I think old, cheap sneakers are better. Just resign yourself to the mud. Bring along a second pair and clean socks to change into when you come out of the salina.
2 Likes
Or Crocs, which make surprisingly good wading shoes. Not recommended for mud though, just water with solid bottom
2 Likes
Don’t touch anything unless absolutely necessary. Leave mammal babies alone unless they are actually in danger/injured, more than half the time I see people bringing perfectly healthy babies into wildlife clinics.
A net could be useful in catching things that live in rivers to get a closer look! I also like to bring a clip-on macrolens for my phone to take pictures of the very tiny creatures.
It really depends. I don’t like to go places alone because I have been approached by creepy guys before, even a few years ago as a younger teenager, and I’d like to avoid that. In more populated areas I feel safer, as long as I can see a bunch of other people. Ultimately, it really depends on you and your situation, and how comfertable you are possibly needing to bring mace/learn self defense/etc. (Not trying to scare you, but unfortunately these are things I and many other people have had to consider)
Yes! Depending on what you’re interested in, (birds, inverts, specific microhabitats, etc.) you can find a bunch of groups.
2 Likes
I’ve always learned a lot by reading the introductory parts of printed field guides. If you have access to a library, borrow some field guides for whatever groups of organisms you are interested in and red whatever parts interest you. Don’t worry about memorizing every single one of the hundreds of plants/birds/butterflies/whatever the book is covering; just page through and enjoy it. If you are particularly interested in, say, birds, buy a field guide to the birds of your country or region. As much information as iNaturalist or other digital sources can offer, I still find printed books to be incredibly useful. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned? Or just old? (That part is true!)
6 Likes
Bonus points when the author of your field guide IDs your obs!
1 Like
i think these questions could be nicely explored in a video game based on Oregon Trail, except instead journeying across 1840s America as a settler, you would take a road trip to go observing (and as a mini-game, instead of stopping occasionally to hunt for food, you would stop occasionally to observe organisms). if there are any folks looking for a summer coding project, please do this.
1 Like
One way to reduce disturbance is to sit and wait. Find a comfortable sheltered spot where you can see for a couple of hundred metres, preferably over-looking some water, and with some flowers close by to bring in the insects, and just wait for things to arrive or fly past.
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.