Hello Friends

This post has been some time coming.

We are honored to have the support of Dr Ghazala Shahabuddin, Ashish Kothari, and Dr. Gopal Singh Rawat who are amongst India's leading natural science scientists, conservationists, authors and most importantly people deeply committed to involvement of communities in biodiversity conservation and conservation leadership. Read more about each of them in section below

We are happy to say that we are, finally, sending the certificates to the various recipients. The complete list of certificate receipients is provided below. Each participant is being informed via a personal message with a download link to their certificate mentioned in that as well.

Prize Award certificates

as per categories mentioned below

For Overall Most Observations

1st Prize Babloo Farswan (@babloo_farswan 4116 observations)
2nd Prize Vivek Kumar Patel (@vivek_nature 3131 observations)
3rd Prize (Joint) Navaneeth Sini George (@navaneethsinigeorge 1649 observations)
3rd Prize (Joint) @hive (1346 observations)

Most Observations by a Rural Observer

1st Prize Rajendra Singh Koranga (@rajkoranga 2888 observations)
2nd Prize Kapil Chand (@kapil_chand 789 observations)
3rd Prize Jagdish Singh Negi (@negi 675 observations)

Most observations by a New Observer

1st Prize Pawan Singh Koranga (@k_pawan 1777 observations)
2nd Prize Batriti Lamare (@ti_eramal 639 observations)
3rd Prize (Joint) Swapnendu Nayak (@swapnendu_nayak 531 observations)
3rd Prize (Joint) Ashish Sharma (@nomadash 476 observations)

Jury’s Award for Women Observers with most Observations

1st Prize Varsha Mehta @varsh1 572 observations)
2nd Prize Saumya Singh @saumya_singh 337 observations)
3rd Prize Surabhi Srivastava @surabhi_srivastava_gaur 309 observations)

Award for Most Identifications

1st Prize @muddytortoise 1269 observations)
2nd Prize Haneesh KM @haneesh 889 observations)
3rd Prize (Joint) Boris Büche @borisb 862 observations)
3rd Prize (Joint) Anubhav Agarwal @anubhav-agarwal 851 observations)

Certificate Of Appreciation

Certificate Of Appreciation for participants posting 150 or more observations

1. Raja Bandi (@rajabandi 1257 observations)
2. Subbu Ramanathan (@subbu107 1209 observations)
3. Elavarasan M (@elavarasan_mm 1177 observations)
4. Naeem Pamparambil (@naeempamparambil 891 observations)
5. Swarochi Tathagath (@odonut 675 observations)
6. Vivek Babu Girija (@vivekbgirija 541 observations)
7. Unnikrishnan MP (@unnikrishnan_mp, 514 observations)
8. Paulmathi Vinod (@paulmathi 490 observations)
9. Aditya Bari (@naturalist_aditya 386 observations)
10. Jaya Rakesh (@jaya_rakesh 369 observations)
11. Balakrishnan Ram (@balakrishnan07 343 observations)
12. Muddam Vijay Dixit Reddy (@vijay_dixit 337 observations)
13. Aadya Thammaiah (@aadyathammaiah 282 observations)
14. Nageshwaran Nageshwaran (@nageshwaran_nageshwaran 270 observations)
15. Anubhav Agarwal (@anubhav-agarwal 270 observations)
16. Chandu Bandi (@csbandi 257 observations)
17. Subhalaxmi Muduli (@subhalaxmi_muduli 246 observations)
18. Aibor Sanglyne (@aibor 237 observations)
19. Swati Udayraj (@swatiudayraj 208 observations)
20. Azhagarraja S (@azhagu 193 observations)
21. Suvendu Nayak (@hrishialpha 191 observations)
22. Swanand Kesari (@swanand 186 observations)
23. Kartik Sundar (@kartiksundar 183 observations)
24. Yuwaraj Gurjar (@ygurjar 180 observations)
25. Virenvaz (@virenvaz 174 observations)
26. Swati Sagarika Dakua (@swati_sagarika_dakua 156 observations)
27. Kamlesh Atwal (@kamleshatwal 156 observations)
28. Karan Thakkar (@karan7 199 observations)

Certificate of Appreciation for participants making 300 or more identifications

1. Amila P Sumanapala (@amila_sumanapala 778 identifications)
2. Swarochi Tathagath (@odonut 755 identifications)
3. Suvendu Nayak (@hrishialpha 703 identifications)
4. Subir B. Shakya (@subirshakya 665 identifications)
5. Kevin S. Zebua (@zebs 639 identifications)
6. Elavarasan M (@elavarasan_mm 619 identifications)
7. Azhagarraja S (@azhagu 616 identifications)
8. Piero Toni (@pierotoni10 594 identifications)
9. Abhijat Shakya (@abhijatshakya 544 identifications)
10. Firos AK (@firos_ak 493 identifications)
11. Unnikrishnan MP (@unnikrishnan_mp 482 identifications)
12. Kari Pihlaviita (@pihlaviita 452 identifications)
13. Aditya Bari (@naturalist_aditya 340 identifications)
14. Nagabhushan Jyothi (@nagabhushanjyothi 329 identifications)
15. Murali (@awayk3n 302 identifications)

