Backyard Biologist Identification Resources

It’s really important to identify and keep track of the living things around us to help scientists protect and conserve animals and their homes. Use one of the following ideas to help identify the plant or animal you have found!   

Ask Family & Friends

Include your family and friends in your Backyard Biologist explorations to help identify the plants and animals you find! Even if they are not entirely familiar with the plant or animal you have found, discussing your findings can help narrow down your search. And who knows?! You may even gather enough information to identify what you’ve found!

There’s an App for That!

The Seek app by iNaturalist is free, user-friendly and will quickly and easily identify many living things! Using your device’s camera, the Seek app will draw on its extensive database to analyze the plant or animal centered on the screen. It will then provide the name of the species, as well as additional information about it. You can also connect an iNaturalist account to the app and upload your observations to citizen science projects!

Find out more about the Seek app here: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app

Use a Field Guide

When it comes to identifying local plants and animals, guidebooks can be a great resource! Hard-copy nature and field guides can easily be found at your local book store or library. There are also many plant and animal identification guides available online, like the ones provided below!

PLANT

Government of Canada- Tree Guides

https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/trees/identification/broadleaf

https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/trees/identification/conifers

INSECT & SPIDER

Identification Guides by Province

https://www.insectidentification.org/insects-by-state-listing.php

REPTILE & AMPHIBIAN
Canadian Herpetological Society

http://canadianherpetology.ca/species/index.html

BIRD

Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF)- Wild About Birds

https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/downloads/booklets-handouts/poster_birds_en.pdf

https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/downloads/booklets-handouts/poster_birds2_en.pdf

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology- Bird ID

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/

Don’t forget to submit the name and a photo of your identified plant or animal on the Earth Rangers App to earn your Backyard Biologist Mission badge!