She/Her

My intended career in coastal ecology & conservation was sidelined by chronic illness. I love that I'm still able to contribute as a citizen/community scientist. Besides iNaturalist I've also been contributing to eBird for several years. I also love guiding educational nature walks when I'm able. Since 2018 I've been living within the Big Thicket area of southeast Texas. I volunteer for Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve (http://www.watsonpreserve.org) which is near the Big Thicket National Preserve Turkey Creek Unit. I'm the curator for the Watson Preserve project here on iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/watson-preserve) and sometimes write articles for their newsletter. If you have any questions about the preserve or are interested in a guided tour, you can msg me.

Did you find a domestic rabbit while out iNatting in the US or Canada? Contact your nearest rabbit rescue and read this article https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Feral_and_stray_rabbits . Please also file a report on the Abandoned Rabbits Tracking Map website https://abandonedrabbits.com/ . You can tag me in your observation if you aren't sure if you found a cottontail or a domestic rabbit. You can also add your observation to this project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ferals-waifs-and-strays-wild-observations-of-domesticated-species . Did you find a dead rabbit, cottontail, or hare with no obvious signs of trauma? How to identify and prevent the spread of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease virus: https://rhdv2.org/

Feel free to tag me for help with IDs. If I don't respond, it's not that I didn't see it, I just don't know the ID. Sometimes I'm high on the leader board for a species but I still can't help you. These cases are usually because there are look alike species east of the Mississippi river that are difficult to differentiate (and may often be left at genus level there). Fewer species here on the west side makes it easier to ID.
Heat map of my IDs: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/map?ident_user_id=lappelbaum#2/0/0
Identifier stats: https://jumear.github.io/stirfry/iNat_identifier_stats.html?user_id=lappelbaum
IDs for others: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?ident_user_id=lappelbaum&not_user_id=lappelbaum

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