Sign up for iNaturalist!
The hunt has ended. Congrats to Mark for observing the most species!
How to join in the fun: Get into nature and add your observations with a photo (or audio!) using the iNaturalist.org website or iPhone/Android app and it’ll show up on this leaderboard if it meets the rules below. Find all 30 species and rejoice in your victory!
Nature newbie and/or dumbphone user? No worries! We will help identify any plants and animals you see, and you can upload photos through the website without need for a smartphone. Just snap a photo and upload it to iNaturalist.org and identify as best as you can, even if that’s just “plant” or “turtle.” Here is a helpful guide with photos and descriptions of all the species on the list (and potential sighting locations ;).
Help others get to research grade by confirming their observations!
Rules
- Species must be on the 2015 Nature Scavenger Hunt List (download spreadsheet)
- Observation must be within the Chicago Wilderness region
- Must be observed between the dates of March 15th, 2015 and July 15th, 2015 (you will have until the end of July to upload your observations)
- Observation must be research grade. That means it must be “wild” and that you need a photo or audio, date, species identification, location, and for someone else to confirm your observation!
2015 Nature Scavenger Hunt List
| Group | Common Name | Scientific Name | When to Find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mammals | White-tailed Deer | Odocoileus virginianus | Year-Round |
| Mammals | Eastern Gray Squirrel | Sciurus carolinensis | Year-Round |
| Birds | American Robin | Turdus migratorius | Year-Round |
| Birds | Great Blue Heron | Ardea herodias | Spring-Fall |
| Birds | Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos | Year-Round |
| Birds | Northern Cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | Year-Round |
| Birds | Red-winged Blackbird | Agelaius phoeniceus | Spring-Fall |
| Amphibians | American Toad | Anaxyrus americanus | Spring-Fall |
| Reptiles | Eastern Garter Snake | Thamnophis sirtalis | Spring-Fall |
| Reptiles | Eastern Painted Turtle | Chrysemys picta | Spring-Fall |
| Insects | Goldenrod Gall Fly | Eurosta solidaginis | Year-Round |
| Insects | Monarch Butterfly | Danaus plexippus | Summer-Fall |
| Arachnids | American Dog Tick | Dermacentor variabilis | Spring-Summer |
| Arachnids | Yellow Garden Spider | Argiope aurantia | Summer-Fall |
| Plants | Common Milkweed | Asclepias syriaca | Summer-Fall |
| Plants | White Wild Indigo | Baptisia alba | Summer-Fall |
| Plants | Woodland Hyacinth | Camassia scilloides | Spring |
| Plants | Eastern Hackberry | Celtis occidentalis | Year-Round |
| Plants | Spring Beauty | Claytonia virginica | Spring |
| Plants | Bastard Toadflax | Comandra umbellata | Spring |
| Plants | Purple Prairie Clover | Dalea purpurea | Summer-Fall |
| Plants | Pale Purple Coneflower | Echinacea pallida | Summer-Fall |
| Plants | Spicebush | Lindera benzoin | Year-Round |
| Plants | Moonseed | Menispermum canadense | Summer |
| Plants | Mayapple | Podophyllum peltatum | Spring |
| Plants | Pickerelweed | Pontederia cordata | Summer |
| Plants | Swamp White Oak | Quercus bicolor | Year-Round |
| Plants | Prairie Dropseed | Sporobolus heterolepis | Summer-Fall |
| Plants | Eastern Skunk Cabbage | Symplocarpus foetidus | Spring |
| Plants | Ohio Spiderwort | Tradescantia ohiensis | Spring-Summer |
Please let us (habitat2030@gmail.com) know if you have any questions, comments, or ideas!