Identification of plants, animals, and
all kind of critters is often necessary
for my projects or just to satisfy my curiosity.
Take this flower for example.
First I take pictures of the flower,
leaves, and buds
using the camera on my phone.
It is necessary for references
and helpful for better recognition
to take pictures showing the plant
from different sides.
Here is a different view of the bloom.
The phone camera also records
the time and the location
where the pictures were taken
if you turn those features on in settings ;)
Here is another plant I want to identify.
You may have actually seen this plant
in my previous videos.
I've been growing it with roots in water
in my aquarium gardens ;)
And it really makes no difference what
smartphone you use for taking pictures -
iphone or android, any modern phone is
more than sufficient for our purpose.
It is the skills of the person behind the camera
that makes the difference - right!
Look what I found here.
Have you ever wondered what types of
spiders make webs in your neighborhood?
Let's find it out!
Take pictures of the spider and the web
from different sides.
And there many wild creatures in parks
that look similar and yet somehow different...
hmm...no wonder that kids across the ocean
draw squirrels and pigeons using different colors.
Let's take some pictures just to check.
Now let's identify all we found today.
I use iNaturalist app on my phone
to identify plants, animals, birds, and critters.
Open the iNaturalist app.
Download and set it up
the first time you open the app.
I have been using it for over an year.
Let me show you how it works.
Click button "Observe".
We already took pictures,
so let's click the button "Camera Roll".
Which brings us to all the pictures
stored on my phone.
Click on the pictures of the first plant
in the order you want them to appear.
And then click the button "Add".
The first chosen picture is a default.
Now let's click the "What did you see?" button.
The app gives a list of suggestions.
The app is pretty sure this plant is
in the genus hibiscuses and provides a list of
top ten species in this genius.
Click on the "i" button next to the suggestion
to get more details about it.
In this example,
the suggestion seems to be right.
I am not going to dig into the details
of other suggestions this time.
Let's click on the suggestion to choose it.
And now we can click button "SHARE"
to share our finding with the world.
It takes a minute or so to synchronize it
over wifi with your online account.
And while the app synchronizes
the info and pictures,
we can check on the other plants we found.
Click the button "Observe".
And then click the button "Camera Roll"
to add pictures of another plant.
We can change the order that pictures
will appear by selecting - deselecting them.
Then click the button "Add" to add chosen
pictures to the observation we are making.
This app lets you add up to 4 pictures
in one observation.
Click "What did you see?"
to see the list of suggestions by the app.
Aha! The app is confident in saying
that this is Dayflower plant.
I knew it :)
Let's choose it
and share our finding with the world.
And as you can see
the previous finding is already synchronized.
Waste no time -
we have more things to identify.
Let's submit pictures of another plant I found.
This one I actually don't know.
Here I add the pictures.
Let's see what suggestions we get on it.
We are looking at Cigar plants.
Yes, all looks similar to my plant.
Let's go with this description.
Now if I scroll down, you will see
the time and location
where I found this plant
based on the metadata from the pictures.
You can see the location on the map.
It is not my location or my home -
it is where I found the plant.
So, let's say I don't want to share
the location for whatever reasons.
Then do not share!
Click the button "Cancel" to delete
the observation without posting it online.
So, we can use this app for identification
without sharing any sensitive data
with anyone.
Which is a great option for those
with concerns about privacy.
Now let's check on the birds.
Are they real pigeons or not?!
We can change the first default picture
by checking a box under whatever picture
you want to be default.
The app uses the first
default picture for identification.
So, here is a suggested ID of this bird.
Now, let's swap the default pictures again.
And now the app is checking on this
different color bird...
Great! It is also an old world pigeon :)
Okay. I go back and swap the default picture
to the most common color pigeon;
I believe it is in both
the new and the old worlds.
Let's submit this observation
to let people know that
pigeons live on Roosevelt island too ;)
Now I am checking on the fluffy animal
in question.
Let's change the default picture.
And...aha!
It is a tree squirrel!
Let's synchronize it.
This time of the year, you may see
squirrels with black fur here.
And finally, let's check on the spider.
I am not familiar with types of spiders at all...
So, I hope the app can handle that for me.
Let's see...
It is a spotted orbweaver!
Good to know.
And let's others know it too.
The iNaturalist app does a really good job
identifying everything from one picture.
Let's see what the app has to say
about my dog, Gus.
Gus has a very particular shape body
and ears - everyone loves his ears.
Let's use a picture of when he was a puppy
as a default.
He is a cutie :)
Oops...ha-ha!
The app thinks he is a deer!
Dear me :)
Alright.
Let's change the default picture.
Let's see now...
This time, the app is not sure.
Though there are no mistakes in suggestion.
This is actually a very nice example
that shows the importance of choosing
a good default picture.
Okay, I am not going to submit this observation -
don't want people confuse my dog with deer.
There are no deers on Roosevelt Island ;)
One of the great things about the iNaturalist app is
that it is run by the California Academy of
Sciences and the National Geographic Society -
scientist who study Nature.
They use our observations to track species.
And there are thousands of people
who help each other to identify everything.
Here you can see people and organizations
responded to my observations
clarifying and correcting me.
This app is a crowdsource of identification.
It helps me, it helps you, and it helps scientists.
Sharing your knowledge is good.
Sharing is caring!
And look!
Someone has already responded
to one our observations.
The pigeons got more specific identification.
That is the power of sharing :)
Make use of it!