Kindly note that participants who received a Prize certificate are not mentioned in the respective Certificate of Appreciation Category listings

Introductions

Dr. Ghazala Shahabuddin

Has a PhD in Ecology and Conservation Biology from Duke University, USA (1998) where she studied the population and community-level impacts of habitat fragmentation on frugivorous butterfly species in Venezuela, under the supervision of Dr. John Terborgh.. Since then, her research has expanded to include human dimensions of biodiversity, such as community-based conservation, conservation-induced displacement, applied ornithology, and protected area management in India. She have also been active in the area of wildlife policy and politics in India. Her book ‘Conservation at the Crossroads’ (Permanent Black, 2010) critically examines contemporary wildlife policy and implementation in India. The aim of these books has been to explore meeting ground across the traditionally conflicted domains of social sciences and ecology. She also write frequently in popular media to popularize the applications of biology in biodiversity conservation. From 2009-2014, She was an Associate Professor at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University in Delhi where She helped develop the University’s flagship multidisciplinary Master’s programme in Environment and Development. She taught ecology, statistics and environmental policy at Ambedkar and mentored numerous students. Since 2014, She has been working full-time on ecological and institutional change in multiple use forests in Mukteshwar area of Kumaon, accompanied by nature outreach activities. She and her colleagues host researchers and students and also organise training programmes for nature-linked tourism, with the aim of promoting 'ethical, sustainable, science-based and participatory' ecotourism businesses in the rural area. Her long-term goals are to improve the uptake of natural sciences in real-life conservation, enhance capacities of local people to learn about and rejuvenate their environment and to undertake applied research that is of value to field implementation.

Dr. Gopal Singh Rawat,

Is Formerly Dean, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and has been actively engaged in eco-floristic studies in the Himalayan region since more than four decades. He has been teaching field botany and wildlife habitat ecology at WII since last 35 years. His primary interests include systematics and ecology of alpine plants. He is Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, India. He has published over 250 research papers in various scientific journals and guided more than 30 Ph. D. students.

Currently a Senior Research Affiliate, WII Dehradun Dr Gopal Singh Rawat is one of India best know Plant Taxonomists and is probably one of the best field botany teachers. Many individuals have benefited from his guidance, and incredible energy and enthusiasm while out in the Himalayan wilds.

Ashish Kothari

Is a Founder-member, Kalpavriksh; member, many people’s movements. Has Taught, Indian Institute of Public Administration; coordinated India’s National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan, served on boards of Greenpeace International & India, ICCA Consortium. He helps coordinate Vikalp Sangam (www.vikalpsangam.org), Global Tapestry of Alternatives (www.globaltapestryofalternatives.org), & Radical Ecological Democracy (www.radicalecologicaldemocracy.org). An is a Co-author/co-editor, Churning the Earth, Alternative Futures, and Pluriverse: A Post-Development Dictionary.

Along with all of his work Ashish Kothari, an avid birder, also makes time to be part of many community run nature festivals. Ashish Kothari is also the author of Birds in Our Lives - An extremely readable and technically accurate account of bird conservation in India. The book is available on Amazon or as a pdf download here

Sample of the Certificates

Google photos new link

End Note

On behalf of India's Nature, we thank all the participants for your valuable contributions to the Monsoon Beauty 2021 event.

The primary goal of the event was to encourage new observers, especially in rural areas to join and take part in a citizen science event. The willingness to participate as an observer and / or identifier has enhanced the event and contributed to the rich diversity of observations.

We will be announcing another event shortly and hope you would join us and enrich that event as well

Once again, thank you for being a part of this event

Sincerely,
Team
India's Nature
Monsoon Beauty 2021

Dear Friends

Wanted to share the following three observations that have been chosen as **iNaturalist Observations of the day".

All are part of our Monsoon Beauty Event

Salty Earth Snake Rhinophis sanguineus

observed and recorded with this fantabulous picture by @suryaram90

This photo is the first on iNaturalist and also has the honor of becoming the default taxon picture

Boucerosia crenulata flower observed by @haneesh is another fantastic observation of a rare plant

**This observation of a Genus Hispa - a member tortoise and Hispine subfamily of Beetles

also mentioned in an earlier journal post**
by @saumya_singh has also featured an*iNaturalist Observations of the day*

Congratulations to @suryaram90 @haneesh and @saumya_singh

Hello Friends

It has been nearly two weeks since the Monsoon Beauty event ended. You must be wondering what happened and why communications have been slow. Apologies for this delay.

