SPECIESQUEST!

[wolffyluna]

Starting this January, I have been playing G. Ray's SpeciesQuest. It is a asynchronous online competition to go out and See Species. People pick a reasonable taxonomic group, and try to see the largest percentage of species in that taxa in that area (local%), or they they try and find the largest number of species in that taxa everywhere (Total Species.)

I have decided to go for Total Species in both Bird and Butterflies.

I have had, let's say, extemely limited success with the butterflies. But the birds? Oh boy, the birds. I fear I have caught the bug. I'll be a full on twitcher by the end of the year if I don't stop myself.

Though I can't regret it, because it seems to be doing good things with my brain. I'm much more attune to movement now, and I keep getting little jolts of "!" every time I see a bird, even if it's one I have seen many times before. (It at the least, makes up for all the moments of "drat!" when I am too slow or unable to photograph a new one :P. Petition for new birds to stop showing up at work or when I am driving.) I think that little regular moment of 'yay, a galah!' is good for me.

But the more dramatic to me personally is how it's changed the way I interact with the soundscape. I'm learning new bird calls, but I'm also learning ones that it turns out I already subconsciously knew but weren't paying attention to. And like that little bit of dopamine at seeing a common bird in flight, it's nice to step outside and immediately go "oh, that's a magpie lark call. Yay, I like magpie larks!"

Anyway. Next time I'm off work, I'm going to the Big Bookstore to buy a field guide, and I'm hoping they have one that covers both the region I live and the region I work. (I have been using Merlin, which is very helpful... but it also keeps going "We only know ~30% of the birds in your area :(" )