You definitely deserve a medal for the daring and heroism. Agility too.
I am more than willing to spend almost 1 h in cold almost pitch black sea water at a depth between 5-30 m, with the only things between me and unpleasant demise being my drysuit and diving gear, in order to search for and photograph marine organisms that love the dark during the winters (and this includes going out in somewhat nasty weathers). In all honesty, I even find it fun to do
I used to live a couple of years in Mexico. Once I was chasing a butterfly and stumbled across a Coral snake. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/984104
One summer I would go to my apartment’s pool every few days to collect the dead bugs in the water. A man questioned me about what I was doing, then said, “You’re really strange, you know that?”
Yesterday evening, while walking with my family, my mum complains “Something’s bitten me!”. I spot on her ankle something mosquito-y (don’t worry, no malaria round here), and say “It’s still there - can I get a photo?” I don’t think that’s the usual response.
when i do things like that people thank me.
Even better, a few days ago I was walking around at the park to take pictures of trees and any bugs I could find. I found an interesting plant covering most of a chain link fence and some ants on it, so I stopped and took some pictures. It wasn’t until after I was done taking the pictures that I realized there were people sitting in the yard the fence was surrounding just staring at me while I took pictures of their fence. Probably the most awkward thing that has happened to me…
Lots and lots of wet shoes because the wetland vegetation is tempting. Perpetual scratches from briars and lots of mosquito bites. Tick checks every day. I do it for figuring out all these plants.
Last November I was on a family trip to New York City to go see a play. We checked into our hotel room a few hours before the play started. I spent nearly all of that time lying on my back looking out of the window of the hotel room, holding my camera, hoping to see a peregrine falcon (but not really expecting to). I took a bunch of photos of pigeons and plastic bags blowing in the air, but eventually I actually saw one and managed to take a photo of it. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35803373
Cool! Nice!
Lol pay no attention to them. I’m certain I was in many a similar awkward situation like this, eg. once the security guard was just about to let me enter by residential area when I did a U-turn to take a picture of a moth…I’m sure she was quite perplexed.
Lol! I bet she was.
Many times I will wade through high grass and poison ivy just to get one new species of a plant.
Probably the craziest thing I ever did was go under my house deck with centipedes, millipedes, slugs, spiders, and other disgusting, nauseating arthropods, JUST to get one photo of a plant that I have not gotten before.
However, I did rescue a trapped bird and turned it into an observation when it was trapped in wire. I set it free and untangled it. It was crying and I pet its back and calmed it down.
Lol. Yup.
:-O. You’ve insulted the arthropods! ;-P. Just kidding.
Cute! I love birds. :-)
Hah! I wade through disgusting, nauseating plants to get pictures of arthropods! Remember, arthropod hunters: it is not the nettle your observation is on that is a threat, but the nettle next to it!
Lol, quite true. Eat them so there’s no threat, ;-P
Crazy (or strange) things you’ll do for observations
Let my camera get water-damaged while hunting rattlesnakes in the rain. Found one, though.
Investigate an anthill for a whole hour looking for an ant-mimic Salticid that I lost. I didn’t even find it.
Forget about an important meeting, because I found a springtail I’d never seen before. Hey, it was an observation though :)
Wear a tinfoil hat. It allegedly attracts new life list species.
Run right into a rattlesnake while following a bee fly (in flight). I probably wouldn’t have noticed it unless the bee fly had gone a bit down …
Let deer flies eat me because I needed the observation. Also have done this for mosquitos, snakes, and blister beetles.
Jump between large boulders above 5 feet deep, with my camera and shoes with no tread - to get a clearer photo of a Wandering Garter Snake which was consuming a Brook Trout. I got lucky.
Hold up people walking a trail because I find something interesting and zone in on it. Then you have to stammer an apology and watch them mutter to themselves about ‘weird dudes’.
Leave a carcass in the forest and wait for observations. Fool-proof.
Write the 77th post in a topic about crazy things you’ll do for observations.
Lol! Good one!
I hear a lot of, “Mommy…what is that lady doing?” as I unfold from or contort into a bizarre trail-side position to photograph fungi.
Lol! Haven’t got that one yet. ;-)