The 53 days Journey (from 15th July 2021 to 5th September 2021) can only be described with one word Amazing.

The diversity of the 34000 odd observations is second only to the interest and participation of over a 1000 people (observers and identifiers combined). While it was an event located within the geographic boundaries of India we had friends joining in from all parts of the world. They added richness and expert education.

Some participants have communicated how much they have learned and how much more deeply engaged they have become with the natural world around them. Others have mentioned their positive interactions with other observers and with the so many great identifiers.

At the outset of the programme we had hoped for participation from 10 States or Territories (out of 36). However happily we received observations from 26 States or Union Territories. In some 10 regions we simply could not get people to join, this is a task for the next time.

We have had many new users join in and a significantly large proportion of women (26).

At the start of the event some people had questioned the “Gamefication” of the event through the incentive of awards. This was a risk, and truthfully we have had to deal with some concerns. A minority participated not to learn or contribute but to compete aggressively and their appreciation of nature and the community was secondary to self. They did not even attempt to engage with the community. Some users were indiscriminate and used bad processes in identification, while some observers got hyper competitive and may even have used unfair means to post many observations. In these cases we as event organizers have had to step in and attempt to address these concerns, sometimes we also got help from the iNaturalist Curator / Admin / Help group. For us as event organizers it is a learning we will take forward and incorporate in future events.

Over the next few days we will share some of the interesting outputs from the event, we will look into different taxonomic groups, special records. We will also try and profile some of the people. There have been quite a number of new records for either the country, or individual states, in some cases these observations are a 1st for the world as well. Rare organisms have been documented for the first time in the public domain or have been seen after intervals of over a 100 years.

Below is the list of awards. The awards are based not only on numbers but there has been an attempt to factor in some qualitative parameters as well. Below we have used the inaturalist user names for the participants.

We request all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in all of the categories to Direct Message their postal address to us or to send us an email on indiasnature01@gmail.com

We also request them to look at the Event page for the award guidelines and send in their selections as per the category

1 Category One - For Most Overall Observations

1. First Place - @babloo_farswan with 4116 Observation (Using only a mobile smartphone)
2. Second Place - @vivek_nature with 3131 Observations - (Using multiple DSLR cameras and smartphone)
3. Third Place Joint - @navaneethsinigeorge with 1649 Observations (Using only a mobile smartphone)
4. Third Place Joint - @hive with 1346 Observations (Using only a mobile smartphone)

@babloo_farswan is a very new user and worked very hard to not just document but also look at a diverse range of organisms some of which are first records for the State of Uttarakhand and a few of which are 1st records for India.

At the start of the programme @navaneethsinigeorge and @hive were very prolific and led the way for the rest of us. @hive, in particular, posted some fantastic and beautiful observations.

2 Category Two - Most Observations by a Rural Observer

1. First Place - @rajkoranga with 2888 Observations - (Using only a mobile smartphone)
2. Second Place - @kapil_chand with 789 Observations ((Using only a mobile smartphone)
3. Third Place - @negi with 675 Observations (Bridge Camera and Mobile Phone)

@rajkoranga is also a fairly new user of iNaturalist. Using a mobile phone he too has documented an amazing array of high altitude flora and fauna. Some Butterfly observations posted by him are first records for the state since the British Collection Era, seen after an interval of over a 100 years.

3 Category Three -Most Observations in any one of the following states or Union Territories

(Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Tripura, Mizoram, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Manipur, Punjab)

The minimum Threshold was 150 observations. In only one of these States or Union Territories was there a maximum of only 7 observations posted. Hence this category of award is being scrapped and reallocated to Joint Awards in other Categories

4 Category Four - Most Observations by a New Observer

Most Observations by a new user who Joined after 1st July 2021 and / or has less than 200 observations at the start of the programme

1. Joint First Place - @k_pawan with 1777 Observations - (Using only a mobile smartphone)
2. Joint First Place - @ti_eramal with 639 Observations - (Using only a mobile smartphone)
3. Second Place - @swapnendu_nayak with 789 Observations (Using only a mobile smartphone)
4. Third Place - @nomadash with 476 Observations (Using only a mobile smartphone)

This is the most exciting category. New users who learned during the event and have been capturing and sharing an astounding diversity. @ti_eramal has shared vulnerable frogs and records of interesting plants and flowers.

