to species level). These included 34 species of birds, 5 mammals, 2 fish, 2 amphibians, 75 invertebrates (including 42 different moths) and 85 different plant species.
These results, together with those from the 2017 Hobson’s Brook Bioblitz at Nine Wells and Empty Common, emphasise the diversity of habitat present along the Hobson’s Brook corridor.
Bioblitz highlights were the Buzzard, the Great Crested and Little Grebes, the Privet Hawk-Moth, the Noctule and Soprano Pipistrelle Bats, the Wood Mouse and Water Vole, the Frogs and Toads, and the Cottongrass, Cyperus Sedge and Lesser Bulrush growing in wetland habitats.
These Bioblitz events have emphasised the biodiversity of green spaces close to the built environment, and show the importance of the Hobson’s Brook ‘green corridor’ in preserving wildlife in the City of Cambridge. Maintaining a strong flow of high quality water in Hobson’s Brook is clearly essential for the continued success of these ecosystems, which offer considerable benefits to the people that live close by.
Dr Steve Boreham – Bioblitz Science Co-ordinator 21st June 2018