#seek by inaturalist

[fshoulders]

“I found a cool bird feather with my nibling and want to model respect for the Migratory Bird Act [so not keep it] but the kid can’t stand simply walking away from something beautiful and lucky like this!”

“I want an app that helps me ID animals and plants but isn’t scummy or full of ads!”

“I want my kids to be able to easily participate in citizen science while maintaining their privacy!”

(I was just going to add more things for iNaturalist but when I realized my first couple of things worked for Seek, I…spent my morning doing this. 🤦🏻‍♀️)

"I hate when I try to identify a cool bug I found and all I see are pest control sites :("

"I saw this cool bug/bird/whatever but Idk what it is"

"I want to learn more about the animals/plants around me but Idk where to start"

"I wish I could do something to help scientists/biologists with research and conservation but Idk how"

[pozole-slushie]

New arthropod just dropped!

[arachnidcrochet]

So found this girl on my broom while sweeping one day. Decided to keep her because I had already picked up two juvenile spiders that I thought could be black widows (they were not). I thought she was juvenile but turns out she was a mature female AND gravid. I squished her first egg sac because I’d already gone through this drama with a jumping spider. She of course has now laid 4 more for a total of 5 sacs while in captivity. I used Seek by iNaturalist to identify her as Steatoda triangulosa with the common name Triangulate Combfoot.

She’s so determined to produce offspring so I guess I’m on spider nanny duty again. Even if I hate using fruit flies as feeders, this will at least be entertaining for the next few months… years?

Let’s call momma spider Boba so I can tag all the posts of her and her spawn under the same tag.

[tytonidyke]

Forget hot girl summer it is

Citizen Science Summer!

Get on eBird, iNaturalist, Seek, whatever apps and forums are cool to you and discover the huge variety of life right under your nose! Snap some pics and record those critters! Rejoice for native bees and plants growing wild by the roadside!!

[rebeccathenaturalist]

An App Does Not a Master Naturalist Make

Originally posted on my website at https://rebeccalexa.com/app-not-master-naturalist/ - I had written this as an op-ed and sent it to WaPo, but they had no interest, so you get to read it here instead!

I have mixed feelings about Michael Coren’s April 25 Washington Post article, “These 4 free apps can help you identify every flower, plant and tree around you.” His ebullience at exploring some of the diverse ecological community around him made me grin, because I know exactly what it feels like. There’s nothing like that sense of wonder and belonging when you go outside and are surrounded by neighbors of many species, instead of a monotonous wall of green, and that is a big part of what led me to become a Master Naturalist.

When I moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest in 2006, I felt lost because I didn’t recognize many of the animals or plants in my new home. So I set about systematically learning every species that crossed my path. Later, I began teaching community-level classes on nature identification to help other people learn skills and tools for exploring their local flora, fauna, and fungi.

Threeleaf foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)

Let me be clear: I love apps. I use Merlin routinely to identify unknown bird songs, and iNaturalist is my absolute favorite ID app, period. But these tools are not 100% flawless.

For one thing, they’re only as good as the data you provide them. iNaturalist’s algorithms, for example, rely on a combination of photos (visual data), date and time (seasonal data), and GPS coordinates (location data) to make initial identification suggestions. These algorithms sift through the 135-million-plus observations uploaded to date, finding observations that have similar visual, seasonal, and location data to yours.

There have been many times over the years where iNaturalist isn’t so sure. Take this photo of a rather nondescript clump of grass. Without seed heads to provide extra clues, the algorithms offer an unrelated assortment of species, with only one grass. I’ve gotten that “We’re not confident enough to make a recommendation” message countless times over my years of using the app, often suggesting species that are clearly not what I’m looking at in real life.

Because iNaturalist usually offers up multiple options, you have to decide which one is the best fit. Sometimes it’s the first species listed, but sometimes it’s not. This becomes trickier if all the species that are suggested look alike. Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) and eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra) all have pinnately compound, lanceolate leaves, and young plants of these three species can appear quite similar. If all you know how to do is point and click your phone’s camera, you aren’t going to be able to confidently choose which of the three plants is the right one.

Coren correctly points out that both iNaturalist and Pl@ntNet do offer more information on suggested species—if people are willing to take the time to look. Too many assume ID apps will give an easy, instant answer. In watching my students use the app in person almost everyone just picks the first species in the list. It’s not until I demonstrate how to access the additional content for each species offered that anyone thinks to question the algorithms’ suggestions.

While iNaturalist is one of the tools I incorporate into my classes, I emphasize that apps in general are not to be used alone, but in conjunction with field guides, websites, and other resources. Nature identification, even on a casual level, requires critical thinking and observation skills if you want to make sure you’re correct. Coren’s assertion that you only need a few apps demonstrates a misunderstanding of a skill that takes time and practice to develop properly—and accurately.

Speaking of oversimplification, apps are not a Master Naturalist in your pocket, and that statement —while meant as a compliment–does a disservice to the thousands of Master Naturalists across the country. While the training curricula vary from state to state, they are generally based in learning how organisms interact within habitats and ecosystems, often drawing on a synthesis of biology, geology, hydrology, climatology, and other natural sciences. A Master Naturalist could tell you not only what species you’re looking at, but how it fits into this ecosystem, how its adaptations are different from a related species in another ecoregion, and so forth.

