Happy 2026, please enjoy this thread of birds staring directly into the camera/your soul. 🦉👁️ 📷 on iNaturalist: 1. Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) by woodswoman

Sea star fans, wake up — it’s the third week of our ID-a-thon, and we’re sorting echinoderms. Visit iNaturalist to learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek3 ⭐💫

Our final #ObservationOfTheDay of 2025 — this stunning slime mold, possibly in the genus Metatrichia! 📷 igorskh on iNaturalist 📍 Germany 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...

End-of-2025 vibes, exemplified by this Southern Elephant Seal. 📷 maxi762aguilar on iNaturalist 📍 Argentina 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

We’re kicking off the third week of our ID-a-thon, and we’d love your help sorting flowering plants into their classes: monocots or dicots. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek3 🌸🌻🌷

Usually, this plant (Ourisia ruellioides) has vibrant red flowers — but an iNaturalist community member found and photographed one with a small colony of yellow flowers! 📷 matias58199 on iNaturalist 📍 Chile 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

An Asian Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) mid-bite into a Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens). Not a bee, but still a good snack. 📷 dhruvapunde on iNaturalist 📍 India 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Tiny tree or bagworm moth? (Spoiler alert, it's a bagworm moth.) 🌲 📷 bradhean on iNaturalist 📍 South Africa 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

We’re in the second week of our ID-a-thon, and we’d love your help sorting reptiles into four broad categories: snakes, lizards, turtles & tortoises, and crocodilians. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek2 🐍🐊🐢

You're currently looking at fungus (specifically Gibellula alata) emerging from a spider. Right now, there are only six observations of this species on iNaturalist! 📷 cajqld on iNaturalist 📍 Australia 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

A spectacular little springtail for your feed today — meet Lophognathella choreutes! 📷 doviende on iNaturalist 📍 Canada 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

This rare plant (Cardamine lojanensis) is only found in Ecuador, and you're potentially looking at the first living photos of the species! 📷 jovany69055 on iNaturalist 📍 Ecuador 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

You can help make identifications on iNaturalist right from your computer! It’s the second week of our ID-a-thon, and we’re kicking it off with sorting amphibian observations into broad categories like frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek2 👀🐸✨

Every day is a good day to appreciate weevils. 📷 uwe_kaempf_karwendel on iNaturalist 📍 Germany 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Pink Ghost Crabs (Ocypode ryderi) are found on the east coast of Africa — and this one here has a cluster of eggs! 📷 leoposthumus on iNaturalist 📍 Mozambique 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

This striking bat, the Grey-headed Flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), is found only in Australia. They're also critical pollinators & seed dispersers for over 100 native tree & plant species! 📷 lawrencehylton on iNaturalist 📍 Australia 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

It may not have wings, but you're currently looking at a moth! Specifically, an adult female Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria). Adult male Mottled Umbers have full wings. 📷 knittedpotato on iNaturalist 📍 United Kingdom 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

All you need to help make identifications on iNaturalist is a computer! Join our first-ever ID-a-thon and build your nature-identification skills — this week, we'd love your help sorting Unknown observations into broad categories. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek1

The creature you see here is a relative of snails, octopuses, and clams! This one here is possibly a Pink Spotted Jacket Tonicia (Tonicia calbucensis). 📷 nicolas_lobos on iNaturalist 📍 Chile 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Let us know what you want to see more (or less) of from this account! If you have 3-ish minutes, we’d love to hear your thoughts via an anonymous, very short survey: tr.ee/1LRw8G Thank you for your time! 💚

Hairy Bracket (Trametes hirsuta) usually grows on dead wood of deciduous trees — aka the trees that drop their leaves with the seasons changing. 📷 lizziepop on iNaturalist 📍 South Africa 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

You don't need to be an expert to help protect local nature. Starting December 15, join our first-ever ID-a-thon and contribute directly to biodiversity science and conservation! Learn more: tr.ee/id-a-thon

Look closely at this Golden Silk Spider (Trichonephila clavipes), and you'll notice a small gathering of fly passengers. 🕷️🪰 📷 oscarencisoa on iNaturalist 📍 Colombia 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

You're looking at the very first observation of this species (Symplocos psiloclada) on iNaturalist! 📷 jhon_yuca on iNaturalist 📍 Peru 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Bird vs. crab: a tale as old as time. 📷 william-harland on iNaturalist 📍 New Zealand 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

When David Alejandro Sánchez Gómez photographed this orchid in Colombia, he didn't know how special it would turn out to be. 🧵⤵️

