Worst Inaturalist Experiences Ever

Nature Talk
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If a picture of a mass of dense vegetation , or a group of trees, or stretch of grass, doen’t tell the viewer of the observation something about Nature (at least that it was not a desert, a construction, or an erosion channel), that is the viewer’s deficiency, not one of the observation.

Given that the location is precise enough to make comparisons over time, these are exactly the observations we need to learn and create awareness of the forces on, and responses of, biodiversity and habitat. Upload them! If you know what at least one of the species was, identify it and describe where it is in the photo. It doesn’t matter if noone can confirm it from the photo.
And for researchers who can’t use such observations, they can ignore it. Those wanting to know how the ecology of that location has changed over time, ie how it came to be as it is now, will find it valuable.

In 1997 I started what became, for 2-3 years anyway, “the most successful urban conservation project in NZ”, I was told by a Department of Conservation officer at the time. I avidly collected all local anecdotes and memories about the 2km streamside, forest and estuary.
One old man told me that in about 1960 the forest had been a bare site, burned off for agriculture and horticulture probably.

I asked him what were the first trees to grow. He told me lancewood (Pseudopanax arboreus). I was amazed, as they were virtually absent there in 1997 (and still are).

Passing this info on to our botanist ecologist, I learned that this species is a known pioneer species for forests of this type (“lowland”), in this part of New Zealand.

If he had been able to provide even the blurriest image, or even without an image, this would have been a fabulous addition to the iNat project I started in 2018 to document the progress…and regress…of that forest.

My view is, to learn and act, we need both detailed observations with species ID, and habitat knowledge. Otherwise the photos of plants or animals without context might as well be in a botanical garden or zoo.

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123

Had to laugh at the mosquito story. I have a similar one, involving photographing carnivorous plants in a swamp. I somewhat expected the attack and did slather myself liberally with bug spray before I went out but the mosquitoes were clearly not impressed by that. I couldn’t get the close-ups I wanted because I couldn’t hold the camera still for long enough due to the onslaught.

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124

OUCH! Maybe those carnivorous plants have selected for particularly hearty mosquitoes!

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I accidentally deleted a whole camera card’s worth of photos once, thankfully none of them were lifelist firsts.
Also have been stung/bitten by wasps, bees and mosquitos.

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126

Thank you, now I know I belong on iNaturalist! Nobody in my circle (family etc.) comprehends why I am constantly photographing animals. I think I have found my home away from home :)

But I would slightly differ, because a rare observation is still a thousand times better than not observing it, although getting a photo is another thousand times better again. It took until my 4th marten observation to get some brief video for proof. Then it was my 5th marten observation where I actually got photos, and this is what started me on iNaturalist. And now, the previous 4 sightings are still a treasure, adding depth to my story.

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127

Well, I didn’t think I had any really bad iNat experiences; but yours reminded me of a time before I was on iNat. Road trip. Small Oklahoma town. And as I walked around, keeping to public parks and sidewalks, I also stopped to look at the flora.

As I was nearing my car again, two police officers stopped me and began asking questions about why I was looking at weeds. Gave me the usual story about there are kids in the neighborhood, want to keep them safe, blah, blah, effin blah. In other words, it was an autistic person’s normal life: someone got scared because they saw me doing something they weren’t used to.

I stay away from Oklahoma if I can.

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Yeah I have encountered similar sorts of things doing field work so I try not to attract attention in those settings. Which can be hard.
Also there’s definitely a large contingent of autistic and otherwise neurodivergent people on iNat which i find neat. Otherwise-unwelcome infodumping is welcome here… if not out in some communities. I don’t see why everyone isn’t constantly poking around looking at interesting plants and bugs but that’s just me.

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Just curious – does anyone who takes a camera with them in mosquito-thick areas also use DEET? After seeing what DEET can do to some plastic or painted surfaces, I’ve never used it while doing photography due to fear of getting it on my camera equipment.

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If I ever take insect repellent (which I normally don’t) I will never use DEET because it is detrimental to salamanders and will instead use a natural repellent.

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Seriously!!! :joy: Maybe I found me a place where I can be me.

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I’ve pondered whether it would be neat to make an iNat neurodiversity group or something but realized that iNat itself is kind of a neurodiversity group :) Among many other things. Maybe could be the subject of a discrete thread but i’m kinda afraid to make it/not sure how.

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I hate using anything with such a noxious smell. I prefer to get bitten! And have been, many times.

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I would support creating a thread to raise awareness. It isn’t an easy topic, but you would have my full support. I’m only mildly neurodivergent with my ADHD but I do have a mental illness and I wish I had a place to talk about how it affects and is affected by my interactions with nature.

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Will think more about it! Your experience is valid and you don’t have to worry about whether it’s mild. Autistic people who don’t have comorbid issues are often told they are ‘mildly autistic’ which sounds like a bland salsa. Thus the creation of ‘spicy autism’ and perhaps ‘spicy adhd’

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I just suffer lol :joy:

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Yeah, I’ve done that, having been badly bitten up by mosquitoes in a wetland while photographing dragonfles then falling ill for a week with what was probably West Nile Virus.

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I used Baby Organics Insect repellent, and it works fine for my needs. But, it doesn’t usually get awfully buggy here; our summers are dry. One good thing about wearing masks and face shields is they baffle those annoying little carbon dioxide- loving flies that follow me on late summer and Fall hikes.

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It seems my idea of mosquito infested has a much lower density than your perceived version…also i tend to wear long trousers and long sleeves if I knew I was heading to an ecosystem like that so maybe that also helped.

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It depends - I use DEET sparingly and mostly to spray on clothes (e.g. spray on socks/pants/sleeves) before heading into tick-infested meadows. I know a few folks who are struggling with severe health issues due to tick bites so we’ve all gotten a bit paranoid about lime disease and such. It’s a solvent so definitely keep it away from equipment. I don’t like to get it on my skin even though it claims to be safe. It acts as an environmental toxin that is particularly bad for aquatic organisms like fish, so it should not be used if there is a risk it could get washed off (e.g. rainy days, wading through water).

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Personally I find it quite handy since you can edit the photos. I find it lets me get better pics than I would otherwise!. However it can always be turned off.

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