Map showing Level III and IV ecoregions of Oregon, the basis of my training as an Oregon Master Naturalist.

In spite of my criticisms, I do think that Coren was absolutely onto something when he described the effects of using the apps. Seeing the landscape around you turn from a green background to a vibrant community of living beings makes going outside a more exciting, personal experience. I and my fellow nature nerds share an intense curiosity about the world around us. And that passion, more than any app or other tool, is fundamental to becoming a citizen naturalist, Master or otherwise.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[dragoncuspid]

Strauzia what now?

[historysurvivalguide]

Digital Field Guide

Spring is here!

And I can’t recommend the Seek app enough. It acts as a digital field guide with automatic identification. It is great fun and keeps tracks of your identifications in a pseudo-Pokédex style

You can also post your identifications publicly for public citizen science projects!

[orofeaiel]

This is not a paid advertisement I just love the Seek app

[luxiiien]

i'm going to bed at 3am because i was busy making shitty canva mockups of my dream creature collection nature app

[flowrfemme]

All the mushrooms I tried to ID using the seek app on my phone lol

[namedafterflowerstournament]

seek by inaturalist is a super cool app that can identify plants for you

Thank you ! I didn't know there was an app for that (well I used to call my own favorite plant expert Grandma) and someone kindly explained to me that the plant I was looking for was quite common, the acanthus is used for its decorative aspect apparently. (Just like the Greeks sculpted acanthus leaves at the top of their columns - I've always confused them but I think it's the Corinthian style ? I know Ionic is one of the simpler ones but not sure about Doric-.

I think I remember a forum in my language where you could ask specialists from what feels like ages ago but they asked for a lot of precisions and social interactions aren't my thing.

Thank you ! I'd stop browsing images after typing "round purple stars flower" (for anyone interested, it was an allium (ornamental onion) in despair. And it wouldn't take me so long to find Euphorbia amygdaloides (green-yellow flowers in the woods towards May)

[amongthebugs]

Some recent observations! Names in order of photos.

1. Pasqueflower (Pusatilla vulgaris)

2. Flixweed (Descurainia sophia)

3. Crossflower (Chorispora tenella)

4. Snake’s-head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)

5. Grey Field-speedwell (Veronica polita)

6. Common stork’s-bill [maybe another species tho] (Erodium cicutarium)

[raybeanschildrenslit]

Seek by iNaturalist - Educational App

Seek by iNaturalist (iNatrualist) Educational Game/ App

Seek by iNaturalist is an Editor’s Choice application made for all users. This application is marketed as an educational app with science themes, it allows the user to identify flora, fauna, fungi, and participate in activities regarding your findings; use the built in camera to find specific organisms in your area; and the app even lists in their data safety: “Choose when to activate location sharing services and what kids under 13 can share with the iNaturalist community”.

While community feedback is very back and forth between what the app is able to offer vs the complications it has with crashing and losing data as well as access to records can be lost between devices which can be frustrating according to some users.

Overall, if the app does work on your device, this is an excellent outlet for the nature-lover in your life. There are many conversations surrounding screen-time but this could be the middleman to spending quality and active time with family members. Not all devices have access to a lens that can analyze information given to it so having this app would be an excellent tool to learn through camping or trail usage.

I love to use applications like this in my area, I am surrounded by trails and there are plenty of parks and trail systems around to allow for great enjoyment and exploration of the natural world and it’s just a fun and informative way to add to this experience. I used it to identify plants my pets should not be getting into, specifically my dog on walks with all the poison ivy in the neighborhood. My friend who forages uses applications like this along with books and previous knowledge to cross-reference and double check identities of mushrooms and the like in the woods- there’s a couple spots in the trees behind my house where Laetiporus grows and this “chicken of the woods” is stunning but can be confused with poisonous types if not careful or unfamiliar with the area.

If an older individual or a parent with a device, I could see this app being useful alongside other applications like “AllTrails” or “Planta”. Of course, remember to do your own research outside of these applications to understand what you are doing with the information you are given cross-platform and be informed when entering into areas or interacting with flora, fauna, and fungi you are unfamiliar with. Some libraries host trail experiences with staff and patrons, this app could be introduced and used during the hike/ walk. I like the idea of maybe making it a scavenger hunt, kids seem to really enjoy that in house so if weather and conditions work out that could be a lot of fun outdoors with families.

Stay safe out there!

-Ray 02/25/2024

[coolinternetthings]

iNaturalist

Great way to identify and share local flora and fauna. They have two different apps, the "seek" app gives you more real-time answers, the iNaturalist app seems to send it off somewhere to be identified. I think seek is based on existing data and iNaturalist is crowdsourced. Sometimes seek isn't good enough so I have both apps.

[autumn--eliot]

I downloaded the Seek app less than 24 hours ago and I’ve already identified 50 species. This is my new obsession, my hyperfixation, my reason for walking up in the morning, my reason for living. It’s like the compendium from botw but real life. Truly life changing. I must go discover more fungi species.

[southernsolarpunk]

Echinacea purpurea <3 all the bugs on the border are ones I’ve found on Seek by Inaturalist