Who wants to play "Observation Challenge"? Hone your skill set for CNC!

General
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Mostly around Newcastle.
Though I do go out Broken Hill/Mutawintji way fairly often(maybe as a long-term side quest)

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Thank you for your prompt reply! I see you specialize in Erotylidae, so of course my brain goes first to beetles (although just like all beetles, because I am untrained, wheeee!)

How about looking for this click beetle?

You are coming into season to spot this gorgeous bumble bee.

And an extreme summer challenge: this rhinoceros beetle.

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I read your post and immediately remembered a movie our older son watched on VHS when he was young (until it wore out). We used to sing this little song when he became frustrated, and so now I send it to you from my peninsula, oceans away.

Do not give up @austin_ajit ! We are rooting for you and @shreedave has sent hints!

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I was fascinated to look at your profile in more depth and realize you have exactly one plant Observation and only 3 bees. I feel like it would be hard to assess how challenging a plant or bee would be for you, so in good faith I cannot assign them.

Your challenges are to find:

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ā€˜Powerfulā€™ owl. Who named this bird?

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Hi @nousernameavailable By hoping to record more Observations, do you want things you can record sounds for? Or just challenges local to you?

edit: I cannot find your original post now but I have a little sticky next to me I am working down and I wrote your name down, I could swear it was here?

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Iā€™m not familiar with sounds, so I prefer not having to do them.

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Perfect, me either! :sweat_smile:

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I removed it, Iā€™ll just restore it now.

Edit: Or it seems I canā€™t. No worries.

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Someone who knew how to name owls right!

Edit: according to Wikipedia, John Gould.

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Hi, @nousernameavailable I had a lot of fun looking up species that were sparkling new to me, as you live in a part of the world that is less familiar to me. (That is to say I have no idea if these are feasible or not. :sweat_smile:)

  1. This beautiful bird seems to migrate but I cannot figure out when it is where. Look for it toward the sea!
  2. These geckos if they are like the geckos here should be often found indoors eating mosquitos and other pests, best friends style. (Here the geckos are most easily found at night by flicking on lights suddenly and looking up ā€“ they run on the ceilings.)
  3. This plant is remarkable. You may have seen one already, who knows!
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I think I may have seen these before?

There is a mangrove area not too far from a road I often use, very easy. In fact, I could probably even get a few fish obs from them.

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54

I am willing to participate, waiting on your assignments.
As a note I am not a birder and would prefer something in Plantae or Fungi that is not seasonally limited
(I will be in the south sound region of Washington state until the end of the month)

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Wonderful! What a cool little area you are in, @dgwdoesthings. Plants it is!

Please find this unusual (to me) rose .

This elegant plant should be in bloom soon too.

This delicate lily is the final challenge.

Good luck!

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Lucy, you are amazing! Thanks for all your efforts on this project. It could get overwhelming very quickly!

I accept your challenge to find a Lyrebird and a Blue-spotted Cloak-and-dagger Bee - two things I would love to see but never have. I am surpised to find that someone saw one of those bees in the town nearest to me just a month ago! It might be getting too cold now - but I will keep my eyes open, even if it takes me 2 years like the beetle did. A lyrebird will be trickier - will definitely need to travel but you never know, it could happen. I know people who live in areas where they exist, so maybe I need to go visitingā€¦
Thanks again for the challenge!

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Iā€™ll play lol
Iā€™m curious @ItsMeLucy what would your targets be?

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Saludos @man4nature I just moved so everything I see will be if not new, new to me here. That said, we are coming out of what is called a bochorno, which is to say it has been oven roasty hot for an extended period of time. Tomorrow, however a cold front will arrive bringing sweet relief, so I should be able to go outside again for more than a minute without wanting to keel over dead. Whee! (But it will bring rain, so mosquitoes too. Boo.)

So, on to my challenges for you. In looking at your profile I quickly realized you likely have seen all the snakes and reptiles your county has to offer. That said, I really like the Halloween pennant Observations you made last spring!

So why not look for these other Odonata?

  1. This colorful forktail

  2. This extremely small but handsome dragonfly

  3. This very cool looking pondhawk

Good luck!

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Yes, thank you!
Also, beaked hazelnut is native here.

You did! It grows in one bog near where I live, and I donā€™t go there often.

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This sounds super fun!! I mostly do Observation in the GTA in Ontario (Greater Toronto Area), but also will be in Jaffna, Sri Lanka in August

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Sounds like fun, Iā€™m in. Iā€™ll be in New Brunswick for most of this summer.

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