If nothing else, it shows that our Dreams here in iSpot, are worth pursuing.
I will NEVER leave iSpot, never tire of the comment trails we sometimes generate, nor of the educational value of being a ‘member’.
Com’on then https://www.inaturalist.org/blog
You can visit the whole site and browse, no need to register or participate.
From time to time I will add links to iNat (I often drop our link in there!)
Bear with me, I mean NO subversion. https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/dejaym
There are times when iNat edges ahead with something.
They have an observation of the day, the week, the month and, who knows, the year.
The lichen above is a Weekly.
I think they are chosen by a very small panel but one person keeps an eye on the idea. There is no voting, no public participation, just a regular excellence.
This week is rather nice https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/20641-a-merlin-fly-by-observation-of-the-week-1-4-19
Yes, I look in regularly but have posted relatively few observations on iNat, mine are mostly holiday (or course abroad) spots, but a few are UK. iNat is not so much about learning for me. iNat’s thumbnails are easier on my eyes, and the photos seem fast to load. But there is a relative dearth of community, I think, compared to iSpot.
I agree, the highlighted posts are inspiring, with wonderful quality photos like this week’s bald eagle and merlin. That NZ lichen, though, is amazing in both photos, great stuff.
I am fiercely proud of my contribution to iSpot but I am not afraid to extol the virtues of iNat. I am in awe of the way iNat embraces the World of Nature and the Nature of the UK
iNat’s observation of the week is here
If you go there look for the blue word Russia in the first para. Click on it to see the number of just Russian Observations posted in the last hour!
You do not have to join, enrol, even show enthusiasm, to browse.
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iSpotters would do well to visit iNat occasionally to see what’s ‘going down’. Don’t get me wrong, I am fiercely critical of many of its ways and I am ‘in there’ making m’sel unpopular as well. Two Curators have suggested I might find greater satisfaction elsewhere - I do.
The auto-ID seems impressive to me but I’ve heard a few recording schemes being seriously worried about it. The apparent authoritativeness of it is letting a lot of dodgy IDs get produced, and since one person posting an ID an one person agreeing it is enough to get it counted as a ‘research grade’ record (no system of reputation on iNat) it is running into a lot of resistance.
I do use it myself in the unlikely cases where iSpot fails me, or where I need a quick on the fly response (the iNat app is quite slick), but treat any IDs I get there with a high degree of scepticism unless I know the person.
