r/iNaturalist

Its been on iNaturalist for a while and I wanted to know if someone can identify it.

LINK:https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/378835119

OBSERVATION NUMBER/ID:378835119

Link: iNaturalist Tools - Species Tracker, Lifelist, Achievements & More https://glauberramos.github.io/inat/

This is so weirdly motivating for me 😂

Posting here to have a web address for this image.

Read the full adventure here.

This is, perhaps, not a typical post for this subreddit, but hopefully it inspires new users to see the iNaturalist community working together to solve ID mysteries!

Goal

Create a one-gesture field workflow:

**Double-tap the back of your iPhone → take a photo with the rear camera → automatically send the photo to iNaturalist.**

No need to open iNaturalist first. No URL scheme is required.

I developed the triple tap to instantly start recording audio in the MerlinBirdID app. u/AmbitionAvailable551 on Reddit said he/she wanted it to work with iNaturalist so I created this set up.

---

Note: If you prefer, https://github.com/thenestinglab/iNaturalist-Instant-ID 

Videos

iNaturalist Instant ID - https://youtube.com/shorts/Z3caQHmxCfw?feature=share

iNaturalist Instant ID - Step by Step - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VbkJzVSV08&t=1s

Part 1 — Check If iNaturalist Appears in “Share with App”

This is the trick that makes the workflow work. Check this first and enable if needed.

iNaturalist may initially appear in the normal iPhone Share Sheet (from the share button) but **not** in Shortcuts' “Share with App” list (this will make sense later, but if we do it first it’s a lot easier).

Step 1: Open Photos

Open the **Photos** app.

Select any photo as this is just a test.

Step 2: Open the Share Sheet

Tap the ‘Share’ button.

Step 3: Find iNaturalist

Scroll through the apps. You might see AirDrop, Messages, Mail, etc… Scroll on that line.

If iNaturalist isn't immediately visible, tap:

‘More’ which is all the way to the right.

Click ‘Edit’ in the top right. This enables a “+” signs on the left hand side of all the apps.

Step 4: Add iNaturalist to Favorites

Use the Share Sheet's **Edit/Favorites** controls to add iNaturalist to your Favorites.

Find:

**iNaturalist** and click on the ‘+’ sign on the left to ‘add to favorites’.  This is the magic trick in the whole set up.

The important thing is to make iNaturalist an available app in the normal iOS Share Sheet.

Then press the large check mark top left to go back, and again click the large check mark top left to go back to share sheet.  Slide left on the list of apps to see if Naturalist was added. If so, go to the next step.

Step 5: Go to Shortcuts

Go to the iOS Shortcuts app.

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Part 2 — Create the Shortcut

Step 1: Open Shortcuts

Open Apple's **Shortcuts** app.

Tap the **+** button in the upper-right corner to create a new Shortcut.

Step 2: Add “Take Photo”

Tap **Add Action**.

Search for:

**Take Photo**

Select the **Take Photo** action.

Configure it to use:

**Back Camera**

This is important: use **Take Photo**, not **Open Back Camera**.

`Take Photo` actually produces a photo that the next Shortcut action can receive.

Step 3: Add “Share with Apps”

Tap **Add Action** underneath the Take Photo action.

Search for:

**Share with Apps**

Select it.

You should now have:

**Take Photo → Share with App**

Step 4: Select iNaturalist

In the **Share with App** action, tap the application selector.

Choose:

**iNaturalist**

If iNaturalist does not appear, see Part 1 above.

Step 5: Rename the Shortcut

Tap the Shortcut name at the top.

Give it a simple name such as:

**iNaturalist Instant ID**

Tap **<** on the top left to exit and save our shortcut.

Your finished Shortcut should look essentially like this:

**Take Photo**

* Back Camera

↓

**Share with App**

* iNaturalist

That's all.

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Part 3 — Test the Shortcut

Before assigning it to Back Tap, test it directly after you exited the initial set up by ‘<‘ clicking that back to the list of all your shortcuts.

Open the Shortcut and press **Play ▶︎**.

The intended sequence is:

**Shortcut starts**

↓

**Rear camera takes photograph**

↓

**Photo is passed directly to iNaturalist**

↓

**iNaturalist opens with the photograph**

There should be **no general Share Sheet** and no need to select **More → iNaturalist**.

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Part 4 — Assign It to Back Tap

Once the Shortcut works correctly:

Step 1: Open Settings

Go to:

**Settings → Accessibility → Touch**

Step 2: Open Back Tap

Scroll down and tap:

**Back Tap**

Step 3: Choose Double Tap

Tap:

**Double Tap**

Step 4: Select your Shortcut

Scroll to the **Shortcuts** section.

Select:

**iNaturalist Instant ID**

Step 5: Test it

Lock or leave the phone in your normal field position.

Double-tap the back of the iPhone.

The intended result is:

**Double tap**

→ **rear camera takes photograph**

→ **photo goes directly to iNaturalist**

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Development Note:

Why this looks different than my 'MerlinBirdID: Fast Launch'

iNaturalist doesn’t have an open URL scheme like the Merlin app does so we needed a workaround - so this type of command in 'Open URLs' won’t currently work:  `inaturalist://camera`, `inaturalist://photo` etc…

See the MerlinBirdID Fast Launch here: https://thenestinglab.com/fieldnotes/008-merlin-back-tap/ for another free modification so you don't miss another bird sound.

Videos

iNaturalist Instant ID - https://youtube.com/shorts/Z3caQHmxCfw?feature=share

iNaturalist Instant ID - Step by Step - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VbkJzVSV08&t=1s

MerlinBirdID - Fast Launch - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2LLxAQJHfrc

MerlinBirdID - Fast Launch - Step by step - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2LLxAQJHfrc

I've just upgraded to my first foldable phone (Galaxy Fold 8 Ultra) and I can finally use the iNat website comfortably on my mobile device. So much easier than having to sit at my desktop!

If anyone is thinking of changing phones soon this may be something to consider!

I added the location but it still showed me the same results. Do I need clearer photos?