5 Category Five - Most Identifications

Identifiers are the engine that run iNaturalist Events, without them we would neither be encouraged nor would be learn. During the course of the event 925 people have shared their valuable time and helped us identify many of our 34000 odd observations. We request every one to write to (Direct Message) identifiers and thank them specially for their hard work and effort.

1. First Place - @muddytortoise with1269 identifications.
2. Second Place - @haneesh with 889 identifications.
3. Third Place (Joint) - @borisb with 862 identifications.
4. Third Place (Joint) - @anubhav-agarwal with 851 identifications.

6 Category Six - Jury’s Award - New Women Observers

This award is being presented to new women users. One of the focus areas of this event was to encourage women observers and hopefully we are at the start of a longer and more supportive series of events and processes.

1. First Place - @varsh1 with 572 observations
2. Second Place - @saumya_singh with 337 observations.
3. Third Place - @surabhi_srivastava_gaur with 309 observations.

We are happy to report that there are a fair number of new users. Also at last count there are atleast 26 women participants which is almost 3 times the iNaturalist India average.

7 Special Mention

Some participants were kind enough to share their observations for posting on Social Media. These are their observations

Hispa Beetle - Chosen as the iNaturalist Observsation of the day. Observer @saumya_singh
Green Fruit-piercing Moth - observer @ti_eramal
Common Birdwing Butterfly - observer @rajabandi
Pepper Plant - observer @rajabandi
Volucella Drone Flies & Kin - observer @babloo_farswan
Grasshopper - observer @babloo_farswan
Gaudy Grasshopper - Poekilocerus pictus - observer @jungli92
Typical Orbweaver Spider - observer @kapil_chand
Common Swallowtail Caterpillar - observer @kashif_ali
Common Redeye Butterfly - observer @navaneethsinigeorge
Giant Firefly - observer @krishna31
Thyas juno Moth - observer @aibor
The Vulnerable Indian Star Tortoise - observer @paulmathi
An endangered Tiger seen on or around International Tiger Day - observer @mirza8

8 Tables

8.1 Table 1 - Observers

A total of 103 people poster observations during the course of the project.
This table provides information about the observer, when they joined iNaturalist, and how many observations they had at the start of the programme.
Of the 103 participants 42 qualify (with 150 or more observations) for a Certificate of Participation. This would be sent to them soon.

This data is as on 5th September 2021 at 11:59 PM (23:59) IST

8.2 Table 2- Top 20 Identifiers

Twenty people who identified 300 or more observations are being awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for their efforts in helping the observers with species / genus or family identifications. Only our limited resources prevent us from honouring the identifiers in greater depth.

ram_K as an organizer of the event is not eligible for any award

8.3 Table 3 - Observations & Observers by States or Union Territory

Do send in your comments, and queries either via direct message to @ram_k or post it in the comments below.

Dear Friends

The amazing Monsoon Beauty event ended at 00:00 hours midnight of 5th /6th September 2021

We are taking some time to organise the results and will share them soon.

Meanwhile we would like you to share your favourite observations (or interactions)

You may share your observation as a simple posting of link with a comment - preferably @ tag the observer

For posting images (Inaturalist ones only) there is no drag and drop so one must use for html coding options to share images. To help with this we have posted a simple how to below.

Nominate your favourite observations from the Monsoon beauty 2021 Event

Someone else's observation, or your own. Write what you liked about them.

In the interest of non spamming sanity we request you to post just one, or maximum two observations.

Write to your favourite identifier

Identifiers have been our guides, without them our experience would be so much poorer. Write to them (preferably direct message them) and let them know how valuable their help has been to you personally.

If you would like to share your experiences with some of these fine identifiers you could share that in the comments as well.

Share any interaction that helped you or was relevant

The open and interactive nature of iNaturalist is what makes this community great. If there were any interactions that helped you, or that you benefited from and if they are in the public domain and should you would like to share please do share those in the comments as well.

How to Post images or share hyperlinks with text comments

Sharing an observation from the Monsoon beauty event with a comment and / or an hyperlink

So to post the observation use the following code
Name of the observation / or text you want to appear
Kindly note the Square brackets, the round brackets and the "no space" between them.

