April 4th, 2007
online field guides
Plans are moving right along for the First Annual Blogger Bioblitz. Jeremy Bruno has been posting updates at his blog, The Voltage Gate. Last time I checked, there were 37 bloggers signed up to bioblitz one or more locations in their region.
On the Blogger Bioblitz forum, ideas for mapping and recording data are being discussed. A few people have been experimenting with online mapping and database sites. The general consensus is that participants would like to have everything organized so that anyone using any computer operating system, will be able to input the data that they collect, in the easiest way possible. The goal is that, at the end of the blitz, people will be able to access the data in various ways via the net. As this is a first time event, the nuts and bolts of it have to be sorted out, but all is moving along well and I believe everything will be looking good for the blitz by the week of April 21-29. Jeremy is doing a great job of coordinating the effort and has even stirred up some media coverage.
For my part, I’ve volunteered to assemble links to online field guides that people might use to identify the flora and fauna that they find in their survey areas. While some of us have fairly extensive collections of field guides, others do not. In an effort to make it as easy as possible for everyone to participate, I’ll be posting links as I find them, or any that are contributed by others. I’ll be using the Links for IDs page of my blog to organize the collection — you can either click on that link, or just look up at the top of this website and you’ll see a tab for that page up above my banner. Just click on that to access the page. On it, you’ll find the first of a group of links to pages I’ve built on my Magick Canoe website. Each page has (or will have) a list of links to follow to get to online field guides. I’ve got about a half dozen or so pages finished so far, but I’ll be adding many more, especially in the insects section. I haven’t gotten started on the flora part of it, but I’ll work on that fairly soon. Here are some links to pages that are set up already. Go ahead and take a look and see what you think. If you have a favourite online field guide that you like to use, and you don’t see it listed on these pages, please do post a comment down below and provide a link and I’ll check it out and add it to these link collections.
So, here are the pages so far. Just click on a link to visit the page of link collections. [Birds] [Amphibians & Reptiles] [Fish][Molluscs][Butterflies, Moths & Caterpillars][Dragon & Damselflies][Flies]
April 4th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Great links, Bev. As always, I’m so impressed with the quality and beauty of your galleries. Oh! – Regarding the previous post and the hand signal that you and your husband exchange indicating that ‘all forward motion should halt’. I thought about the nature walks with my hubby and started to crack up. I’m thinking the hand signal has yet to be devised to slow him down. Solo treks for me :0)
April 4th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Nicely done, Bev. It’s very considerate of you to assemble such a comprehensive resource.
April 4th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Two links you might consider. The flickr Field Guide:Birds of The World group is a good source for photos of birds, and there are knowledgeable members who will help ID any photos you have.
I don’t know if you’re intending to go global, but if so, UKMoths is useful for moths of Britain and Ireland.
April 4th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Cathy – Thanks! That’s amusing about your husband not slowing down on nature walks. Don was more like that years ago, but he’s become such a good naturalist, that we wander along at a speed that would drive many hikers totally nuts. (-:
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Mike – Thanks! Well, it’s going to be a work in progress, and I hope to make good use of it myself over time, so it’s worth the effort. I hope that others will find it helpful for the bioblitz — and beyond.
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Harry – Thanks for those two links. I will definitely add them to the pages. I’m trying to be quite inclusive of good sites regardless of their location on the planet, so the moth site is definitely welcome.
April 4th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
This is shaping up to be a great compendium, Bev, and should be useful even for those of us who aren’t participating in the bioblitz. Thanks for all the work you’re putting into it.
April 4th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Thanks Bev. You must have been reading my mind. I was starting to look for some online guides and book guides, and this post appeared. I think it would be fun to participate in the bioblitz, but my knowledge base is so inadequate.
April 5th, 2007 at 6:13 am
Dave – It’s really quite neat how the bioblitz is shaping up. I’m surprised with the level of interest already, and there are still a couple of weeks to go until it happens. It definitely seems to have captured the interest of quite a number of bloggers. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together!
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Ruth – I wouldn’t let your knowledge base stop you from participating. Everyone can do at least a few identifications of flora and fauna. At this point, I think it’s just great to see a group of people taking an interest in observing nature on a bit deeper level than is customary. I believe the results will be quite interesting. For my part, I’ve borrowed a few specialized field guides that I didn’t already have, and will make use of some of the identification keys I’ve linked to. If nothing else, this will be a good chance to improve out identification skills in taxa we aren’t all that familiar with.
April 5th, 2007 at 7:32 am
i just posted in the “data” thread about Google’s “My Maps” and IBM’s “Many Eyes.”