​​How to Become a Backyard Naturalist With Just Your Smartphone

Revitalizes yards in the first days of spring. The hot temperature converts spring buds into aqueous greens, and invites you to carry out the winter insomnia to carry insects and newborn animals.

With smartphones, it was not easy to document this wild nature. Recently, all the tools needed to be in the palm of the backyard in the palm of the hand. It is especially good for starting in June, you can use your phone to observe, identify the types of organisms, identifying the types and notify any time of the years. This can use your information to conduct an important research that allows a hobby-scientist to contribute to a citizen scientist.

“Twenty years ago, if a researcher wants to understand an environmental example, it was the main way to come out and collect information in the University of Florida Corey Callaghan. “Only in the last 20 years, the number of observations registered by the smartphone revolution, the number of observations registered by the daily people, we have increased the amount of information that they are really interested in animals in the birding or yard,” he said.

Gillian Bowser of the Wild Nature at Colorado State University reminds me of a period when the lack of a limited research of digital instruments in its field. “Now the information is more accessible due to smartphones,” he said. These devices are especially useful because they allow users to easily load the open source platforms for each visibility location.

Gizmodo returned to Bowser and Callaghana for expert recommendations to be the garden of nature. They shared their favorite apps, Pro tips and explained how researchers liked how they used the information you support.

Step 1: Download the Immaid

Numerous applications can help document your wildlife, but some are easier than others. For beginners as soon as there are zahir naturalists, the inaturalist “really is a good access point,” said Callaghan.

This free program is available for both iOS and Android. This allows you to record observations, identify the types and share information in one place with other naturalists. Unlike specialized applications such as ebird or image insects, the inaturalist can document any kind of organism. After downloading an account with your email address.

Now you are ready to start taking pictures of plants, birds, frustrating neighborhood squirrels, even the strange looking bugs in your bathroom. You call the name – the inaturalist society is likely to determine it. The application does this crowdedmeans those who work together to determine the types of users. It cooperates between experts, inexperienced and anyone in between.

For additional assistance that identifies the types, you can also download, to download the free companion application of the Inaturant. Both iOS are also available for Android, use artificial intelligence to analyze images and determine what types of species. “Just look for your phone nor did you start working, and it will determine it for you.” The application will also add to the species, for example, whether it is native to your area.

Both Bowser and Callaghan, EBird, Ebutterfly or ISPY recommend to relax with the Inaturant before starting around with fewer starting friends with fewer beginners. The construction of a knowledge base through the demand and injatively will help you move forward to more specialized applications.

Step 2: Start discovery

Fill your phone, put something from a little sunset and weigh your socks on top of your pants, because it is time to observe some wildlife. Don’t worry, you don’t have to go to the desert. There are very interesting types to be found in the garden, local park or even the window box. Look for good jobs everywhere, including inaturalist and intense city jungles and indoor gaps.

A number of rules: “Discourage,” said Callaghan. When you start the first time, it can be especially difficult to take pictures of a field mouse or small, fast moving creatures like a dwarf. “Patience is one of my greatest recommendations,” he said. You will not be able to take a clear picture of a small bee noise with your smartphone, but there are many scientific value in documentation of plants or larger, slow moving animals.

He said that there are things you can do to make sure you create good information. To take a picture as clear as possible, make sure your stroke is in the focus and good light. You can hit your finger to focus on the subject, use your hand to use flash, although the sun is very bright or lighting, and use flashes, even if they do not intimidate some animals.

You will still want to be as close as possible for the subject when prioritizing security. Birds with a daisy or ground worm and become an individual, but the birds, which bear bears, a totty deer or bird nest – not so much. When there is doubt, stay away. If you can make it safe, try to take the topic from multiple angles to draw all the features.

Finally, add some field notes to your observation. Some examples include seeing or how or feel the number of people who have seen or feel a plant or feel. It will be easier to identify the types of information, which you provide. Provides more information and more data points than scientists.

This can be difficult, but you do not have to go alone. Callaghan recommends checking the events where your local Audubon chapter is home as nature walks. Bowser noted that the Inatalist also allows users to join or organize group projects. Under this general topic, with others with others who share this pool, share your interests or contact users living in your area.

If it’s impossible to be out, you can document the types of living inside your home. There is even an inaturalist project specifically for indoor observations Never at home: the wildlife of houses. “Even we know that we know that we share our daily city life” There is a great value, “said Callaghan.

Step 3: Share your data

Bowser, Inaturant “For its internal ability to conduct research” is mandatory. “When you download an observation, the scientists are becoming information that scientists can use to answer questions such as butterflies in New York?” Explained.

By default, all the pictures you have uploaded will be voice labels and observation data given Creative Commons license that allows others to use your loan for non-commercial purposes. In addition, the Inaturalist information allows you to export global biodiversity information to scientists (GBIF) for research partners.

You can choose not to license part of some of your data or all, that is, you need your open permission to use it. Change standard licenses for your account, enter the Inaturalist website and go to the account settings, then go to the content and screen and scroll down until you see the license.

Ecologists use civil scientific information to understand the samples of biodiversity in Bowser and Callaghan, space and time. Anyone who helps watch and protect the species of scientists can collect information. You can even discover a new one. For example, the Inaturalist Montana Project was determined by about 4,000 unknown species for Bowser.

“There are millions of unknown species,” he said.

It is incredibly valuable when conducting civil science, Callaghan, developed to be entertaining applications such as Inatalist. “Use them for what you want,” he said. “Get out and learn about we shared our backyards.”