Example

The Text This beautifully observed picture of the Green Fruit Piercing Moth from Shillong by @ti_eramal is one of my favourite observation The hyperlink https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/91861584

Will render like this
This Green Fruit Piercing Moth from Shillong by @ti_eramal is one of my favourite observation

How to post an image (from inaturalist)

Click on the image, then right click and copy the "Image address" (URL)
the url for the image of the green fruit piercing moth looks like this -

Example URL https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/152014297/original.jpeg?1629475633

Paste as below
img src="your url" (the same url again)
add [< before img And >] after url"

Will Look like this

For more help see this forum post

Kind regards
Ram

Bengaluru -- Guided session to learn the basics of iNaturalist with Chayant Gonsalves

1. Guide - @chayantgonsalves (Chayant Gonsalves)
   a. Send a message to @chayantgonsalves or @ram_k on iNaturalist or message Chayant at 9740197015 to register and coordinate

2. Number of Participants - 8 / Eight
3. Date - Sunday 5th September 2021
4. Start Time - 3PM
5. Venue - Guruskool Farm, Chikkamaranahalli - https://maps.app.goo.gl/XJ1Bd5y441TUYjim7
6. Type of Property - Private
7. Duration: 2 Hours
8. Trail Description : Very accessible, some portions have mild undulations
9. Preparation: Shoes, rainwear, ample water, notebook+pencil. Snacks, binoculars & separate camera all optional
10. Hazards: Minor terrain undulations, mosquitoes in shaded areas
11. Expected Highlights: plant + invertebrate diversity, bird life
12. Access to the Start Point - Public transport is difficult here, personal vehicle/ carpooling highly recommended

13. Fees - Rs 750/- per person
    a. Does not include travel, refreshments, or any other personal expenses

Hyderabad (Secunderbad) Introductory Inaturalist Nature Walk with Swarochi Tathagath (@odonut)

1. Guide - @odonut (Swarochi Tathagath)
   a. message @odonut directly for coordination

2. Maximum Number of Participants - 5 / Five
3. Date - Sunday 5th September 2021
4. Start Time : 7 AM (flexible on mutual discussion - cut off time 08:30)

5. Venue - OPPOSITE Bhavans Sri Ramakrishna Vidhyalaya, Sainikpuri, Secunderabad
   a. Start Point https://goo.gl/maps/2sPfSMqUAMJzXKwHA

6. Type of Property - Limited Public Access
7. Duration of the walk - 2 Hours
8. Trail description - Tephrosia, heliotropes cover the area. Not a very long trail but a very good one.

9. Preparation - Full pant & shirt there to prevent bugs from biting. As For the rain that might happen, a rain coat and umbrella will do the job. Andgood shoes are needed for any field trip
   a. Some biscuits or something and bring a water bottle as it might get hot here.

10. Hazards if any - slightly rough trail (like all nature trails). Protect your ankles. Pain relief spray (or something) may be got but not essential.
11. Expected Highlights - well good flowers and a lot of typical blues which would be lifers for many
12. Access to the start point - Easily accessible by own vehicles. By Bus one may come close and then walk. But best is to hire a smaller vehicle or come by your own. Car Pooling is recommended.
13. Any fees - None

Munsiari (Uttarakhand) Introductory Inaturalist Nature Walk with (Ramnarayan)

1. Guide - @ram_k (Ramnarayan)
   a. message @ram_k directly for coordination

2. Maximum Number of Participants - 8 / Eight
3. Date - Sunday 5th September 2021
4. Start Time : 10 AM

5. Venue - Malla Sarmoli
   a. Start Point - Sarmoli Village

6. Type of Property - Village Forest Commons & Parts of Private Land
7. Duration of the walk - 4 Hours
8. Trail description - Trail elevation 2200 to 2400 metres. Path along long term fallow scrub, Grass plots, and cold temperate forests ending in a forest pond.

9. Preparation - Full pant & shirt, light sweater. Umbrella or rain gear. Sandals or Gumboots recommended as some parts will be wet.
   a. Trail Snacks, Thermos with tea recommended.

10. Hazards if any - Village and Forest Trail - slippery, wet. Leeches (odomos recommended)
11. Expected Highlights - Butterflies, Wild Flowers, Beetles and Bugs, Some birds
12. Access to the start point - Accessible by walk from the main Munsiari Bazaar

13. Any fees - None for Local Community members. Rs 500 per person for others.
    a. Does not include travel, refreshments, or any other personal expenses

Southern most record of the rare Yellow Pasha Butterfly - observed by @rajabandi

Herona marathus so far, is known only from North-East states in mainland India and Andaman Nicobar Islands. Southern most record of the species in mainland India is from West Bengal
See records on [ifoundbutterflies.org(https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/#!/sp/679/Herona-marathus).

See Indian Records on iNaturalist

The current record from Northern-Eastern ghats of Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam district, is a significant range extension of the species. Also, this is the southern most record of the species in mainland India.

Eastern ghats of Andhra Pradesh are known for some Himalayan relict species (including flora and fauna). Earlier multiple other north-east butterfly species like Great Nawab (Charaxes eudamippus ), Vagrant (Vagrans egista) are recorded from the same region. But Pasha (Herona marathus) is recorded for the first time in the region. Multiple individuals are observed and recorded indicating the presence of species in the region and negating the chances of one-off migratory sighting.

