Post-Challenge Post

I know I promised a newsier update today, but… I need to sleep! Instead, please enjoy this friendly chonk/kererū, observed by @gill-b. Isn’t he handsome?

Also handsome in a way you never thought possible: the Sexy Pavement Lichen! I was waiting for one of these to turn up in this year’s results: thanks, @meurkc!

More observations and identifications are continuing to roll in from around Aotearoa. Ōtautahi and Pōneke/Wellington City remain close tonight, with about 7000 observations of about 1300 species for each city. Overall, more than 17,500 observations have been uploaded from across Aotearoa’s participating cities, with 2627 species spotted by 546 observers, and identified by 365 identifiers. The global total has topped 1,000,000 observations!

The upload and identification period runs through May 9, and is an important part of the overall event. Getting organisms identified makes all of the wonderful data we’ve collected even more useful. If there is a group of organisms you’re confident identifying, please jump online and help out (you can of course help with ID’s from anywhere in New Zealand, or indeed the world)! If you’re not comfortable making species identifications, you can help the rest of the iNaturalist community by putting in a very general ID (e.g. putting in the ID for “plants” or “spiders”). With so many observations being uploaded all at once, many identifiers will use a filter to find the taxonomic groups they are most familiar with. You can also help by tagging observations as captive/cultivated where appropriate.

Finally, you can help by coming along to our Identification Party! On Sunday the 9th from 10:30 until 5, drop in to Tūranga if you would like to join in. This is an informal social event, and you’re welcome to come for as long or short as you’d like. We’ll be parked in Auaha Hīhī - Spark Place, at the east end of the ground floor. Bring a device and take advantage of the library’s free wifi!

Posted on May 4, 2021 10:28 AM by laura-nz