I only get lifers when travelling - this week was my first trip of 2026 and I saw a new to me orchid, Habenaria tridactylites. I was looking for it in the forest at first and couldn’t find any, until I realized it grows on the cliffs!
I got to see a Harris’s Sparrow last week, which was my first lifer of 2026!
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/334208587
I’ve photographed a lot of the birds in my area so when we saw a different raptor and it was something that I hadn’t even thought about being in my area I was quite chuffed.
Mine this week is a little different, because I use iNaturalist a little differently than some others, I think. I tend to observe over a set area (my garden) over and over and over. In doing so, I often have multiple Observations of the same species on different dates, which is how I came to see the wild looking fruit from the wild looking Lifer I put here last week.
But this week I am more excited about new knowledge of a slightly aged Lifer, which is one I had back in November. This is Heliotropium angiospermum, which popped up in my garden. Its common name here is cola de alacrán which is scorpion’s tale or nej ma’ax which is monkey’s tail. Regardless of which you prefer, I have watched the “tails” grow and grow without seeing any visitors until today when at last I spotted a dear friend: Frieseomelitta nigra, one of our native stingless bees!
I really enjoy knowing which native bees visit which native plants, so this was very satisfying new knowledge about a (recent) Lifer.
A few lifers last night. This is possibly one of the cuter ones.
Agathinus tridens
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/334568899
very cute weevil!
Cheers, it is a cute one.
I’ve been looking for a Gadwall for so long, and I finally found one today! https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/335065982
This week I had not one but two new morning glories! My eyes have recently become much better at differentiating between tangly vines so I can watch for flowers, which is quite a welcome development.
This one is Jacquemontia pentanthos, and I don’t think the photos capture how pretty the blue is.
This one was not on a scraggly vine but rather underfoot as it grows in a scraggly mat. The flowers are quite small but so sweet. This is Evolvulus alsinoides. (I thought it was at upload but could not be sure so left it at family but am quite content to wait for a second ID.)
Both are natives, which is also pleasing.
Wow.
Jacquemontia pentathos is a seasonal bloomer. By January and February you can see them by roadsides, in strong purple shining from far away. They get coated in flowers, or ‘‘cuajadas de flores’’, as I would say in Spanish for when a plant flowers abundantly.
This species, the yellow Tahonal (Viguiera dentata), and what is presumed to be Xtabentun (Ipomoea corymbosa) are the triad of roadside adorners of North winds season in our area. Looking at the three of them in action is splendid.
Welp, I’ve been to this year’s butterfly migration and back, as well as 2 a local migratory bird hotspot, and I’ve seen:
A silverstreak Acacia Blue
A Double banded Judy (One of south India’s two Riodinidaes, and finally letting me say that i’ve seen at least 1 member of every butterfly family)
A Malabar Parakeet (BLUE!)
A Quaker
A Malayan
A Dingy Lineblue
A Painted Sawtooth
A Great Orange Tip
(N0 photos: Asian fairy bluebird, Bar headed goose and pied hornbill)
Angled Castors
A Tinsel
(no photos: A Shiva Sunbeam)
4 species of kingfisher (Stork billed, Pied, Common and White throated).
And possibly more when I’m done uploading and processing all my photos.
I’m too lazy to add links for these so you’ll have to find them yourself lol :D
EDIT: Still haven’t finished updating all the obs, but I’ve finally completed da nature challenge from @ItsMeLucy last year,: An actual green bee eater :D
Took quite a while, but better late than never!
Got a few cool lifers this week but nothing will top this Velvet Worm. Honestly. Is there a better animal? Second one I’ve seen but definitely a different species. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/336226423
It’s been a heck of a week for lifers.
I got my first carrion beetle.
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/336506061
And my first ever Megalopteran
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/336506099
My first beetle in the family Heteroceridae
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/336506013
And excitingly my first Ship-Timber Beetle
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/336506110
Wow! I would have never guessed that was a beetle on first glance. I had no idea that there were beetles that didn’t hide their wings under a shell. Even rove beetles can fold their wings up to store.
My first script lichen.
Yeah the only other beetles I can think of with exposed second pair of wings are the wasp mimicking longicorns in the Tribe Hesthesini
Also some of the Ripiphoridae