Since using Inaturalist, I have noticed how rare certain things are in my environment! Of course, I knew certain things were rare, but it has been a surprise for me how many things that I would take to be “common” are actually rare to observe. Here are three examples: Spiders. I have observed so…

In my experience, i found it difficult too find ground mushrooms, although wood mushrooms seem pretty common

I dunno, your examples are more likely is because things are hard right see, e.g. I bet if in a right season you’ll go out at night spiders will be everywhere. Mammals are just overall hard to find, I don’t know about squirrels, but some places lack them naturally. Our memory plays tricks with us a…

One of my favorite examples is the Contrasting Jumping Spider . It is so hard to find, but also could be extremely widespread in North America, lurking below our feet. I personally have never found one, it is my personal goal. Someday!

Night time makes a lot of hard-to-find-during-daytime things easier to find :) And I think we have a memory of how we used to find things when we were younger, and as adults (or just “older people”) we don’t have the same perspective and ability to spot things. I think we “learn” how to filter our …

I’ve observed over 30 different species of fish but all except one (a freshwater drum) were caught while fishing. Some groups of organisms definitely require you to go one step beyond in your pursuits.

Oh man, I wish I could go weeks without seeing a mammal! Ofc in a place that all mammals are invasive… My favourite example of the ‘surprisingly rare’ is the kuaka-diving petrel . They’re one of the most abundant birds in Aotearoa NZ and virtually no one sees them- 61 observations around the country…

Insects, obviously plentiful, surprisingly many moths species are only found locally and can be uncommon to rarely found. Sometimes I get lucky and seen an uncommon moth out in the open like the Clymene Moth, Haploa clymene. I have also seen a few S1/S2 moth in Ontario, like the critically imperile…

I agree with @kiwifergus that night time helps! Some of my better mammal observations have come from trail cameras that do late night “observing” on my behalf along wildlife paths, pond edges, or near road kill. Speaking of which, probably my next best source of up close animal photos is stopping to…

Welcome to the Forum, @goodlordbird !

If I was to go by my area in Winnipeg, I would say that Grackles are essentially extinct. I know that they are not, and are found in abundance in other areas of the city. Why don’t they hang around where I live - who knows? BTW, the only fish I have ever seen is a dead catfish floating in the Red Ri…

Animals that are surprisingly rare

General

Topic		Replies	Views
Highly observed creatures you always (or always have) not observed Nature Talk	46	2285	January 12, 2022
Rarest Finds on Inaturalist Nature Talk	227	13152	June 10, 2026
How to spot the hard to spot Nature Talk	35	2525	January 17, 2020
What is the RAREST animal/plant you have ever seen Nature Talk	357	14790	March 18, 2026
What are some of your favorite taxa that very few people are interested in? Nature Talk	47	2077	June 9, 2023

Animals that are surprisingly rare

Related topics