• 比賽日期：4月26日至4月29日

• 上傳紀錄及鑑定物種時段：4月30日至5月5日

• 結果公佈：5月6日

以香港時間為準，於4月26日凌晨12時開始，直到4月29日晚上11時59分為止，期間你所記錄的觀察都將計入城市自然挑戰賽 2024 香港區的成績。

不能，只有於2024年4月26日至4月29日期間的觀察紀錄才會計入城市自然挑戰賽。

沒問題！我們會有一週的時間讓你上傳所有比賽期間的觀察，直到5月6日上午9點（以香港時間計算）。只要照片是在4月26日至4月29日期間拍攝的，即可納入城市自然挑戰香港區的成績中。

不需要。所有在4月26日至4月29日期間進行的觀察將會自動被納入香港區的專案內並計算到香港區的成績，你無需將觀察加入專案。當然，我們也歡迎你加入專案。加入專案後，你將收到新消息的通知，亦可在個別觀察紀錄的頁面直接查看該紀錄是否被納入專案中。

最簡單的方法是進入香港區的專案，點擊「觀察者」選項，查找你的名字。如果你已加入香港區的專案中，還可以在你的觀察紀錄的個別頁面，查看「專案」側欄下有沒有香港區的專案。

你發現的所有野生植物、動物、真菌、海藻、細菌、地衣等！不論物種是生或死，或者提供到任何物種的證據，如貝殼、足跡、糞便、羽毛等，都是可以接受的。請記住確保拍攝到有助物種辨認的好照片！

非野生物種的觀察並不會納入香港區的成績，所以將這些觀察標記為「圈養/栽培」是非常重要的。

為了確保你於城市自然挑戰賽的參興有助未來多年的研究，請將任何非野生的觀察標記為「馴養/栽培」。當您在iNaturalist上載觀察時，輸入資料的部分有一欄可讓你進行標記。這包括寵物、動物園/水族館中的動物、花園植物、盆栽植物、植物園中的植物等。這裏有一段關於如何將觀察標記為圈養/栽培的簡短視頻。

沒問題！你不需要知道您拍攝的是什麼物種，你只需要拍攝質素足夠好、可以辨認到物種的照片（請參閱第13題常見問題了解拍攝好照片的技巧）。有幾種方法可以辨認你觀察到的物種：

iNaturalist內置了電腦視覺/人工智能（AI）功能，當你使用應用程式進行觀察或在網絡上上傳觀察時，只要有連接網絡，iNaturalist 就會為你提供物種辨認建議，你可以從中選擇一種，特別是它說「外觀相似」和「附近有見過」的物種建議，因為此功能建立在其他人已經做出的觀察基礎上。如果AI建議中沒有一個看起來正確，你可以使用搜索欄輸入以您知道的任何資料的記錄（例如「九節」或「植物」都可以作為鑑定）。

你上傳了觀察後，整個iNaturalist社群就可以看到它。社群可以同意您建立的鑑定，協助完善鑑定以達到物種級別，或糾正錯誤鑑定。請記住，你需要拍攝質素好的照片（或一組照片），以便其他人能夠幫助鑑定你的觀察紀錄！重要是，iNaturalist上的所有鑑定都是由其他用戶建議的，他們都是自願花時間來觀察結果；iNaturalist並沒有僱用負責鑑定的工作人員。

對於iNaturalist來說，雖然使用應用程式進行觀察很方便，但使用數位相機也是可以的。你可以使用 iNaturalist上的上傳工具上傳您的觀察結果。如果你的相機沒有全球定位功能，你可以在地圖上放置一個圖釘，來填寫你觀察物種的位置。 如果你打算使用數位相機進行大量的觀察，可以觀看這段簡短視頻，以掌握如何使用 iNaturalist 的照片上傳工具。