Congratulation @rajabandi this is a wonderful find. And as mentioned this is not a one off, or random ,or vagrant sighting. There have been repeated sightings in Andhra Pradesh since this first find.

Images

Hello Friends

1st September 2021 is the start of the second edition Big Butterfly Month India (BBMI 2021)

Definitely a project to help one learn butterflying skills.

Join others in documenting the rich colourful diversity of Butterflies across India.

for any queries about BBMI 2021 and the complete range of activities direct message @vijaybarve or @shan_tanu

PUBLICATIONS & RESOURCE MATERIALS

There are a fair amount of printed resources on Butterflies available. Some of them are listed below

FREE PDF Book on BUTTERFLIES

Common Butterflies of Delhi-NCR A Beginner's Guide

Authors Varsha Koli & Shantanu Dey (@shan_tanu) (2021) have share this ebook, provided, free. It is an excellent resource to start Butterfyling with.

Download it here

Cover Page

PRINTED BOOKS / FIELD GUIDES / KINDLE BOOK

There are a range of printed books (and one Kindle Book) available. A list of such books , their costs and availability is provided below.

Isaac Kehimlkar's Book is great for all India, while Sondhi & Kunte's book is an excellent resource for Uttarakhand.

Butterflies of India - BNHS Field Guide. Author Isaac Kehimkar. 2016 Rs 2200

Butterflies of Uttarakhand A Field Guide Paperback. Sanjay Sondhi & Krushnamegh Kunte. 2018. Rs 695

A Naturalist’s Guide to the Butterflies of India. Author Peter Smetacek 2016 Rs 349

Butterflies of India. Author Arun Pratap Singh - Paperback and Kindle Rs 618 / 419

South Indian Butterflies: Field Guide. Author by Gunathilagaraj K, 2015

Feedback and Comments

If you know of more locally relevant Butterfly Guides, Posters, Pamphlets etc please do share in the comments.

We look forward to your other feedback and comments - direct message us via the handles provided below

Thank you

Team India's Nature Monsoon Beauty

indiasnature.01@gmail.com

@ram_k @mountainjen @vijay_dixit

@saumya_singh's observation of an organism from the Genus Hispa - a member of Tortoise and Hispine Beetles (Subfamily Cassidinae) has been chosen as the iNaturalist observation of the day

Congratulations ! Saumya, well done.

Definitely a beetle in the bag for the Monsoon Beauty Event.

India’s Nature – Monsoon Beauty

Biodiversity Treasure Hunt

4th & 5th September 2021 (Saturday, Sunday)

Dear Friends

We are entering the last 10 days (and two weekends) of the Monsoon Beauty Event

For the last weekend of the event period (that is 4th and 5th September) we are proposing a Biodiversity Nature Walk and Treasure Hunt.

An opportunity for new or inexperienced nature observers i& nat users to join up with local experts and learn about nature, nature walking, exploring the tree of life, and how to effectively use iNaturalist.

==========================

The following are the proposed ideas for the walk

1. Nature Walk for beginners*

a. lead by an experience iNat user / Guide
b. Locations and trip leaders will be shared by 1st Sept 2021

2. Exploring the Tree of Life The Biodiversity Treasure Hunt

a. Tick off as many life groups as possible during the weekend
b. Popularly seen organisms
c. (we will share a Tree of Life format for easy reference)

3. Introduction to iNaturalist

a. How to take images; post; id / tag
b. Judicious use of Computer Vision
c. Responding to messages (Activity)
d. Project Participation

1. First week of Big Butterfly Month India 2021.

Any one interested in organizing a nature walk in their location please direct message on iNaturalist to @ram_k, We will help with guidelines and promoting the event.

Feedback and Comments

Do share your thoughts, any other links or anything else with us via direct messaging or through the comments section

Team - India's Nature (Monsoon Beauty 2021)

indiasnature.01@gmail.com

@ram_k @mountainjen @vijay_dixit

Sounds Around Us - Monsoon Beauty Update - 18th August 2021

Sounds are around us
Sounds surround us
Yet on iNaturalist India they don't abound

We don't have a Cow's Moo or a Cats Meow
Let alone a dog barking or barking deer

Time to change that

Add a horse's neigh or a donkey's bray
A beetles click
or songs that make birds tick

Monsoons Bountiful Beauty is around you
Sharing sounds would be welcome too

About Sounds

Of all the senses and phenomenon that we (humans) perceive digitally we are, so far, only able to share Static Pictures, Sounds and the phenomenon of Motion. The best we can do with taste, touch and smell is describe them which are a sad way to experience them.

