YUL terminal mouse: https://www.inaturalist.ca/observations/329137486
I always try to have the observation reflect the local time but time zones are hard :(
There should at least be a way to show the time of an observation in UTC, or to tell the uploader that file times are in UTC.
I checked some obs; the house sparrow is in Never Home Alone, but the henroach is not. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/never-home-alone-the-wild-life-of-homes/journal states explicitly that airports qualify.
not that I’ve ever done this at an airport, but I have this exact mindset! If I have a chance at spawning an additional red square on my world map of observations, I’ll take it! Even if it’s just a feral pigeon. sorry not sorry AWS servers…
When viable, these days I actually like to deliberately book flights with very long layovers so that I can actually leave the airport for a few hours and go to a nearby park. I did this with a 21 hour layover at LHR (also got a airBnB and got dinner at a pub as this was my first time visiting the UK) and a 6 hour airport at DFW (it got quite hot and I was glad I was able to use the shower at the airport lounge)
I also did this at MCO, which was…questionable on a flight from Vegas to my home where there’s a direct flight, but my friend so happened to be on the same flight from Orlando (he was visiting his parents) and I was able to chat with him and get a ride home :)
ABQ Say’s Phoebe during a dust storm: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/149510437
“he’s…he’s a biologist.”
The situation was so unfortunate but this dialogue is perfect. It sounds like it was straight out of a comedy TV show 
I can’t wait till I have the qualifications to truly be able to describe myself as a biologist.
Yes!
The Singapore international airport has a nice greenhouse/garden and I saw Wandering Gliders and Oriental Plains Cupids.
In Los Angeles I could see a Common Raven.
I’ve recorded observations from KNU and HYD airports.
- KNU
I somehow found the time to photograph this cool fly (not good photo since it was on the other side of a glass pane).
While technically not in the airport, a few minutes after I left the airport, I got bored and decided to see which kites were flying overhead and instead found an endangered Egyptian Vulture.
I was flying from KNU to HYD when I noticed this Neocleonus maculipennis beetle on my seat. It had likely got on the plane from wherever its last stop was. That’s my first and only observation on a plane.
- HYD
I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had recorded 7 species of bird from the airport in just 2 visits!
I’m always on the lookout for potential sightings wherever I am. Airports always seem to hold much promise, but results for me have been mostly disappointing. The notable exception being Dubrovnik, where I made two Crested Lark sightings in the space of a few minutes. A life first, and what currently remains a life last.
I’ve iNatted plenty whilst waiting for a train - you get interesting plant species on the tracks (things that like very well drained, rocky soils when they’re in the ballast), verges (often garden escapes from next door), old walls (one of the best places for fern-spotting in London is the railway underpasses between Vauxhall and Waterloo), and maybe you’ll get weeds and insects in planters if there are any. The big stations usually have a few wagtails or pigeons about.
I’ll iNat around bus stops too (just keep an eye open for your bus) - given they’re places with high foot traffic, I find sometimes urban ones have interesting pavement weeds, with the rural ones usually with more standard stuff.
Well if it helps, I did a quick plant observation while pit stopping in the area around Hilo Airport (ITO) and wasn’t hassled at all, maybe you paved the way for odd biologists to be ignored for at least short stops?
I also found an invasive Artichoke fly at Kona Airport (KOA) which a tephritid expert was very interested in documenting further, though I haven’t seen it since, and it’s the only one currently documented in all of Hawaii!
I also found many insects between glass and (ironically) invasive insect posters, most of which haven’t been identified yet at the USDA checkpoint in Maui Airport (OGG).
Airports as vectors are definitely under-studied IMO!
I also found 22 wild species at Daniel K. Inouye Airport in Honolulu (HNL), the large garden is a surprisingly good place for weedy species and birds!
Haven’t done it, because I’ve only been there at 4:30 am, but I imagine the weird open air-airport at Palm Springs, CA might be good for iNatting.
I always keep my eyes open for birds indoors at airports. I’ve seen quite a few. In general, airports are lousy places to bird if you want to tally lots of species. But birding is a still a great way to pass the time. And sometimes you can also catch weeds out the windows.
I don’t fly, ever, based on ecological convictions.
I did fly, far too much, when I had to for work, but now, when I travel, I go slower and take every opportunity to add observations along the way.
I counted a “Lifer” bird during a forty-minute layover in Honolulu… there were Red-vented Bulbuls in the outdoor gardens of the airport waiting area (among other species). Haven’t seen them before or since!
Major pest in Hawaii, alas. They ate a lot of my grandpa’s lychee fruit and chili peppers. I believe the state had a bounty for them at some point in the 80s or 90s.
Still, they’re rather cool birds even if out of place and a pest in Hawaii.
A long time ago I got a lifer bird from a layover at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen - there was a Dalmatian Pelican running around the apron! In Amsterdam Schiphol, they have House Mice pretty active inside the terminal - my best sighting of wild House Mouse ever.