沒有證據 (相片或聲音) 的觀察會被歸類為「粗略」，因為沒有人可以幫忙鑑定或確認觀察，而被歸類為「粗略」的觀察並不會被算進城市自然挑戰賽香港區的成績。

我們明白有時雀鳥或蝴蝶飛過，你就是會拍不到它們。你仍可以在 iNaturalist 上載無照片觀察 (但請避免太頻繁地執行此操作，並且僅在你十分確定該物種是什麼的情況下進行)，但請謹記，被歸類為「粗略」的觀察並不會被算進香港區的成績。

Seek by iNaturalist 是讓親子參與自然探索的好工具，因為它不會自動收集使用者的個人驗証資訊。為了在城市自然挑戰賽使用 Seek 進行觀察，您必須先使用 iNaturalist 帳戶登入 Seek。

您在比賽期間拍攝的照片可以成為您所看到的生物的證據，並協助確認生物的身份。所以，拍攝質素好的照片是參賽關鍵！以下是一些拍照技巧：

1. 每張照片只以一種物種為主：
   雖然開滿野花的草地很美麗，但這並不是最佳的觀察紀錄照片，因為一張照片中可能代表了許多物種！盡可能將你感興趣的物種作為照片的焦點，靠近你的生物並將其置於畫面中央。

2. 觀察時拍攝多張照片：
   在 iNaturalist 上，每個觀察紀錄可上載多張照片（物種的不同部分或角度）。 例如，一張從遠處拍攝整棵樹的照片對於鑑定樹種來說不是很有用。但是，把「遠景」照片與樹葉、樹皮特寫的照片結合起來，以及任何花朵或果實，都會更有效協助辨認該樹種。

3. 不使用模糊的照片：
   如果生物移動或光線較弱，導致照片模糊，請務必重新拍攝照片！但請先等待物種靜止或把閃光燈打開。 iNaturalist應用程式會向你顯示剛拍攝的照片，並詢問您是否要重拍或同意使用該照片，請選擇重新拍攝。

4. 靠近些：
   特別是對於螞蟻等小型生物，清晰的特寫鏡頭對鑑定是非常重要的。雖然使用手機的內置相機拍攝好的特寫可能很困難，但現在有些便宜的夾式微距鏡頭，您可以連同手機一併使用，以便拍攝物種的特寫照片。例如，有小花的植物或蜘蛛的眼睛等仔細的特徵。

若你能有信心可以分辨近似的物種，便可以提供鑑定建議。所以，當你未了解如何鑑定該分類的情況下，請不要直接「同意」其他用戶建議的鑑定。 如果你在不知道分類的情況下同意ID，它可能會錯誤地達至研究等級。

如果你不同意其他用戶的鑑定建議，最好的方法是你自己添加鑑定建議，在評論區中解釋你不同意的原因也是很有幫助的。如果你在其他用戶添加鑑定建議之前已經添加了鑑定建議，你可以留一條友好的評論，解釋為何你認為你的鑑定是正確的。

要達至「研究等級」，觀察紀錄：

1. 必須有照片

2. 必須有準確的日期和位置

3. 不是圈養或栽培的個體

4. 必須獲得添加鑑定的用戶中超過三分之二的用戶同意同一鑑定

關鍵是上載觀察後，抽空再次檢查看看是否有人添加了鑑定或留下了評論，他們可能會要求你提供更多有該觀察紀錄的資訊。

即使是非研究級的觀察紀錄都會被算進香港的成績，但請留意，被歸類為「粗略」的觀察 (沒有證據或並非野生生物) 並不會被算進香港區的成績。

當然可以！任何人都可以協助鑑定觀察紀錄。

在iNaturalist中，前往香港區比賽專案並點擊「觀察紀錄」，你會看到正下方有一個「鑑定」按鈕。點擊這個按鈕便會帶你進入鑑定頁面，顯示香港區比賽專案中所有尚未鑑定的觀察紀錄。在這個頁面中，你可以透過「篩選」功能限制顯示的生物類別，如果你熟識特定生物類別的辨認，這將有所幫助。

