Seek by iNaturalist: the educational app everyone needs to download.

This is from their online forum, where you can submit pictures for the community to ID if the app cannot.

In middle school, I entertained myself by pulling out a random encyclopedia from my English teacher’s bookshelf and reading it from front to end.

Once done, I would place it back on the bookshelf and take another home without anyone ever realizing books were periodically missing. I wasn’t looking for any subject in particular either, just fascinated by all the knowledge and all that is out there.

I don’t have a picture from 6th grade, so here I am as a baby.

So, naturally (no pun intended), I’ve been obsessed with the Seek by iNaturalist app, which uses “…the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you.”

I first used it on a trip to North Carolina in 2020, staying at a lake house, and with it came a newt. (Florida has tons of lizards and amphibians, but these are special guys). My friend mentioned this app they used to ID the nature around them.

I loved that I had a name for the little critter. It’s like a nature-photo-Shazam. I’m surprised I did not stick with it because it is excellent (maybe it had to do with it being the year 2020. I wasn’t going much outside?).

I only rediscovered it this summer when a nasty, unknown plant was growing in the drainage pipe of my condo. Baffled, I remembered this app.

How did it even get there? Thank god for my maintenance handyman! He was able to clear it safely.

Ever since Attack of the Plant, this app has me hooked. My family trip to Costa Rica expedited my enjoyment of this little app. Just take a look at the Seek photo album on my phone of all the things I ID’d on that trip:

I love the random unknown square.

Only some pictures are accurate IDs, so be prepared to fill your camera roll with all picture qualities. When Seek does accurately ID what you’re pointing at, it’s a rush! It’s the same kick as Pokemon GO, but with the added pleasure that it’s real.

Plants are the easiest to ID (very still!). However, now I know why birders carry binoculars and why I will invest in some. My iPhone 12 camera lens could not zoom in on half of the birds I encountered. I could guess most birds by using the Merlin Bird ID as a companion to this one (additionally, it has a cool feature that allows you to ID bird calls!!!).

No clue how it ID’d the orange-cheeked parakeets. Those are just blobs.

Anyway, I love this app. It’s fun and teaches something new about the nature around you.

Before ending, I wanted to share: did you also know Wikipedia mobile app also pulls up what’s nearby?

Lots of Native American history in and around Brickell!

There are two other apps that I find fascinating that also fill a curiosity gap, which is helpful living in Miami (airplanes flying overheard my condo; all types of boats and ships in and around the Miami River and Biscayne Bay):

• FlightRadar24, “…best live flight tracker that shows air traffic in real-time…”
• MarineTraffic, “MarineTraffic is a maritime analytics provider, which provides real-time information on the movements of ships…”

I hope this inspires curiosity about your surroundings and search for nature whenever possible!

What is your favorite ID app? Shazam? Is it Seek? I’d love to try them out.

Alex