I mentioned before that a smartphone is the best tool for taking photos of insects and getting close-ups of plants, but not great for birds since they are usually too far away. But many of you birders carry cameras these days, and you can submit your bird photos for the City Nature Challenge. They can easily be uploaded to the iNaturalist website on your desktop computer.

So if you are out this weekend (anytime until Monday at midnight), take lots of bird photos to upload later. You have until May 3rd to upload them, and if they are taken in the city, in Airdrie, Chestermere, or Cochrane, they will be added to the Calgary Challenge.

If you’re lucky you might find an unusual species. Last year I found a Fox Sparrow at Carburn Park.

But remember, iNaturalist and the City nature Challenge is about documenting all living things, so don’t neglect common species, and get them in multiple locations too. You may also see some mammals, trees, and other things you can photograph. You can also photograph evidence of life, such as feathers, nests, spider webs, hare forms, and so on.

Check out this page to see how many species and observations have been submitted so far in Calgary. We are at over 1000 observations and 300 species reported already by 10 am Saturday morning!