即使您不是任何領域的專家，您仍然可以透過鑑定「未知」紀錄來提供幫助 (完全沒有鑑定建議的觀察紀錄)！點擊「篩選」按鈕，然後於分類欄位選擇帶有問號的虛線葉子。這將顯示目前為「未知」的所有觀察紀錄。瀏覽這些內容並添加鑑定建議（例如「植物」、「昆蟲」、「鳥類」或「真菌」），這樣非常有幫助，因為那些熟識這些類別的用户就可以更容易找到它們加鑑定建議！查看有關使用「鑑定」頁面的短片。

無論如何，請只添加你可以信心確定的鑑定建議。如果你沒有信心也沒關係，只添加屬、科甚至界級別的鑑定建議也可以。

• Make and share observations: April 26 – April 29

• Get all your observations uploaded and work on identifying: April 30 – May 5

• Results announced: May 6

All observations made starting on April 26 at 12:00 HKT and up until April 29 at 11:59 PM HKT will count for the City Nature Challenge.

No, only observations made during April 26 – April 29 will count for the City Nature Challenge.

Relax! Luckily we have a week – up until May 6 at 9 AM HKT, where you can work on uploading all the observations you made during April 26 – April 29. They’ll still get added to CNCHK project, as long as they were made in the April 26 – April 29 window.

No. All observations that are made within the boundary of the project between April 26 – April 29 will automatically get pulled into the project – YOU DO NOT NEED TO ADD YOUR OBSERVATIONS TO THE PROJECT. You’re welcome to join the project though — that way you’ll get notifications about News posts that are made, and you can check rather your individual observation is included in the project directly in the page of that particular observation .

The easiest way is to go to CNCHK’s project, click the “Observers” tab, and look for your name there! If you’ve joined CNCHK’s project, you can also look at your individual observations and you’ll see your city’s project listed under the “Projects” sidebar.

Any observations of WILD plants, animals, fungi, seaweed, bacteria, lichen, etc. you find in and around your city! Observations of living or dead organisms, or evidence of those organisms, like shells, tracks, scat, feathers, etc., are fine. Remember to make sure you’re taking good photos that aid identification of your observation!

Observations of non-wild organisms WILL NOT COUNT for the CNCHK. Therefore, it’s VERY IMPORTANT TO MARK THOSE OBSERVATIONS AS CAPTIVE/CULTIVATED.

Please ensure your contributions to the City Nature Challenge helps research for years to come by marking any observation that you know for sure is not wild as captive/cultivated – in iNaturalist, there’s a field for it in the app when you make an observation. This includes people, pets, animals in a zoo/aquarium, plants in your garden, potted plants, plants at a botanical garden, etc. Here’s a very short video on how to mark observations as captive/cultivated.

No problem! You don’t have to know what species it is you took a photo of – you just need to take a good enough photo (or photos) that it can be identified (see question 13 of FAQ for tips for taking good photos). There are a couple ways you can get your observations IDed:

iNaturalist has Computer Vision/Artificial Intelligence (AI) built into it, and when you make an observation with the app or upload an observation on the web, as long as you have connectivity, iNaturalist will give you suggestions about what it thinks you just took a photo of, and you can choose one, especially if it says “Visually Similar” AND “Seen Nearby”. Because this functionality is built on observations that other people have already made. If none of the AI suggestions seem correct, you can type in your own identification using the search bar, at any level of detail you know (e.g. “Wild Coffee” or “Plants” are both fine to use as an ID!)

Once you upload an observation, it can be seen by the entire iNaturalist community. The community can agree with the ID you made, help refine an ID to get it to species level, or correct a mis-identification. Remember though, you need to have taken a good enough photo (or set of photos) that other people can ID the organism you saw! It’s important to remember that all identifications on iNaturalist are made by other users who are all volunteering their time to identify observations; there are no iNaturalist staff members who are paid to add identifications.

For iNaturalist, while it’s convenient to use the app to make observations, it’s fine if you want to use a digital camera. You can upload your observations using the Upload tool on iNaturalist, and if your camera doesn’t have a GPS, you can drop a pin to indicate where you made each observation. If you’re planning on making most of your CNC observations using a camera, we recommend watching this short video on how to best use iNaturalist’s Photo Uploader.