Even with the senses we can share the overwhelming contributions (on Inaturalist) are static visuals. This is despite sounds being such an integral part of our daily life - in communications, in entertainment, work , the very ambiance of life is created by the soundscape around us.

As much by visual cues we also live life attuned to sounds around us.

Yet as of the time of writing this India has only 1174 sound observations or 0.16% of all observations out of total of 732,528 observations

Almost all of us have at our disposal incredibly great devices that reproduce sound, and these are also excellent tools to record & share audio.

Below is a short guide on how to record sound and edit using your mobile phones (and if available then PC's for sound editing)

Sharing, of course, is easy via the inaturalist App.To know a little bit more see this Inaturalist - How to Uploads Sounds

When uploading to iNaturalaist do consider the following

1. For recordings where the target sound is mixed up with other sounds or is faint do point out the time sections so that listeners know where to pay attention.
2. if required describe the sound
3. Sounds may accompany pictures or vice versa
4. If feasible and you are positing only a sound do consider posting a still image of a spectrogram.
   
5. Providing a reference sound - since documentation / links to other sounds is not so easy, nor does iNaturalist Computer Vision work for sounds, so it would make it easier for people to match sounds from an already established reference.

We look forward to your idea of natures sounds (within the limitations of inaturalist) and hope to hear wonderful naturescapes

Apps and Software for Recording Sounds

Since most of us would be recording using our Mobile Phones we would be covering some apps and good ways to use them. If you do have access to a higher quality recording device the techniques remain the same, while detailed guides are linked below.

There are many different paid and free apps and software available. We are providing some examples of free to use tools. If you know of better or alternative tools kindly so share in the comments or by direct messaging us.

Recommended Recording Apps

Inaturalist Mobile App

The iNaturalist app has an inbuilt sound recorder. Simple to use - one just open the app, selected new observation, chooses the Record sound option and get started. The great advantages are that the sounds are directly imported as an observation with location also registred.

The disadvantage is that there is no control on the sound being inputted.

RecForge II - Audio Recorder

This is the google play store link

For most purposes the free version is adequate. It provides all the basic and some advanced controls as well as a db meter which indicates how loud / not loud the recording is. Details on the recommended settings and how to use are shared below

Recommended Editing Apps or Computer Software

Lexis Audio Editor - Android App(Do not use for recording )

Google Play Store Link

This is an on phone audio editing software. Fairly simple to use and it exports to .wav format. Once again details on its effective use are shared below

PC Audio Editing Software (open source or free software)

1. OcenAudio (https://www.ocenaudio.com)
   a. Detailed tutorial on using OcenAudio for Bird sounds is shared here

2. Audacity
   a. Detailed tutorial on using Audacity for Bird sounds is shared here

3. The editing techniques provided for various software are most common for most nature sounds. The Ultrasonic Sounds of Bats, and sounds of underwater organisms is a chapter being left for another day.

Recording Sounds

Using Rec Forge II App

If you have chosen the settings above the most important feature is the preview option.

1. Once you open Rec Forge II you will be presented with a message about the version and some warnings. You can choose to discard / or ok the message.
2. After that you will be presented with a mic icon to the bottom right. Pressing that will open the preview mode.
3. On the right edge of the screen will be a Tall Sound Meter - the louder the sound the colour bars will move from blue to light blue to whice.
4. In the main screen will be the rolling image of the sound - complete with spikes and all
5. On the bottom is the db decibel meter - this can be moved to the right (highest is +20) or the the left (lowest is -20 db). Depending on how loud your target sound is (or is not) you may choose to increase or decrease the db meter. Caveat - recording on the higher db is not always effective as in many cases other sounds apart from the target sound also get extraordinarly large boosts , and the target sounds are often too jagged.
6. Once you are satisfied with the Preview you must press the white tick on the left bottom to start the recording. You will know the recording is happening based on the time meter.
7. To stop the recording use the square stop button on the right bottom
8. To pause the recording (not recommended) use the round pause button on the right.

Tips for Good sound recordings

1. The phone mic is usually at the bottom of the phone – point that in the direction of the sound you are recording
2. Keep the phone still and stay silent for the duration of the recording to avoid handling noises

a) Turn off your message and alarm tones so that those sounds don’t also get recorded. If need be turn the phone to airplane mode and start recording

b) Any comments or commentary of the object of the recording should, ideally, be shared at the end

1. Try and take longer recordings when possible (minimum 30 seconds is a good start). For example there are a fair number of birds which have long complex songs , while some toads / frogs also change their calls / song some time into the sequence
2. Focus on the target sound – sometimes by taking longer recordings you will get sections that are very clear and good quality. During this time do not try and do other things that may create distracting and detracting noises - like handling / walking/ using a noisy camera (DSLR) /. These other action sounds greatly affect the quality of the sounds being heard.
3. At the end of the recording do make comments (a short commentary) about what you recorded at the end. These could include