Ah, to be two newts sharing (fighting over?) a worm. (Ft. the ever-iconic California Newt, scientific name Taricha torosa.) 📷 diomedea_exulans_li on iNaturalist 📍 United States 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

This cactus species (Myrtillocactus schenckii) is often found growing in limestone or gypsum soils. In this iNaturalist observation, though, it's found nestled into the crook of a tree! 📷 gz_uol on iNaturalist 📍 Mexico 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Despite their common name, sea spiders (like this one) aren't actually spiders. They belong to their own group called Pycnogonida — distant relatives of spiders, scorpions, and horseshoe crabs! 📷 sudharsan_wary45 on iNaturalist 📍 India 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Meet the Feather Stalkball (Onygena corvina): a tiny cluster of fungi that grows on feathers and bones (possibly an owl pellet in this case, according to the observer). 📷 phyllisma on iNaturalist 📍 Switzerland 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

How do we do more with biodiversity data we've already collected? I gave a TED Talk on scientific discovery in ecological databases at a joint TED Countdown and Bezos Earth Fund event for #NYClimateWeek this year, and it's now live! @inaturalist.bsky.social #AIforConservation

It's here! Your personalized iNaturalist Year in Review is ready — see how many species you found, where you made observations, how many IDs you contributed, your longest observation streak, and more: tr.ee/HS7wyr

Sometimes the first thing nature makes you say is "what the heck is that?!" In this case, we're looking at a bunch of Jacobson's Giant Scale Insects (Icerya jacobsoni). 📷 beizi125 on iNaturalist 📍 China 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Even your older nature photos can help scientists today! As long as you know when and where you took the photos, you can post your nature sightings on iNaturalist anytime — and they'll still contribute to science and conservation. Got anything in your camera roll to share? 👀

This stunning member of the orchid family only flowers after it burns. It's called Bodkins Disa (Disa bodkinii) and has only been documented on iNaturalist 47 times! 📷 ntmoolman on iNaturalist 📍 South Africa 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Reminder that iNaturalist will be offline for 4 hours tonight for some regular maintenance! (Starts Wednesday, November 19 at 7pm Pacific Standard Time.) More details: forum.inaturalist.org/t/scheduled-...

There are over a million insect species (that currently have scientific descriptions, at least), and they're *everywhere* ... under rocks, on flowers, around lights at night, in tree bark, and more.

We're on a mission to document every species, and this photo brought us one step closer! Meet Lenax mirandus — a beetle posted on iNaturalist for the first time just a few days ago. 📷 commoncopper on iNaturalist 📍 New Zealand 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

By getting comfortable around humans (hello, garbage buffet), city raccoons may be on the path toward domestication … and community science helped prove it. 🦝

Snail traveling via salamander express — specifically, a Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra) — not something you see every day. 📷 harukano on iNaturalist 📍 Bulgaria 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Heads up: iNaturalist will be offline for 4 hours beginning Wednesday, November 19 at 7pm Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8) for some regular maintenance. More details: forum.inaturalist.org/t/scheduled-...

Sound on to hear the first ever audio recording of this cicada species' call! You're looking at (and listening to) the lovely Okanagana aurantiaca. 📷 alvarosj on iNaturalist 📍 Mexico 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Carnivorous plants, like this *very* pink Pink Sundew (Drosera capillaris), thrive where few other plants can survive — acidic, sandy, and nutrient-deficient bogs and grasslands. 📷 stevemaldonadosilvestrini on iNaturalist 📍 Puerto Rico 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Identifying spiders can be challenging, but the iNaturalist community is an amazing resource for learning what features to observe ... 📷 thilinahettiarachchi on iNaturalist 📍 Sri Lanka 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

we're snailposting, post your snails

Hi, we see you scrolling 👀 Take a break and spend a few minutes outside this week looking for mushrooms, lichens, and other fungi near you! (And don't forget to let us know what you see by sharing your photos on iNaturalist. 🍄✨)

headed into the weekend like ...

You're looking at one of the first-ever records of this limpet (Potamacmaea fluviatilis) on iNaturalist! 📷 naturalisttuna on iNaturalist 📍 Myanmar 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Please enjoy: this absolutely ethereal iNaturalist observation of a Dewdrop Bonnet (Hemimycena tortuosa). 📷 gillessanmartin on iNaturalist 📍 Belgium 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

We're very much arachnid-fans at iNaturalist. Consider this your sign to stop scrolling and go look for some! 👀🕷️🦂