#nature identification

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Okay, so The Everyday Naturalist is up on the Ten Speed Press and Penguin/Random House's websites (and various other public places), so I can FINALLY show you the cover!!! I have been saying for months that this book is going to be absolutely beautiful (in addition to informative!), and now you get a good taste of that. Ricardo Macia Lalinde is an incredibly skilled artist whose natural history studies will grace not only the cover but the interior of the book; I feel incredibly fortunate to have his work included in this project.

Here's a bit more about the book itself: "If you’ve ever consulted a field guide to identify a new bird at your feeder, you know the process isn’t as easy as it sounds. In fact, it seems like you have to know a lot about that mystery bird to even figure out where to start.

"The Everyday Naturalist fills in the gaps by explaining what traits to pay attention to when encountering a new species; how and when to use field guides, apps, and other resources; what to do if you get stuck; and more. Rather than focusing on one region or continent, these skills and tools are designed to help you classify nature anywhere you are—whether on familiar territory, traveling, or in a new home."

The book has officially gone to press with a release date of June 17, 2025. Which means in half a year we can all have physical copies in hand! I haven't yet been able to talk to the marketing folks at the publisher to find out whether I can personally take preorders for signed copies, but I'll keep you posted--in the meantime you can preorder at the bookstore of your choice, online or brick and mortar.

[deeisace]

Elanor @becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys Help please? Do you know what type of tree this is? Idk what's going on with it, but it has no leaves and just these big red idk what things at the end of each branch

[meltknuckles]

🐛🔍 hi there!! i'm looking for folks who would be interested in some v low stakes beta testing for a website/tool focused on nature identification i've been working on (especially folks who use iNaturalist).

i'm mostly looking for some more external feedback before i fully put it out into the world! feel free to contact me at meltknuckles@gmail.com or message me @meltknuckles on discord if you're interested in helping me out 💚

[niksstuff-foryou]

read.

hi so i got this nice book from my schools library its about plants yes I know astonishing and it has information my brain cant possibly hold so yea bye 😱

[rebeccathenaturalist]

An entire genus, Larus, is known as the "large, white-headed gulls". There are twenty-five species, and all except three of them as adults during breeding season can be described as a "medium to large white gull with a proportionately large plain white head and gray wings". And all but a couple of those have bright yellow beaks, several of which have red spots for the young to peck at.

And then you have the juveniles, which are all sorts of variations on the theme of "dirty gray". Even experienced birders can be moved to tears by gull identification--not because they are so beautiful, but because they are so frustrating.

gulls are proof that a) there is a god and b) that god enjoys the pain and suffering of birders

[hikercarl]

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[gracieellenhazel]

The biggest caterpillar I've ever seen. He crossed the whole road with my supervision. Look at that color!!

Polyphemus moth caterpillar.

Found in NY:)

[lucy-the-pirate]

@onenicebugperday found this cool lookin' bug at my local library the other day. I have no clue what it is, looks kinda like a bee or a wasp but a bit lankier, it looked like it was a bit less than 2 inches long, pretty big for bug standards. I love the white fluff around its neck!

[memoriesofthepark]

Pink cup lichen 》 Cladonia peziziformis

My first cladonia lichen! So gorgeous!!

Found growing on the stones of a fire pit.

Caddo Lake State Park, Texas, 3 Aug. 2024

[koenji]

alien-looking bugs (png).

[ostdrossel]

White-breasted Nuthatches are around year-round in my area, but they have not visited feeders in a bit. Yesterday, there were many, and they again competed with the Juncos (pic 1). You can tell males and females apart by looking at their heads. In my little chart, the males are on the left. Their head cap is jet black. The females on the left have a lighter grey color there.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

This FB post (which was public at the time I grabbed this screenshot) is Reason #90510 I teach nature identification classes and am SO adamant that my students look at ALL the details of a given animal/plant/fungus. Also, I ran the photo through iNaturalist just for the heck of it. Its first suggestion was timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), but its second was western rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus). This is why you never, ever, ever use an app as our only tool for identification, because you need to also have the critical thinking and observation skills to be able to differentiate between species, to include when the app offers up two similar species where the difference can be a serious matter.

I hope the OP makes a quick and full recovery, because I can't imagine getting tagged by a venomous snake is much fun. Please skip any judgemental comments about Darwin Awards, etc.--I have seen plenty of intelligent people make bad mistakes, and have even made a few myself, though none with quite this level of consequence. It can happen to anyone; thankfully OP realized their error in time to get medical help.

[orion-starbelt]

Toads I think? I found them while doing lawn work. Anyone able to ID them?

Area is Southern Michigan

Enjoy the little amphibians though

[markscherz]

Found these in my garden and was curious what they are?

I'd say they're "gardenious frogos"

The first is a Pseudacris chorus frog, and the second is an Acris cricket frog. I cannot get any further with an identification without a locality, and even with a locality, some species co-occur, so it can be difficult without having the frogs in my own hands.

[milkboxgalore]

Every outtake of these mushrooms.

They are not AI.

Seen on a hike in Hawaii.

[atomicpirateperson]

having trouble finding the difference between the larry and rob species?

if it has a good posture and straight legs, it's a larry!

if it looks like a bunch of snakes pretending to be a larry, it's a rob!

hope this helped!