posted by admin on Jan 16
Have you seen something unusual - or the wrong colour - and want to share it with others?
As long as you have a picture of it, then there is a new way to find out what on earth you have just seen or share something different with like-minded people.
It could be that you have just photographed a white squirrel and thought you’d share it - or you may think you are the first to see a species that isn’t usually found in your area and you have been one of the first to identify it.
The Open University in the UK has basically set up a database of images for exactly these types of things. Everything in the natural world can be shared here - as well as a whole bank of people who can tell you what it is and why.
Rather than just asking a few work colleagues, having a quick look through your old field guides or just keeping the photo to yourself to admire - you can now share it and let others enjoy your experiences too.
iSpot:
Not another iPhone application as its name might suggest - but a growing online nature database that can sort out your greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers, your wood and yellow necked mice or even your crimson from your scarlet waxcaps!
You can sign up for free, then easily upload your photographs - as many as you like - to the community. Whether you know what they are, or have no idea what they are - as long as you upload them - others can help.
Once signed up, you can start to help with the identification of other people’s pictures. It may be that you have experience in amphibians - but have just taken a picture of an unusual plant that it was feeding on. You can find out what the plant is in exchange for identifying some garden newts or a river tadpole!
The basic areas are divided clearly into categories including: plants, birds, insects, fish, etc so you can browse images that are already on the system. You can then just look at some unusual images, admire colour variants of common species or just use the labels to find out where these animals were seen so you can go out and look at them yourself.
Other Information:
It’s not just identification that you can find on the site - there are also a whole load of related links for your further reading, nature surveys, plenty of tips on what to look for when identifying different species as well as links to other useful id and specialist websites.
If you are taking a wildlife course - then this website goes to show that nature is everywhere - and by working alongside the experts on iSpot, you can find out what is living in your local countryside and why - and anything you can do to keep it there or improve the number and diversity of plants and animals there will be a bonus!
So, if you have been meaning to get qualified in something ‘outdoors’ or to help brush up on your basic skills before embarking on a longer or higher level course - then maybe this website could help you keep on top of everything you find on your walks.
It’s lovely to just walk through the countryside and admire the views - but it is even better to know what animals live in it and why.
Also You Might Like To:
Obviously, volunteering with wildlife or landscape-related charities and societies in your local area will help you to experience nature first hand, give you access to great habitats that might be off-limits to the public, and to learn from local experts.
It could even lead to a larger project or a permanent job somewhere down the line.
And get a camera with a good zoom and an even better macro - and practice observing things. Trying out the myriad of settings at home is one thing - but knowing what to look out for in the field is another.
Say you take a wonderful photo of a brightly coloured mushroom - only to find out when you get home that there were 30 mushrooms that colour - and the only way to tell them apart was to have photographed the gills and measured the height on it. But until you make those mistakes and get annoyed with yourself - you won’t get any better at identifications.
It is fine to rely on ‘experts’ for identifying those rare species or all those ‘very similar’ lichens - but you should really start to build up your basic id skills in the field if you are planning any sort of career based in the field.
So pack your camera, field guide and sun cream - and get out there!