Day Five: Beginning of Identification
Well, the observation phase is over. You can still upload observations, so long as they have a time-stamp during the four-day observation period. Right now, we stand at 5,367 observations of 1,409 species by 218 species. To be honest, I never dreamed we'd reach these levels! Thanks to all who participated and contributed. You are all amazing!
I got an email today from Craig Hensley at TPWD. He's one of the coordinators of the friendly competition among Texas cities. He didn't have numbers, but he said that San Antonio was at that time 3rd among 700+ cities GLOBALLY!! Whether this was in number of observations or species, he didn't say.
As we enter the identification phase, there is still a place for everyone. If you have a specialty, you can help take observations in that area to research grade. If you aren't comfortable with species-level identification, you can help the "experts" by putting initial identifications on unknowns. All you need to be able to do is tell a bobwhite from a box turtle! The best way to find these is to click on "Identify" in the top menu, then type in one of the counties* in the location box. (I haven't figured out how to do all six at once.) Since they come up most recent first, the CNC ones should be first, but as the week progresses, you can use the "Filters" button to insert a date range. You can either look at everything, which will let you see the unknowns, or you can put something (birds, grasses, reptiles, etc.) in the species box (or use the "Filters" button.
I'm doing Brazos County and all species. I see an unknown that looks like a mushroom to me. I click on the observation, click on "Add ID," type in "fungi," select "Fungi and Lichens" (as I don't trust myself to go any further), and click done. Now someone who knows mushrooms, maybe not even in Texas or the US, will find it, which they wouldn't if it had been left at "unknown." A little farther down, I see one identified as "Silverleaf Nightshade, Solanum olaeagnifolium." I know that one and agree with the ID, so I can click on "Agree" without even opening the observation. Instant Research Grade! I also see a bird labelled Hudsonian Godwit, Limosa haemastica." It's a photoscoped picture and a bit blurry, but it's unmistakable, so, again, I can just click "Agree." I did open it, and, unfortunately, it was taken today, so it missed the Challenge. Oh, well. Still a great observation.
*Five of the six counties will come up in the dropdown menu when you start typing them into the box. There are many, many "Madison Counties" in the US, so Texas won't show up in the drop-down list. If you want to do that one, you have to actually type in "Madison County, Texas" to bring it up.
Bruce
Bruce
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