observing nature
So I caved and finally downloaded iNaturalist... mostly so I can identify more things than just birds. It's such good motivation to slow down and take in the world around us. I've mostly been hesitant until now because of the way my brain is wired.
(Rejection sensitivity is a funny thing for a mostly anonymous app meant for ID-ing wildlife. Or maybe it's the part of me that hates being wrong. I'm still trying to deconstruct that... Anyway.)
Already, I've gotten two possible suggestions for the things I've posted! iNaturalist flagged my bird as a Black Goose when I had thought it was a Canadian Goose and a user basically affirmed my initial observation. Another suggested possible species for the picture of some turtles I took earlier in the park. I'm going to look those species over again and try to judge for myself.
The need to gamify everything really sounds stupid a lot of the times but doing it this way (birding as motivation to leave the house) is so much more helpful for me than just setting reminders on a to-do list app. (No shade to Habitica! The party I joined is very nice and encouraging.) Merlin Bird ID and just observing nature has rekindled my interest in it. I'm already windowshopping for some field guides, hopefully to better kickstart my new hobby.
It really is nice to be able to look at nature this way. Maybe it's one of the best parts of the modern digital age. Either way, this beats doomscrolling on twitter or instagram or tiktok. Now it's time to plan out where I want to go next to make my observations!