הצטרפ.ה ב:אוג' 31, 2023 פעילות אחרונה: אוק' 8, 2024 iNaturalist NZ
Hi, My name is Joseph.
I am currently 16 years old.
I am a lover of nature.
My main interest is in New Zealand native plants, I know dicots the best.
Although I have always loved and enjoyed exploring wild areas, my interest in knowing New Zealand wildlife started about 5 years ago. Before I had Inaturalist I learnt most of what I knew from books and the NZPCN website. The books were mainly on native plants, their uses and their history in New Zealand. I also have some on insects, reptiles and amphibians, a general book on wildlife, birds and more. At 11 I was reading books on keying native trees rather than the chapter books. Now sinceI have started using Inat I have been learning so much more thanks to all the amazing Inatters helping me and giving me tips and teaching bits of what they know.
I am currently trying to learn as many scientific names of plants as possible, a few months ago I knew very few scientific names and much less how to pronounce them properly.
My current focus is on learning how to identify New Zealand native alpine plants which I hope to see in person later this year.
Arthropods would be my second main interest, I love insects, I think they are so diverse and interesting. The main insects that interest me are moths and small host specific insects.
Some of my other interests are birds and New Zealand and animals, lichens and bryophytes, rust fungi, and geology.
I am currently in year 11 of high school, I hope to study Botany once I get to university.
I am homeschooled which means I have a lot of time for exploring.
I may start working part time at a local nursery that focuses on ecosourcing seeds for native plants.
I am currently participating in a local Youth Conservation Program.
I am also doing some volunteer pest control in the local bush.
Some people may notice that I favourite a lot of observations, especially my own. The reason I favorite so many observations is because I favourite every observation I want to come back to.
Top Species I Want To Find 2024:
Sarisa muriferata (Hook-tip Fern Looper)
New Zealand mantis (Orthodera novaezealandiae) Found! https://inaturalist.nz/observations/231360328 (18/7/2024)
Bull kelp (Durvillaea poha)
Red admiral (Vanessa gonerilla gonerilla)
Mahoe striper moth (Feredayia graminosa)
Fairy tern (Sternula nereis davisae)
Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus)
North Island Kaka (Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis) Found! https://inaturalist.nz/observations/236168570
Mainland Bellbird (Anthornis melanura melanura) I saw one but was unable to photograph it
A whole lot of alpine plants (too many to list)
A bunch of forest plants (again too many to list)
Native geckos
Shore shink (Oligosoma smithi)
New Zealand Grass Skink (Oligosoma polychroma)
Katipo (Latrodectus katipo)
All the sundews (Drosera) except Drosera pulchella which I will look for next year.
Trips Planned for 2024:
Southland 15-22 December
Possible Trips 2024:
Tangihua range - october
Pinnacles track coromandel - early December
Waitakere - december or early January
All my photos for observations are taken with an iPhone 11 pro, although I do commonly attach a macro lens.