I upload images of each species but where there are multiple individuals of the same species, I want to add that number to a single observation.
(This is really for my benefit - I wouldn’t expect anyone else to rely on this data as it is possible I may have misidentified an individual that has no photo ID)
I’ve tried using Comments and Notes but would prefer a method that guarantees consistency.
I’ve tried creating a Traditional Project to make use of a custom observation field that is visible when i create a new observation, but this doesn’t seem to work on the new iPhone iNaturalist app (see below), which I prefer because of the ability to upload multiple photos and then group them.
Even on the classic iNaturalist app (see below) there are several stages to get to the custom field, via ‘Projects’.
What is the best way (least clicks) readers have found to record the number of individuals of the same species?
You could try using observation fields? You can write “Number of Individuals” into the observation field and then include the exact number you encountered.
Not the best suggestion, probably (since I’m also profoundly unfamiliar with the iPhone app), but I think you might benefit from the pc web based app, which is way more flexible and -in my opinion- efficient to use, since it allows to easily upload multiple observations at a time, add field values and include them in projects
You could always capture a wider photo showing the multiple individuals (moths spread out on a sheet, or a flock of birds, etc.) and add it into the photo reel. Then annotate on the observation by adding one of the fields “number of individuals” with an estimate or value that was observed?
Not super scientific but at least for your own notes, the info is attached to the observation/
I think returning to observations with the web app is probably the easiest solution. I upload almost all my photos via mobile, but I will later bulk edit (add extra notes, tags, observation fields, etc) on my computer.
From dashboard: Edit Observations → Batch Edit → select the observations you want to add things to → Edit Selected
From there, you get a page with all of those observations open and editable, with the ability to make “bulk” changes to everything, or just editing each observation, without having to go through multiple pages.
In your specific scenario, if the info is just for you: I’d suggest having a tag that you add like “multiple individuals” and leave any specific or estimated counts in the notes. Adding a wide angle photo could always be useful. If you’d like to be more specific, I think observation field could be useful. Looks like there are a number of existing observation fields that already exist for this: https://www.inaturalist.org/observation_fields?utf8=✓&q=Number+of+Individuals&commit=Search
On a side note, I think the reason the “number of individuals” data is not intuitive to add to an observation is because of iNat’s definition of “observation” being specifically “one observer - one organism”. So while “There were 57 more of these on the sheet not pictured here” is very useful information, those other 57 individuals aren’t technically part of the “observation” being posted, and as such there’s never going to be a way to easily add that information, beyond creating your own data field and filling it in on your PC browser for each species each night.
