inkadillo's Journal

June 27th marked my second anniversary on iNaturalist, a journey that began with a poll on Redpolling’s Facebook page. “eBird, but for more than just birds? Count me in!” I thought. I’d taken up birding “officially” in late 2021, and the thrill of identifying old photos and chasing new lifers hadn’t worn thin by any means, but I was more than a little saddened by all the bug and plant photos in my library that (I thought at the time) were destined to remain unidentified, but which I also couldn't bring myself to delete. I thought I had exhausted the internet’s identification resources (at least the ones accessible to an amateur like myself). A whole new world of guides and expert advice opened up when I joined iNat, and as a bonus, I felt like my photos could serve some purpose beyond languishing on my hard drive for the rest of eternity.

Including that large backlog of older photos, I uploaded 10,619 observations in my first two years on the platform, about 99.39% of which are Research Grade or RG-eligible (can’t help but show off my chickens and dogs every so often lol). At this time, iNat reports that those observations encompass 1,427 distinct taxa, though that number is the most subject to change as some things become more precisely identified. My top ten most-observed species are, unsurprisingly for someone who came to the platform as a birder, 80% birds:

1. Mallard (266) (includes feral domestic-type individuals)
2. Golden-crowned Sparrow (229)
3. Dark-eyed Junco (199)
4. Song Sparrow (181)
5. American Robin (181)
6. Spotted Towhee (175)
7. California Ground Squirrel (171) (once the taxon split goes through, this will be 170 observations of Douglas’ Ground Squirrel)
8. Nutria (156)
9. Steller’s Jay (151)
10. Great Blue Heron (124)

The two rodents represented in this list make me chuckle a little, because the bulk of each species is encountered at one or the other of the two locations where I do most of my “iNat-ing”: the relatively arid, borderline-subalpine property where I live; and Fernhill Wetlands, 10 miles away (as the car drives), on the floor of the Willamette Valley.

Although This may not be apparent from my most observed species, one of the things I have loved the most about joining iNaturalist is the rekindling of my childhood passion for bugs! I am, by no extension of the imagination, an expert on any of our invertebrate friends, but I do not hesitate to call myself an enthusiastic appreciator. The area in which I live is flush with iNaturalist users, but even so, I have found that my county has some significant data gaps where the “less-charismatic” creepy crawlies are concerned. Because of this, I began a project last year to document arthropods and mollusks at my aforementioned favorite haunt, Fernhill Wetlands. So far 97 observers have recorded at least 197 species at this location! My long-term goal is to organize some bio-blitzes and other events that will get people out there and focused on some of these too often overlooked organisms.

Not only has my time on this site bolstered my appreciation of the living things I encounter so close to home and the familiar ecosystems of my beloved PNW, but it has also brought a new excitement to traveling farther afield. I have not traveled as much lately as I did in the years before the pandemic (partly because I now live closer to some family members than I did in 2019), but on the somewhat rare occasion I find myself visiting friends or family in other parts of the country, there is now a whole new level of things to look forward to: new (to me) flora and fauna! At this very moment I am planning my outings for a St. Louis trip next month with the hopes of seeing some new faces (and a few familiar ones that I don’t encounter in Oregon). In future, I hope to get back down to Georgia and Florida for some intensive iNat-ing; my biggest regret is that I was not already on the site when I lived in Savannah –all the cool things I saw and never photographed!

And of course, iNaturalist has provided me with a community of passionate, like-minded nature lovers whose enthusiasm for the living world around us is equal to (and even surpasses) my own. I adore the friends I have made through this platform, the events I have attended, and the vast wealth of knowledge we all have to offer each other (and any passersby who have the patience to listen to an impromptu lecture about our local squirrel species). These have been two amazing years, and I look forward to enjoying many more with you all. Cheers!

2023 was my first full year on iNaturalist (I joined in summer of '22), and what a year it has been! One of my original goals was to maintain an observation streak for the entire year (160 ended up being the longest-- broken by a day of air travel). This is a goal I want to carry on into 2024, hopefully with more success. Specifically, I've challenged myself to make at least one "bug" (arthropod, slug, snail, or worm) and one plant observation every day. My observations skewed heavily vertebrate this last year, which isn't very surprising, but I'd like to do better moving forward. Another 2023 goal was to be more proactive about looking for arthropods, but unfortunately I started out the year with some health issues that made it difficult to do more physical things like bend down and lift up anything heavier than a twig. Thanks to a concussion, there were a number of days (a few weeks, really) when I wasn't even able to look at things too intensely. If watching birds at the feeder was too much, you'd better believe I wasn't going to be squinting after beetles and flies. I tried making up for it later in the year, and even started a project for one of my favorite wildlife hotspots: Bugs and Slugs of Fernhill Wetlands.

On the identification side of things, I aimed to give 5,000 IDs in 2023. I stopped keeping track early on and just trusted that if I used the site whenever and however fit with my schedule, the numbers would all work out. Sure enough it came out to 7,931 identifications! Mostly birds, which, I know, isn't the taxon most in need of identifiers. In my defense, a large number of those bird IDs are to label domestic-variety animals as such, rather than their wild counterparts (i.e. "Rock Pigeon"-->"Feral Pigeon, "Red Jungle Fowl"-->"Domestic Chicken", etc). I would like to become more familiar with other organisms however, inside and outside of my little geographic bubble. In particular, I find the flora and fauna of Australia to be fascinating, and sometimes there is enough overlap in introduced species that I can confidently identify something to family. Worldwide, I would like to continue identifying domestic animals (with a focus on poultry; eventually I would love to become an expert on domestic mallard and chicken breeds). I know wild organisms are the primary focus of iNaturalist as a whole, and they are almost exclusively what I post for my own observations; but for many people, especially new users, their first notable encounters with non-human organisms are going to be the animals they see on a class trip to the zoo, or a pretty flower in a neighbor's garden. Of course I'll still be identifying wild/non-domesticated organisms as well (especially all those pesky "unknowns" out there), but there aren't any specific taxa I've chosen to focus on for 2024. I treated myself to a bevy of field guides for my birthday, ranging in topic from birds nests to beetles to fungi to mammal signs.

iNaturalist's personal Year in Review feature highlights a user's observations with the most comments and faves. While I think that my "top" observation (with a whopping TWO WHOLE FAVES lol) is just fine and dandy, here are some of my favorites from 2023:

Invertebrates

This Calligrapher Beetle, the first (and only) observation for this species in the county
A Hollyhock Weevil, another county first
A Golden Dung Fly on the hunt
This striking Bristle Fly
March Flies in the mood
A distinctive, yet puzzling Mayfly
Another county first with this charming Planthopper
Baby Wheel Bug
Yet another puzzler, this time a…Wasp…?
A delightful little Sun Moth
This very cooperative Pacific Forktail
A gorgeous Snakefly

Vertebrates

A covert Duck
This album cover image
A Rufous Hummingbird sizing up his metallic rival
Virginia Rail infant
This Summer Tanager dining on wasps
My best flight shot of a Swallow
A Warbler in the andromeda
This Junco bathed with such vigor, he almost capsized
A crisp, spring Towhee
Audio of a European Starling imitating at least 5 other species
An unexpected lifer in the heart of St. Louis
Tender moments between a young Nutria and its parent
The thicc-est Ground Squirrel
This Lizard, surveying his kingdom
A Flat-shell Turtle

Plants, Fungi, and ???

Lichen under the microscope
The biggest Amanitas I’ve ever seen!
A surprise Orchid in a clearcut
This funky, round Microbe