​​How to Become a Backyard Naturalist With Just Your Smartphone

At the beginning of summer, the backyards come to life. The warmer temperatures transform spring buds into lush greenery, cajolate insects of their winter sleep and invite newborn animals to explore their environment on the legs or wings flickering.

With smartphones, documenting this emerging fauna has never been easier. Nowadays, all the tools you need to become a backyard naturalist are directly in the palm of your hand. And although June is a particularly good time to start, you can use your phone to observe the organizations, identify the species and save observations at any time of the year, regardless of your location. It is more than just a hobby – scientists can use your data to carry out important research, allowing you to make contributions as a citizen scientist.

“Twenty years ago, if a researcher wanted to understand an ecological scheme, the main way to do so was to get out and collect data,” said Corey Callaghan, a global environment at the University of Florida. “But now, with this smartphones revolution in the past 20 years, the number of observations recorded by everyday people-whether they are really in the observation of birds or simply interested in animals in their backyard-has exponentially increased the amount of data available to use,” he said.

Gillian Bowser, a colorado state University wildlife environment, also remembers an era when a lack of digital tools has limited research in his field. “The data is now so much more accessible because of the smartphone,” she said. These devices are particularly useful because they record the precise location of each observation and allow users to easily download data from open-source platforms, she said.

Gizmodo turned to Bowser and Callaghan for expert advice to become a backyard naturalist. They shared their favorite applications, their professional advice and explained how researchers like them use the data you collect to support science.

Step 1: Download the inaturation

Many applications can help you document wildlife, but some are easier to use than others. For those who are only starting to start as a backyard naturalists, inaturation is “a very good entry point,” said Callaghan.

This free application is available for iOS and Android. It allows you to record observations, identify species and share your data with other naturalists in one place. Unlike specialized applications such as Ebird or Insect Insect, Inaturalist can document any type of organization. Once you have downloaded it, all you have to do is configure an account with your email address.

Now you are ready to start taking photos of plants, birds, annoying squirrels of the neighborhood, and even this strange bug in your bathroom. You call it – the inaturalist community can probably identify it. The application does this via crowdsourcingThis means that users work together to identify species. This promotes collaboration between experts, novices and everyone between the two.

For additional help to identify the species, you can also download the free additional application of the inaturalist, Seek. Also available for iOS and Android, Seek uses artificial intelligence to analyze the images and determine the species you have observed. “Simply get your phone – try to turn on – anything, and that will identify it for you,” said Bowser. The application will also provide general information on species, as it is from your region, she added.

Bowser and Callaghan recommend getting comfortable with inaturation before starting to play with applications less suitable for beginners like Ebird, Ebutterfly or Ispy. The construction of a knowledge base by the insaniturist will help you progress towards more specialized applications, they said.

Step 2: Start exploring

Load your phone, put a sunscreen and pull your socks on your pants, because it’s time to observe wildlife. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do trekking in the desert. There are a lot of fascinating species in your garden, your local park or even your window. Inaturalist and look for work anywhere, including dense urban jungles and interior spaces.

Rule number one: “Don’t be discouraged,” said Callaghan. When you start for the first time, it can be particularly difficult to take pictures of small creatures in quick motion like a field mouse or a dragonfly. “Patience is one of my biggest advice,” he said. You may not be able to take a clear image of a tiny buzzing bees with your smartphone, but there is a lot of scientific value in the documentation of larger and slower plants or animals.

That said, there are things you can do to make sure you generate good data. To get a photo as clear as possible, make sure your shot is ready and well lit. You can press your finger on the screen to put your orientation subject, use your backpack or hand to shade it if the sun is too shiny, or use the flash to light it, although it can frighten some animals.

You will also want to get as close as possible to your subject while prioritizing security. It is normal to get closer and get closer to a daisy or a earthworm, but bearers of deer embarrassing ticks or nesting birds – not much. If in doubt, stay further. If you can do it safely, try to photograph your subject from several angles to capture all its features.

Finally, add field notes to your observation. Certain examples include a specific description of the place where observation has occurred, how a plant feels or feels, or the number of individuals you have seen. The more information you provide, the easier it will be to identify the species. More details also give scientists more data points to use.

It may seem difficult, but you don’t have to go alone. Callaghan recommends consulting the events organized by your local Audubon chapter, as a Walks nature. Bowser noted that Auturalize also allows users to join or organize group projects. This pools your observations with others under a common theme, helping you connect with users who share your interests or live in your region.

If you do not exercise for you, you can document the species living inside your home. There is even an inaturalist project specifically for interior observations called Never at home: the wild life of houses. There is a great value to “even know with which we share our daily urban lives”, said Callaghan.

Step 3: Share your data

Bowser recommends inaturation “due to its internal ability to do things on things”. When you download an observation, it becomes data that scientists can use to answer questions like: “Butterflies decrease in New York?” She explained.

By default, all images, audio records and the observation data you download will be given A Creative Commons license which allows others to use your content for non -commercial purposes, as long as they credit you. It also allows inaturalist exporting your data to research partners such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) so that scientists can access it.

You can choose not to concede under license some or all your data, which means that others will need your explicit authorization to use it. To modify the default licenses for your account, log into the inaturalist website and access the account settings, then content and display, and scroll down until you see licenses.

As ecologists, Bowser and Callaghan use the scientific data of citizens to understand the models of biodiversity in space and time. Anyone can collect data that helps scientists follow and keep species. You can even discover a new one. Montana’s inatural butterfly project, for example, has identified some 4,000 unknown species before, according to Bowser.

“There are millions of species that are not defined,” she said.

Although the conduct of citizens’ science is incredibly precious, Callaghan stresses that applications like inaturalist are designed to be fun. “Use them for whatever you want,” he said. “Get out and discover what we share our backcours.”