Not to mention that around 70% of the land area consists of country parks. Victoria peak is one example of many “mountains” scattered around HK. In addition to these forests and peaks you also have mangroves and wetlands due to the many shorelines, as well as freshwater stream environments too.
To put things into perspective, consider that Hong Kong has around 250 recorded butterfly species, while the rest of China has an estimated 1400 species of butterfly recorded. So thats roughly nearly 18% of the recorded species in just 0.03% of the total land area.
I bet towns are far from having the lowest biodiversity in China, in fact having vehicles and people going here and there usually results in many alien species and a city with both arban parts and parks/forests will have higher biodivercity than just a forest, even though it won’t be all native. And a big city with all kinds of habitats can be super interesting.
Speaking for Hong Kong at least, the urban dwellings are dotted around the land and the forests and mountains separate them in a sense. There are also many villages which tend to be nearer to the forests, and I suppose for many species they are perfectly capable of traversing through the urban areas if needed. The lights at public toilets and alleyways are a surprisingly convenient place to photograph moths too.
Manitoulin Island is one of my favorite places in Canada. It’s the world’s largest freshwater island, it’s beautiful (especially in the fall) and it has outstanding examples of rare limestone alvar habitat. The ‘pavement’ beach at Misery Bay is quite something. In 2012, I was in the right place at the right time to see hundreds of Sandhill Cranes pausing near Mindemoya on their migration south.
What nature places are on your bucket list? Here are mine:
*Watching the wildebeest migrate in the Serengeti
*Going on a whale-watching trip
*Visiting an island in the Pacific ocean
*The Great Lakes
*And a lot more…
I can’t wait to hear all your bucket list wishes!
I’m with @nikolas94 in that any place is fine. I would like to see the Cypress Hills in Saskatchewan - the only place in northern North America to not be glaciated. I’d also like to go to the Burgess Shale, but that’s for non-iNat related things!
hmmm I’d really like to describe species and there are plenty of things I’d love to investigate!
I’d love to spend time studying in tropical Africa
going to some of the most remote places in Mexico and the western U.S.
looking for island-endemic Auchenorrhyncha in the U.S. (like the Channel Islands)
go to Vietnam
go to New Zealand
explore different ecoregions of China
find a new species in every state :P
and many more very specific and technical things that relate to what I currently am interested in and might not ever end up studying (but it’s fun to think about!)
Before I left the U. S. east coast to move to the Gulf, my bucket list item was seeing the horseshoe crabs mating in Delaware Bay. We made it, and I was so glad.
In Mississippi, we heard about the “swallow tornado” in winter when millions of Tree Swallows descend into the sugar cane fields along the river in Louisiana to roost. Went over and saw that, too.
Phenomena that only occur periodically and you have to research the timing to see – those are really amazing.
From more realistic ones Egypt - to capture what was seen, but never photograped Namibia - nothing to explain, it’s just amazing from all sides Kyrgyzstan - to watch all the beauty of local birds and nature overall, like plants and ungulates Far East - subtropical forests with mega plants and cool birds
Arctic bird colonies near Taimyr Peninsula
For this year we have to go to Crimea (first time watching Tarkhankut Peninsula in spring), Siberia (exact place not quite decided) and Kandalaksha (for birds, sea invertebrates, seals and plants).
Do herping in the Western Ghats(I have been to many parts of the ghats but that was only for birds) mainly in the high altitude regions because out of the 181 known species of amphibians 159 are endemic and many new species are recorded regularly.
Go to the Himalayas, Northeast India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Thar desert, Kutch, Sundarbans etc.(May go to Himalayas this year)
Go on a pelagic off the coast(I had an opportunity from the birding group at my city but it was cancelled because of bad weather).
This is a fun thread. Good for pandemic-ending dreams too ;)
Backpacking in the Lost Coast (California) - so few people and so much biodiversity!
I’ve always wanted to go to Stephen’s Place in Malaysia, ever since I learned about it looking at moth photos on iNat. https://www.stephens-place.co.uk
the national parks in southern Chile
all the places in my National Geographic magazines
Scottish Highlands
100% agree - just put me outside to look at new things :)
You should also check Bodega Bay for the bobcats - they are not uncommon along the wildlife reserve walk and marshes (and occasionally on the lawn of Bodega Bay Lodge…)
Pt Reyes!!! Yes!! I got to see a Great Horned and a Burrowing Owl on a recent trip.
Have you seen them mating since your move to the Gulf? I’ve never seen the mass mating spectacles, but couples were not uncommon on the sandbars on the Florida Gulf Coast. Though anecdotally the numbers of horseshoe crabs I see decrease every time I get a chance to go back.
everything coming to mind right now is contained within my own state
paynes prairie preserve, ocala national forest, apalachicola national forest for sure
