Teaching · For Teachers

Every sighting, named
and kept kindly.

A folder of wildlife photos becomes a record when each one has a name, a date, a place and a note of what the animal was doing. Add each sighting with how sure you are. The catalog keeps a life list with first-seen dates, checks scientific names are written properly and flags the habits that disturb wildlife or give away a nest.

Add a sightingWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the For Teachers toolkit, $79 for 72 items.

Your sightings

The worked example is made up: a red-tailed hawk in a park meadow, a probable green heron at a pond and a robin’s nest photographed too close from a schoolyard. Places are general, never exact. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Teaching · For Teachers$12

What you finish with
A record per sighting: common and scientific names, group, how sure, how many, behavior, date, time, general place, habitat, nest or den, photo file name, distance and five field-ethics checks. Works out the month and checks the scientific name’s format; keeps a life list of distinct species with first-seen dates and counts this month’s sightings; flags unsure and probable identifications, miswritten scientific names, nests, close approaches, baiting and anything collected.
Who it is for
Young naturalists and their families, school nature clubs and science teachers running a schoolyard survey.
Format
Browser catalog with a saved record per sighting. Prints one sighting, the whole catalog in a table or a blank field sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the For Teachers toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The For Teachers space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add a sighting the same day, while you remember the behavior.
  2. Mark how sure you are, honestly.
  3. Give the place in general terms only.
  4. Match the photo file name so you can find it later.
  5. Read the life list in the side panel.

Add a sighting

Field ethics

A good wildlife photo, start to finish1Watch firstLearn what it is doing beforeyou move closer.2Stop when it noticesStaring, freezing or movingaway mean you are too close.3Let it come to youSit still at the edge of whereit feeds.4Use distance, not cropsA long lens or binoculars,never a chase.5Record the factsDate, time, general place,count and behavior.6Keep sensitive spots privateNests, dens and rare speciesstay off the map.A good wildlife photo, start to finish1Watch firstLearn what it is doing before you movecloser.2Stop when it noticesStaring, freezing or moving away meanyou are too close.3Let it come to youSit still at the edge of where it feeds.4Use distance, not cropsA long lens or binoculars, never achase.5Record the factsDate, time, general place, count andbehavior.6Keep sensitive spots privateNests, dens and rare species stay offthe map.
Adapted from field ethics codes for nature and bird photography. The animal’s welfare comes before the picture.

Why the scientific name

Common names change from place to place; a scientific name points to one species everywhere. It is written in italics with the genus capitalized and the species in lowercase, as in Turdus migratorius for the American robin.

Sharing sightings

Community science projects use photos like these to map where species live. Most hide or blur the locations of threatened species automatically. For a nest, a den or anything rare, share the county or park, never the exact spot.

Sources

  1. National Audubon Society. Audubon’s Guide to Ethical Bird Photography and Videography (audubon.org).
  2. North American Nature Photography Association. Principles of ethical field practices (nanpa.org).
  3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and feather and nest possession (fws.gov).
  4. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. All About Birds species accounts and field marks (allaboutbirds.org).

The worked example is made up. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.