My partner has a very keen eye for detail, so during the couple of minutes that I stop to photograph something, you can be sure she’s found two more interesting things to point out to me. It can be very difficult to make much progress on a walk through the forest!
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I have always photographed whatever flora and fauna I see, so I guess iNat hasn’t changed my natural behaviour all that much. But in one respect it has…
I really like the fact that the map of my observations doubles as a travel map showing the places that I have been. Consequently, even if I go on a short city break or to visit family, or even if I am just stopping for fuel in the middle of a long car journey, I find myself looking around for something to make into an observation and get a dot on the map! I can usually at least find a weed growing in a pavement crack or a pigeon pottering around.
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Short answer: yes, definitely. The bug traps and sprays are gathering dust. Lunch time at work often includes time for a nature walk. And my husband and son now send me pictures of spiders. My friends haven’t adapted yet, so when my husband called me to see a spider in their toilets, it caused a moment of panic when my friend hurried for the bug spray.
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I started with the walking and the desire to know what things were, not unlike you I pause a lot, but it’s good because there are now less stops for breaks, and instead more frequent stops for observations, and indeed more walking overall as going out to make observations has overtaken walking as the end to itself.
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I’m very curious to know, why are you so interested in watching Roadkills? What do you do after taking their photos?
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They’re a good way to document occurrence in an area.
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A way to document where wildlife needs a bridge to cross a busy road.
https://www.capetowngreenmap.co.za/20-green-news/1230-western-leopard-toad-underpass-project-at-zeekoevlei-nature-reserve
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My sincere regards to everybody who think of such projects.
Will be happy to see observations of at least a Caution Board for all the observed accident prone areas in this forum.
Why will we die being hit by a Vehicle? Drive Slow-Let posterity live
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Definitely. I stop for almost anything that moves these days and many things that don’t. I take twice to three times as long on a short hike because I’m photographing every neat plant along the side and the insects on them. Family vacations used to only be museums, zoos, state parks, and national parks. Now we’ve added city parks, county parks, random roadsides, hotel parking lots, large puddles… 
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I’ve always been super interested in the natural world, but iNat has broadened what I pay attention to. It used to be moths, vascular plants, and birds, in that order. Then I started taking photos of other critters that showed up at the moth light… and the whole world of insects and spiders (and tree frogs) has opened up. Ditto with photos of mosses and fungi when botanizing.
Not to mention the interactions between insects and plants. I love heading out to the stand of thistles in our back yard, to see the incredible diversity of other critters using them. (The guy who mows our lawn has learned that, no, we want those huge thistles in our back yard!)
The biggest help has been other people’s IDs of my random photos. I have learned so much from them!
It has also lead to a major increase in my camera collection!
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I find that roadkill can be an unfortunate way to document species that I’d have a hard time seeing alive. I have photographed a porcupine and a kestrel and the mentioned red fox dead on the side of the road and then uploaded their pictures. I only take photos of dead creatures that still look mostly alive (no gruesome bits in the photo) and I I only stop for the unusual creatures (I don’t take pictures of squirrels or raccoons, for example. Too common).
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IKR
This is the answer I desired.What is being done after observing such unfortunate deaths?
I was curious because this is the first time I’ve read on this forum that someone is ‘stopping’ on a long tour for wild animal carcasses (though I know many other people do this too).
I am feeling very happy now to know that you have uploaded the pictures on an appropriate platform so that the spot can be identified by the appropriate forest/competent authority. I even see no harm in photographing and uploading pictures of the partially/mostly decomposed unfortunate roadkills that could have occurred quite a few days back. (In addition) May I request you to please stop for squirrels, raccoons or any other common creatures also which you may spot on your upcoming future trips? These will help the appropriate authorities to pin point the accident prone areas.
I live in a country where wild animals cross national highways/railway tracks very often.
Identifying such locations helps the authorities concerned to take necessary steps like installation of warning boards for Vehicle Drivers, imposing a strict speed limit on railway tracks, blocking/diverting roads at night wherever possible (The National Highway passing through Wayanad Bandipur Tiger Reserve (NH 212) along the Karnataka-Kerala border closes exactly at 9 p.m and reopens at 6 a.m), construction of dedicated underpasses for wildlife (Wildlife Corridor on NH 44 which passes through Kanha-Pench Corridor) considering all the pros and cons.
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Well said! It also seems like a philosophical statement against the hurriedness of life! LOL!
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But the beauty of it is that those are separate. Making the observation requires that you be very much in the present time and place. The simultaneous part is that you are in the present time and place and reminded that you are part of the web of life and knowing that you are playing a part in this massive “lump” (for lack of a better word) of conglomerated knowledge that is iNaturalist.
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Honestly? I’d never actually get anywhere if I stopped for every road killed squirrel or armadillo. I get the desire for documentation of road mortality but it’s just not going to happen. Safety issues aside–I certainly don’t want to become road kill–there’s so much roadkill I can’t stop for it all
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Sad, we can only control our behavior and movements but not those of the wild animals.
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Re: roadkill. Many areas, including my state of Oregon, U.S.A., are gathering iNaturalist observations of roadkill to locate places where an unusually large number of animals are being killed, because they hope to make changes to the roads there to protect the animals.
The only bobcat I’ve ever seen in the wild was a flat, dried pancake of a roadkill that I stopped for because I thought it was a coyote.
My wife (a former computer programmer and so not into dead animals!) has gotten so she watches for roadkill as she drives with me. We’ll discuss it (“No, I think that’s piece of a tire.” “Oh, yes, looks like a nutria.”). She’s even gotten used to turning the car around to go back, which she used to hate to do. One day recently she spotted a roadkilled owl and pulled off into a nearby driveway before I’d fully realized I wanted to ask her to stop.
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How has iNaturalist changed my behavior? 
I was always a slow hiker but that wasn’t a problem because my friends are botanists too. We were always scanning the area for interesting plants.
I now carry a camera nearly everywhere I go. I spend way too much time online, posting photos and identifying photos. If we include travel time to places where I’ll take more photos, I spend more of my waking hours on iNaturalist than anything else. (This is not always good.) I like putting dots on new parts of my personal map of observations. In fact, today I’m planning a trip to a road I’ve never been on just to add dots – after I stop spending time on the forum. Bye.
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I love these true love stories on iNat! LOL!
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