• Name of the Creature seen (or if unknown then describe it hear - size, colors, form, etc)
• Any notes on what you saw and heard, behavior observed or anything that was special about the recording.
• What it was doing d. or where it was (specific location - flying in the air, inside a bush, on a tree trunk, in your hand etc e. approximate location & altitude -(Audio recordings via rec forge II / or most audio apps are not GPS tagged so it is ok to mention it here for both notes and future relevance

1. Practice a few recordings - once you are familiar with the process it will be easier to snap take recordings

• Practice changing the db levels on the fly in Rec Forge II

Editing the Recordings

Nothing fancy – only suggestion is normalizing the sounds so that the recorded target sound and the commentary are approximately the same volume, and also to ensure that the target sound is at “good” audible volume for human hearing.

When editing the sound file do not cut and chop – leave the flow of the recording as it it – cutting and chopping changes the nature of the call and is not useful for either future research or comparisons.

Do not use filters - Once again in the long run the use of filters detract from the future value of the recording and also importantly cut out ambient sounds that provide context and enrich the sound.

Editing On OcenAudio or Audacity

In OcenAudio one has the option to view both Waveform and Spectral Form simultaneously. In this view one can see heat maps of where the sounds are and are good visual cues to “listen” out for when hearing the recording

Target Sound

Select the sound portion you want to normalize (The target / focus sound) Normalize to -3db or in case the original recording is too low normalize to -1 or -2db. If there are no “unnatural” sound spikes in this section then you will see a change in the soundscape. If there are sound spikes the normalization will not be very as effective.

Commentary

Select the commentary – normalize this to -8 or -10 db. The soundscape should show that the commentary is less volume than the target sound (if feasible)

Editing On Lexis Audio Editing App

1. Selecting a File for editing. - Use the open option to find a file you want to edit

a) Rec Forge Files are usually stored in /RecForge with the names are described in the settings

1. Selecting Sections of the Audio

a) Because the app is free it does not allow selecting the the whole audio section at the same time.

b) Move the start (left selector icon a bit in - a fraction will do) - do the same at the end (right side) - The proceed to the 3 vertical dot menu on the upper right → effects -->normalize

1. Do the normalization separately for the Target Sound Section and the Commentary Section **Remember the normalization is relative to your highest / tallest spike - which are usually not part of the target sounds - they could handling noises or message tones, vehicle horns etc.
2. If you want more control over how much you want to normalize you could use the ...--> Effects —> Equalizer Amplifier option and change the amplification there.
3. Export - Once you are done with the editing you can use the “Save” option - top centre to export the file. There is an option to choose the file type you are exporting to. You could choose to export to .wav (recommended) , or .mp3, or m4a (any file format that is acceptable to inaturalist)

Recommended Settings for Rec Forge II App

Audio Settings

Audio Record - wav, 48 kHz - Stereo (Mono x 2)
Use the .Wav format. (this is the non lossy file format that retains the best quality sound)

Source - Front Microphone (at the bottom of your phone usually)

Recording Name format - - Use the full date_24 hour time format (will look like this yyyymmdd_hhmmss,wav)

try and not rename the file - as the default name will provide you date and time of recording for later reference

will be 20200622_2031

YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS

YYYY = Year
MM = Month
DD -Day

_ underscore

HH = Hour
MM = Minute
SS = Seconds

Disable AGC - Keep this Selected

Meta Data - You may enter what details you want here – who is the recordist etc,

Other Settings

Prevent phone from sleeping - Yes (Tick this)

Conversion Settings

For now let this be (do not select or tick)

Interface Settings

Auto Switch to wave view - Tick (Yes)

Preview Mode - Tick (Yes)
(please read the notes of preview mode in the using Rec-Forge II Section)

Vibrate when Pressing Keys - Tick (optional )

Others Guidelines for Audio recording and editing

Ebird - Audio preparation and upload guidelines

Macaulay Library resources on Audio recording, editing, uploading and more.

Websites that Host Nature Audio or have interesting Audio Projects

The Dawn Chorus Project

Ebird as an excellent repository of [Birds Pictures, Songs and Calls]. The audio spectrograms are a very effective way to learn bird calls

The Macaulay Library one the world’s premier scientific archive of natural history audio, video, and photographs.

Xeno-canto is a website dedicated to sharing bird sounds from all over the world

Feedback and Comments

Do share your thoughts, any other links or anything else with us via direct messaging or through the comments section

Team India's Nature Monsoon Beauty

indiasnature.01@gmail.com

@ram_k @mountainjen @vijay_dixit