Hello there, I am completely a newbie when it comes to being a naturalist. I just found the app yesterday and since I am still at the…budding (embryionic?) stage, I was curious if I should focus on one single category (such as plants) or branch out to other categories as well? As a beginner, I fin…

In observing, it is great to be broad with your observations! Even if you are personally unable to ID them at first, getting IDs from the community will slowly grow your awareness of organisms around you. If you see it and you can get an observation or it particularly interests you, snap a shot! I …

If you are observing, observe all and everything that you see (until it gets boring, then focus on things that interest you :). If you are identifying, I would definitely recommend starting from the ground up. Begin with a genus or even a species, then learn to identify the group above that, and ab…

welcome to the forum. i guess everyone likes different things and has different ways of learning, but i think this is the way i would encourage most people to start: subscribe to observations in your area. check the dashboard in the website to see what others are posting in the area to get a sens…

I am particularly interested in/knowledgeable about birds, so that ultimately serves as my motivation to get outside as well as influences the locations I visit. But once I get out there I usually end up getting distracted by everything else (plants especially!) and I just take pictures of everythin…

Just want to chime in to say that there are some excellent answers and advice here. A side note- This could be an absolute powder-keg of a topic where ereryone comes to share how they come at it… Which would be awesome to see!

just do whatever you are interested in! if you’re into fungi or reptiles or plants or insects or birds or whatever, do that! i only do animals, for example, with a particular focus on fishes and birds, just because those two groups are what I am most interested in. I don’t do plants or fungi, becaus…

For observing, photo and post whatever interests you. You don’t need to know what it is. Just post it with an accurate location and date, and it can be useful. For identifications (and I hope you will do identifications!), start with the organisms or location you know best, then spread out. Have…

Some forum topics that might be helpful: How do you decide whether something is “interesting” enough to observe? In need of your mentorship & knowledge - coaching new members How do you expand your knowledge of different taxa? Current or general favorite field guides? I tend to agree most with th…

[image] zeeshanmahmud: broad view of the database as to where pieces fit Once an obs has 2 IDs, and a Community Taxon - if you click What’s This - you get the whole taxonomy tree (scroll past the paragraph of blah blah). Which I use constantly to see, and Where does This Fit in?? Follow your…

Suggestion: Should I focus on one category or all at once as a beginner?

General

egordon88 August 6, 2022, 6:00am 13

Like this one? https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-do-you-decide-whether-something-is-interesting-enough-to-observe/33511

Topic		Replies	Views
Where do I start? General question	20	2562	February 5, 2021
What do you guys do to be such good Inaturalists Nature Talk	42	2661	June 7, 2021
Ways that users can start identifying easily General	65	3216	December 2, 2022
How long did it take you to start posting on iNaturalist? General	59	2184	May 13, 2023
How do you decide whether something is "interesting" enough to observe? General question	92	3896	August 1, 2022

Suggestion: Should I focus on one category or all at once as a beginner?

Related topics