Favorite observations

[afid]

What are some of your favorite observations that you have posted on iNat?
I don’t have very many observations yet but this is definitely my favorite: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17234910

[alexis_orion]

That’s a hard question, and I don’t think I could pick a single favorite :)
a few that I can think of right now are:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19776411
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/22988157
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/21481768

[mangum]

Definitely carnival candy slime mold. I was new to Florida, so finding this strange pink fluff all over my backyard was very exciting.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13189737

[charlie]

i’m sorry to say, it is this one
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5890862
I didn’t post it though.
It’s a goofy mess but it reminds me of the community we have here.

[afid]

Wow. that’s a lot of IDs

[bothrops07]

This one! I found this adult female in odd conditions for a jumping spider. It was cold and rainy. I specialize in Salticidae identifications, and I can’t even place this one in a genus, which makes me really excited. I love finding things that just throw my humility into overdrive. Things that make me read, learn, and explore more. I still can’t place her, but eventually I will!

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17473704

[tiwane]

This one still gets a hearty chuckle out of me every time I see it. The egret is so casually strolling in to get some waffles. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9170627

[jeslowery]

I like this one of a greater roadrunner resting, because they are usually so quick and hard for me to photograph = https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/20015421 and also this warbler that came in really close at eye level = https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/20054282

[tchakamaura]

These two Caribbena paper wasps caught mid takeoff and landing:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19259992
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19264498
This iris:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19945527
And this pair of shooting stars, which has an aphid like insect on the right flower: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19945523.

The first wasp is the background picture for the Jamaica collection project I made:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/jamaican-flora-and-fauna.
The iris came out really well for a cell phone pic.

[Artifore]

This is probably my favorite observation on iNat, too.

[liesvanrompaey]

For me it’s this one:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/679413

Mostly because I really like this beetle and it’s one of the first things I saw after settling down in my new country and home.

And this one:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1487025
Because what’s not to like about chameleons :).

[ursus_arctos]

Two of my favorites are my two White-tailed Jackrabbit sightings. Jackrabbits are incredibly rare in Ontario, and, at the moment, these are the only two records in iNat for the province:

https://inaturalist.ca/observations/3476774
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/6546532

For butterflies…I would pick my first Macoun’s Arctic. I spent almost a decade trying to find these butterflies in Northwestern Ontario, and in 2018 I finally spotted one. Macoun’s are biennial and only fly in even-numbered years here:

https://inaturalist.ca/observations/13292130

One of (many) favorite birds is this Great Gray Owl from 2018:

https://inaturalist.ca/observations/9722740

Great Grays are an iconic winter species for the Northwest. Even though I have many clearer/sharper GGOW photos, there’s something very atmospheric about this one.

One favorite wildflower…Pink Pyrola:

https://inaturalist.ca/observations/3692423

Our summers in the Northwest are short, and - for me - Pink Pyrola is a sign summer is really here.

A favorite moth: Maple Spanworm:

https://inaturalist.ca/observations/4040241

Fall is my favorite season, not least because I love fall colors…and this little guy is perfectly adapted to look like a fallen maple leaf. Maple Spanworm is usually one of the last moth species on the wing here before the cold weather sets in.

Final pick, favorite ode (dragonfly or damselfly)…River Jewelwing:

https://inaturalist.ca/observations/13566540

I don’t see these elegant creatures very often, and this one was a lovely surprise at Point Park in Fort Frances.

[madisong]

This one is my favorite!! https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/20368790

[alexis_orion]

No, in fact, that is the point of this topic as I understand it.

[afid]

Not at all!

[madisong]

Oops, I misread the first post haha

[jdmore]

Despite (or maybe because of?) being a botanist, I still can’t get enough of this one (not posted by me):

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/8495538

One of those pictures worth more like a million words than just a thousand.

[whaichi]

I had been hoping to find a tiger beetle for several years and thought I might have come across my first two years ago with this observation. Much to my disappointment what I had found was actually the ground beetle species Asaphidion semilucidum.

Then, earlier this month, I was poking around a Buddhist temple in Bukhansan National Park when a large form buzzed past my head and came to rest on a footpath. I thought it might have been a large wasp and took a few ‘safety shots’ as I approached. Turns out it was the tiger beetle species Cicindela chinensis and not only was it calm enough to let me approach fairly close, my pictures were much better than usual! Here’s the observation.

I’m also rather fond of the bright blue Thyreus himalayensis (Himalayan Cloak-and-Dagger Bee – what a name) that I spotted here, the orange-legged Euophrys kataokai here with this associated video, and the mitten crab (genus Eriocheir) here that I found scurrying across a bike path while I was walking home from work.