Inspired by the famous What’s in your field kit? post the most important tool is the one you have with you, and I aways carry my smart phone. But recently I was thinking about all the various different ways I use it, and realised just what a multi-tool it really is. Here is a list of all the the functions I have used as a Naturalist;
iNat app
Camera
Audio recorder / Audio ID app
Gps logger
Magnifier
Flashlight
Note pad
Field guides (eBooks or PDF)
ID apps
Bat detector module/app
Maps / route planner
Compass
Measuring app
Time and weather
Camera remote control
Music & Audiobooks
Slidebox (an app which makes sorting through and deleting photos 10x faster)
Drawing or Painting app (to sketch observations)
Podcasts app (to listen to Nature podcasts)
Play bird/animal calls
Are there any more I am not even aware of? Please let me know below.
You’ve listed pretty much all of the functions I use. Another one I find useful is the “action button” on iPhone. I use it whenever a cool insect lands near me unexpectedly— just hold down the button, and now I’m automatically on the camera app! You can also change it to toggle voice memos, so you can take recordings whenever you want
Wow. That’s a lot of things. I have a more minimal approach.
Camera App
iNat app (I use it only for uploading and making audio-observations)
Books (I rarely use it on my phone though. I have an iPhone 13 mini and going through keys at that screen size is absolutely miserable)
Also, very important:
Music & Audiobooks for when I make observations in a more crowded place and need an “anti-social-interaction-shield”
Slidebox - an app which makes sorting through and deleting photos 10x faster at least. (I can’t recommend this enough, if you are using your phone for observations and have tons of bad/duplicate photos)
I’m afraid I will have to disagree with you here. If you would like to discuss further please feel free to message me directly - this is an area I am qualified to discuss.
Recording apps (rarely used in the field as they are a clunky way to submit data)
iRecord App
iRecordButterflies
iRecordGrasshoppers
iMammalia
MammalMapper
BirdTrack
eBird
PlantTracker
Leaf Watch (for Cameraria ohridella)
Audio Recording:
BirdNet
Echo Meter
UK specific guides:
Moths of GB&I
British Moths
Butterflies
Dragonflies
Bumblebees
Dragon Finder (herpetofauna)
Tree Id
British Trees
A few specific guides on the books app
Other European guides:
EuropeanLadybirds
BWP (Birds of the Western Palearctic)
N Euro Birds
Bird Guide (Collins)
Other Guides:
Birds of Africa
Birds of NA
ID apps:
Merlin Bird ID
BirdNet
PlantNet
iNaturalist
ObsIdentify
I don’t have many apps. I have Merlin for help in IDing bird songs/ calls. And I use PictureThis as a supplement to iNat CV for plant IDs because I can pull it up easily and it’s generally pretty good.
I have also realised I can use my (apple) watch to trigger the camera on my phone. This can be used to prevent shake when taking a picture as well as meaning the phone camera can be used in more difficult positions/angles.
