Does Some Strange Bird, Animal, Fish, Reptile, Insect, Plant or Other Living Have You Stumped?

If you haven't heard of it already, there's a great site for nature-lovers (or just people who are curious) called iSpot.

They describe themselves as a "Facebook for Nature" - it's basically a place where you can post photos of any living organism, plot it on a google map, and if you happen to know what it is, identify it.  If you don't know what it is, you can ask the community for their input - apparently over 90% of new contributions are identified within the first 24 hours!  They've just passed the 100,000 observations mark a few days ago.

So, if that weird slimy thing in the tide pool has got you stumped, or perhaps you've spotted a plant in a neighbour's garden or on a footpath that you'd like to identify, or maybe you're unsure just what bird that is that's sitting on the feeder, or if you don't know your grunter from your harder (or your elbow), it's the perfect place to find out.  It's also a great way to get the kids involved in discovering and engaging in the natural world around them (what kid wouldn't like to combine creepy-crawlies with playing detective?).

Or maybe, get together with some friends and do your own "bioblitz" and catalogue an entire area (big or small).

And if you're a nature fundi, you can help others identify their mystery observations or simply contribute to plotting the biodiversity that exists within our very own backyard here in the Garden Route.

Click on the image above to check out their neat website!