Observations without evidence (photo/sound) are graded as casual records, since no one can help ID or confirm an observation without a photo. And CASUAL RECORDS WILL NOT COUNT for the CNCHK.

We understand that sometimes a cool bird or butterfly flies by without stopping and you just can’t get a picture. You can still make observations in iNaturalist without a photo (please do this sparingly, and only if you know for sure what the species was). However, these will not count for the CNCHK.

Seek by iNaturalist is a great way to engage children and families in nature exploration because it does not automatically collect personally identifiable information about users. In order to use Seek to make observations for the CNC, you must first login to Seek using your iNaturalist account.

The photos you take during the CNCHK are there to provide evidence of the organism you saw, and to help confirm the identification of that organism. Therefore, taking good photos is key to participating in the CNCHK! Here are some tips to taking photos:

1. Focus on one species in each photo:
   While a meadow full of wildflowers is beautiful, it’s not the best photo for an observation, as there are probably many species represented in that one shot! As much as possible, try to have the one species you’re interested in as the focus of your photo, by getting close and centering your organism in the frame.

2. Use the option to have multiple photos in one observation:
   On iNaturalist and on some of the other platforms, you can have more than one photograph for each observation you make, allowing you to photograph different parts or angles of an organism. For example, one photograph of an entire tree, taken from far away, won’t be very useful in identifying that species of tree, but that “full shot” photo, combined with other photos that show close ups of the leaves, the bark, and any flowers or fruits, will allow that tree to be identified.

3. Discard blurry photographs:
   Be sure to use the option to retake photos when making observations! If the organism moved or there is low light, causing the photograph to be blurry, retake the picture but wait for the organism to be still or turn on your flash. On iNaturalist, the app will show you the photo you took and ask you if you want to retry or if you’re OK with the photo.

4. Get close:
   For small organisms in particular, like ants, getting a nice close-up shot is important for identification. While it can be difficult to take a good close-up shot using the camera of a smartphone, these days there are inexpensive clip-on macro lenses you can use with your phone to take great, focused pictures of small organisms or close-ups of features of other organisms, like a plant that has tiny flowers or the eyes of a spider.

An identification confirms that you can confidently identify it yourself compared to any possible lookalikes. Please do not simply “Agree” with an ID that someone else has made without confirming that you understand how to identify that taxon. If you agree with the ID without actually knowing the taxon, it may reach Research Grade erroneously.

If you disagree with an identification, the best thing to do is to add an identification of your own. It’s helpful to provide a reason for disagreement in a comment. If you think you had the correct identification before the other person added theirs, then it’s useful to write a FRIENDLY comment explaining why you think your ID is correct.

To get an observation to “Research Grade” status:

1. It must have a photo

2. It must have an accurate date and location

3. It cannot be a captive or cultivated organism,

4. Over 2/3rds of the people adding IDs to it have to agree about what species it is.

It’s key to check back on your observations after you make them to see if anyone has added an identification or left a comment, possibly asking you to provide a bit more information about what you saw.

Your observations do not need to reach Research Grade to count for the CNCHK. Only Casual Records will not be counted (i.e. observations without evidence or of non-wild organisms).

Yes! In the same way that anyone can be an observer, anyone can help identify observations.

In iNaturalist, go to CNCHK’s project, click “Observations” and you’ll see an “Identify” button pop up just below it. Clicking this will take you to the iNaturalist Identify page and show you all of CNCHK’s observations that still need to be identified. From this page, you can restrict what it shows you by taxon, which helps if you know how to ID certain groups. If you’re not an expert in any group, you can still help by identifying the “unknowns” – the observations with no IDs at all! Click the “Filters” button and then select the dashed-line leaf with a question mark in it:

This will show you all the observations that are currently listed as “unknown.” It’s really helpful to go through these and add high-level IDs like “plants” or “insects” or “birds” or “fungi” – whatever you know about the organism – so people who do know how to ID these groups down to species can find them! Here’s a short video about using the Identify page.

No matter what, please only add an ID of which you can be reasonably sure – it’s fine if you don’t know what something is, and it’s fine to only add a genus or family or even kingdom level ID.