Good afternoon,
Do county recorders collect our records from iNaturalist, or is this something we should be doing in addition to recording here as observers? I’m quite a generalist, but I’d really like to start surveying the moths on Salisbury Plain this Spring/Summer. I thought I’d ask the question about county records before my trap arrives and I start keeping detailed accounts of everything.
Many thanks,
Darren
I’m not sure what you mean by county recorders? Probably you should ask your recorders dorectly if they collect records from iNaturalist. If not, ask them to look into it. Research Grade data from iNat goes to GBIF, as well, so maybe the county recorders look at that site. iNat (and GBIF) data is great for some purposes, but it doesn’t work well for other projects.
Just to note, this is a UK-specific question. I know some do because they’ve messaged me, but it probably depends on the individuals and the taxon. I’m interested in any details. I don’t know about moths, but as I’m just trying to start trapping myself, I’m all ears!
My understanding is, in the UK there are designated observers who maintain checklists of species seen in particular counties and regions. For example, there is a list of county recorders for bird species here, and a list of county recorders for various species in Leicestershire and Rutland here.
The county recorders for Wiltshire and Swindon are listed here, including a moth contact, so I would ask them directly about co-ordination with iNaturalist.
Thank you! That’s really helpful. I’ll contact them and let the forum know the outcome. Happy Easter! D.
Hi Darren, This is a global platform & forum, so although you probably entered through iNaturalistUK, other (most) users here may not know what you refer to by county recorders.
Any UK observations on iNaturalist which reach Research Grade are automatically sent to iRecord and from there verified and passed to NBN. My understanding is that depending on the taxon, on iRecord these are either checked by national experts, or the county recorders, or a combination of the two.
How county recorders individually are dealing with iNaturalist (or iRecord) records appears to vary significantly depending on the county and taxon. So if you specifically want your county moth recorder to have your data, you should check with them.
But if you are a generalist anyhow and just wish for all your photographic records across various taxa to be quickly logged in one place with support from a larger community for identification, then regardless, I would recommend to only upload here.
Thank you! I have now contacted Mr. Clinch (the Wiltshire County Recorder for moths) to check on Lepidoptera records. With regards to my generalist observations, I will follow your advice and continue to upload them here on iNaturalist :)
Well, that’s very cool! Thanks for explaining this to a US-based naturalist.
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