The "Species Count" event held Saturday in Kocaeli's popular tourist spot, Ormanya, attracted nature enthusiasts keen on exploring the area's diverse flora and fauna.

Organized by the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, this citizen science event gathered participants to document various living organisms in the region using the "inaturalist" mobile phone application.

Accompanied by experienced guides and instructors, the participants had the opportunity to observe and photograph plants, birds, insects, mammals and other creatures populating the local ecosystem.

Equipped with binoculars, magnifying glasses, and the mobile app, nearly 100 nature enthusiasts made 494 observations, recording a total of 113 different species during the event.

Among the notable sightings were several bird species including the gray swift, garden warbler, mountain nightingale, black-headed siskin, and mountain wagtail. Additionally, various arthropods like ladybugs, flat-backed centipedes, woodlice, fireflies, and Atalanta butterflies were also documented in the forest.

Accompanied by experts like Arif Cemal Özsemir, an insect specialist from Istanbul Technical University, wildlife photographer Fatih Dikmen, birdwatcher Ümit Malkoçoğlu and others, participants had the chance to observe diverse flora and fauna.

Under the guidance of Hüseyin Cahit Doğan, the team recorded plant species such as sultan grass, elderwort, dollyapple, candy cane, and coyote.

Furthermore, during fauna observation led by Tarkan Yorulmaz, the evening bat species was recorded in Ormanya for the first time. Additionally, birdwatcher Ümit Malkoçoğlu guided the team to document the sociable wren, another first-time sighting in Ormanya.

This event not only engaged nature enthusiasts but also contributed valuable observations to the understanding of the local ecosystem.