I checked a bit and indeed mallard has been n.1 species every year since at least 2015. Not only that but the gap has been widening. In fact, if you compare 2021 to the 2015-2020 period, the difference with second (honey bee) or third (monarch) is about the same for those two periods while the total number of observations (as well as of mallard’s obs) for 2015-2020 is a bit less than twice that of 2021.
So it seems mallards’ lead is only getting stronger, perhaps because of iNat’s globalization? Unless the globalization pattern changes drastically (here in SE Asia, it’s not even in the top 500 species), I’m sorry to say it’s probably a lost cause for 2022…
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Welcome to the forum! I don’t know where you live, but in Winnipeg Canada mallards are hard to avoid. They hatch about three broods in a season.
I do my bit by only taking one or two photos of them per year, just to show that they are here and breeding. I really have no interest in them!
As for the Canada Goose (AKA Cobra Chicken, Flying rats, etc.) those things are everywhere, and they never shut up. If I photographed every one of them I saw during a season, I could probably push them to the top forever. They return here when there is still ice on the river, and only leave when the river surface is completely solid. I like to think of them as North Americas revenge on Europe for introducing all those invasive species so long ago. Sorry to all those other places which have gotten caught in the crossfire.
I applaud this effort, but think it is ultimately doomed to failure. Mallards are ubiquitous and easy to identify, and everyone loves ducks for some reason. However, point me in the right direction, and I’ll help. Plants are somewhat problematic here since there are none for about 7 months of the year, and I won’t help if the Cobra Chicken is the choice!
Edit: The top 3 in Canada are Mallard, American Robin and Cobra Chicken. Number of observations 10,332; 8,826; and 8,470 respectively. The Honey Bee is 33rd on the list.
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I have read that the house fly Musca domestica is in decline, at least in countries where refuse is now wrapped in plastic bags. It apparently thrived when refuse tips were basically huge compost heaps but these days its relative Musca autumnalis is more common. And neither of them is easy to identify so I don’t think they are contenders for most observed. And mosquitoes are also difficult so not going to win either.
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I think the focus should be to upload more of something else rather than avoid mallards. And what good would it be if the the tyranny of the mallard was defeated by the equally oppressive honey bee? That honestly might be worse than having mallard take the top spot yet again.
Looking at 2018 and 2019, the monarch butterfly was extremely close to passing the mallard, coming less than 700 observations away in 2018. I think that’s the way to go.
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I think a cosmopolite weed is actually easier to get in with individual numbers, observing more from each patch or at least mapping them more (as now people go either observing every individual or one specimen for the big area, only little in the middle and most on the “rare” end). If more people find out about it, it’d be more helpful than e.g. a NA butterfly which is already on 24/7 control from local users. Spotted Spurge is a southern species, I’d rather take e.g. Urtica dioica, that could be better mapped in places it’s invasive, easier to see and id.
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But what about pigeons or sparrows?
I did my part last year by limiting myself to one mallard observation. I plan to do the same this year.
I love this.
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I apologize for my recent outburst about Canada Geese, and have deleted the graphic I posted (although it is funny). They annoy me.
Seriously, to dethrone the mallard, we need a strategy. As has been mentioned we need to get a dedicated, worldwide group to stop posting mallards, and focus on adding more observations of something easily recognizable that lives across at least most of the globe. Some of the reasons why the mallard is so popular is that it is a larger, relatively common vertebrate species with few detriments. It tends to sit still, or at least not move too fast. It’s offspring look ‘cute’, so photogenic. For someone starting out, these are desirable observation traits.
The Canada Goose would work in that it is fairly global, and not very mobile. The monarch butterfly is largely confined to N and S America, so is not present in a global sense. The Western Honey Bee is found worldwide, but as has been mentioned, it may be just as bad - plus, for most of the world, it could be considered a domesticated species like chickens. Plants would probably be a good option, as long as they are easy to identify to species (see Dandelions above) .
I look forward to more suggestions, and will do my best to dethrone the fowl.
Having most of observers in NA and wanting not to focus on hated invasive species they probably won’t be chosen. Btw this year is called year of a sparrow by Russian bird society, they’re apparently declining and actually not as common as may seem.
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I find it remarkable that one observer has posted, so far, 285 observations of Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber
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OK, so something abundant, and native to a wide area of observation so that more people will observe it. The wide area should include several high volume iNat “observation centers” if you really want to boost the numbers. Like, Penang level could be good.
Edit: Oh, tie it to a bioblitz to incentivize it? Oh wait Penang would be like cheating. ;)
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At least in North America, it should not be too hard to boost Great Blue Heron.
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What about spending some month in the Caribbean this year… no mallards there. At least not in the top 100 of iNat https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=141321&view=species
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I would refrain from posting this mallard I saw today… but 
only if someone could say why part of both wings stick out oddly:
Okay, I will refrain from posting the angel-winged duck. That was an interesting article, thanks for satisfying my curiosity!
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fairly sure some of the best candidates globally would be domestic animals such as cows pig sheep chickens dogs cats etc. or even farmed plants like corn? if we wanted a more wild species on the other hand a plants grass daises seem the best option. we could go the human route as well given you aren’t going to have to look far to find a Homo sapien.
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I think it’d be tough, but I do love great blue herons. Really never gets old seeing them.
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Sidenote, I’ve been thinking of doing a set of iNat observations for all the various species I eat in a particular meal.
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