Has anyone created a Place for the Olympics? I think it would be fun to watch an iNat Olympics and see which species brings home the gold. Of course, you can use Paris as the Place and filter for dates, but that leaves out Tahiti where the surfing competition is held.
6 Likes
it might be better to create a project for this. you can include multple places and also limit the time window.
7 Likes
Agreed. But I was lazy. I just used the county that Paris is located in for the project place. I didn’t even attempt Tahiti.
From a Tree of Life perspective, the insects are on track for the gold, followed by the plants with the birds looking strong for the bronze.
From a species perspective, the Common Carder Bumble Bee and Buff-tailed Bumble Bee are tied with two observations each. All other organisms only have one.
Apparently, there are no mallards, honey bees or dandelions in Paris?
1 Like
And… we have our first Olympic Mallard observation. Paris does not disappoint.
5 Likes
Since today is Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympics
a ‘working from home’ competitor
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/189972151
3 Likes
Oooh… I think the judges will like the creativity.
1 Like
Things are getting exciting in Paris at the iNat Olympics!
It’s a tight race for the gold in the Species race. Gray Heron, Purple Loosestrie and Artichoke Fly are now also at 2 observations. Early days yet, so anything can happen. It would not surprise me to see Mallard surge from behind.
Over on the Tree of Life field, Insects are maintaining a slim lead at 39 observations while Plants is hard on its heels with 34. Birds, Arachnids and Fungi are battling for the Bronze with 6, 4 and 4 observations respectively.
It’s still anyone’s game. Mammals came into this knowing it would be tough in an urban area but we can never count them out completely. And who was expecting the Fungi? This may be the upset of the Games.
Stay tuned and if you know anyone in Paris for the Olympics, tell them to get their observations going.
7 Likes
July 30
While the leaderboard of the Species race hasn’t changed, the number of entrants has: there are 104 species now in the running for the Gold! The lead species still all have two observations each.
Things are hotting up over on the Tree of Life field. Insects has pulled ahead with 47 species, getting a respectable lead over Plants at 39. Arachnids edged up to 5 species. Could this be the break away from Fungi? Will Arachnids overtake Birds? That race for the Bronze could be the competition of the Games!
4 Likes
July 31
Big movement in the Species race. More Species have moved into contention for the Gold, including Mallard! At this writing, the top 12 of the 135 Species all have 2. It would not take many for a move.
On the Tree of Life field, Insects surge ahead to 66 observations leaving Plants which crept up to 45 behind. Arachnids and Birds are tied at 7 each. Fungi which had an early showing is hanging at 4.
4 Likes
This is hilariously brilliant! 
2 Likes
Aug 1
We are not even halfway through the Games and today was a Big Day.
The Species race is exploding. There is movement in the top tiers with 9 Species moving out of the two observation doldrums. Top of the list Mallard has a slim lead with 6 observations. Hard on Mallard’s heels (do Mallards have heels?) with 5 observations is Carrion Crow and hard on Crow’s heels (same question) is Common Wood Pigeon with 4.
Western Honey Bee, a familiar top contender in many top Species lists, makes an appearance on the board today. A quick peek at the map shows many previous Western Honey Bee observations in Paris - is this the first buzz of a coming swarm of observations?
And on the Tree of Life field, the Insects are moving into a commanding position, 81 observations! Plants are falling behind even with a respectable 50 observations. Birds (18) have pulled a head of Arachnids (9), mostly due to one observer who had a busy day. Fungi (4) which had a strong start remain static while Mammals have crept up (2).
7 Likes
Aug 2
Well, hello Black-Headed Gull. Look at you flying past Carrion Crow to join Mallard in leading the Species race with 6 observations each. Other than this move by the Black-Headed Gull, the biggest change in the race is in the total number of Species on the board. Up to 215 from a mere 171 yesterday.
Western Honey Bee (Apis meliflea) still has only one observation. A scroll through the other Bee observations shows another Apis ID’ed only to genus is on the board. There may be some movement for this perennial list topper yet.
On the Tree of Life field Insects have what can only be considered a dominating lead with 110 observations over Plants (58). Those Arachnids, though, charging up to 14, just a mere 4 observations behind Birds. Bronze is still up for grabs.
Ever since the Jamaican Bobsled team competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics, the Games have always had a heartwarming story of a plucky underdog that everyone cheers. Our Games has the Wall Lizard (Reptile) and Smooth New (Amphibian). We cheer their appearance and if we could, we would award them a medal just for showing up.
7 Likes
Aug 3
Talk about your shake ups! Black-Headed Gulf flying into a commanding position in the Species race with 12 observations! And Carrion Crow has the receipts with 8. Not sure what is happening to Mallard with only 6, no movement from yesterday. Maybe the rain sent them to the Seine?
And in a mashup of competitions, the fourth place Species, breathing up Mallard’s tail, is Red Admiral butterfly. Red Admiral is the most observed Insect and Insects are OWNING the competition on the Tree of Life field. Plants are hanging in there with 63. Birds (26) are pulling away from Arachnids (19). And Fungi who have not moved for several days have crept up to 6 from 4.
3 Likes
As expected. Birds leading. Butterflies trailing. Plants and Fungi are also rans. But where ARE the Runners, the Olympic legs?
1 Like
The Mammals had an early showing with two observations (Eurasian Red Squirrel and Brown Rat) but have not advanced. For what it’s worth, both observations are Research Grade.
2 Likes
I’m just over here, giving up on predicting what’s next in the Species race. Black Headed Gull maintains the lead position with 14 observations. Currently in second, the SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY (what??) with 9 observations is tied with Carrion Crow. In third is… (wait for it) Mallard (7) tied with Mute Swan, Red Admiral and Common Carder Bumble Bee, an organism we haven’t heard from since the first days. This race for the Bronze is a nail biter.
It’s crowded up front, folks.
On the Tree of Life field Insects (173) is absolutely crushing it. Plants (77), despite their lack of representation in the Species race, is solid in second place over the third place Birds (29) who are ahead of Arachnids (21) but not invulnerable to a late surge from the spiders. Ray Finned Fishes is on the board with 2 observations.
4 Likes
Black-headed gull is in first place right now!
2 Likes
Ok, back for the final push. Life got in the way.
In the Species race, Black Headed Gull is hanging strong at 16. Carrion Crow (14) and Rock Pigeon (13) are not out of the race yet though there will have to be some movement soon. Mallard is still in contention with 11, so we are not done yet. Common Wood Pigeon and the Common Carder Bumblebee are also at 11. That Bronze medal is still in contention.
On the Tree of Life field, what can I say? It’s Insects (245) trailed considerably by plants (154). Birds with 37 are looking good for the Bronze. Arachnids with 25 could still pull out a victory but it’s not likely. Fungi with 9 is far from being a competitor but it’s nice to note that it has gained a few more observations.
2 Likes
I could see the iNat Olympics expanding to more events in subsequent olympiads. Not only within-Kingdom or within-Phylum, but achievement of RG, annotations, possibly others.
3 Likes
I haven’t but you can follow this video to learn how to do it yourself: Using Google Earth on Chrome to make custom areas for iNaturalist projects
I created the video to instruct my company on how to create iNaturalist custom areas for our worksites.
1 Like