How to record your findings

This video summarises the written content below.

While you’re out looking for a platypus, it’s important to record what you see so you can share this information with platypus researchers and scientists.

Aim to get a photo. A photo captured on a phone, even at a distance, is great. Good gear like a DSLR camera or long-lens can help too.

It’s also useful to make notes of things you notice, including:

• The movements of the platypus: if you saw ripples, what shape were they? Did the animal duck and dive or float on the surface? These can help distinguish the sighting from a rakali or other animal
• The vegetation along the waterway. What was the vegetation like along the water? Was it sparse or thick, were there trees and shrubs? Was there any litter? What was the water flow like?

If your phone has location settings in the camera app (most do by default) this will be captured automatically. Otherwise you can use a phone or GPS to take down the location. At a pinch you can estimate it after.

Visit http://platy-project.acf.org.au and select ‘Record a sighting’ to upload a record of what you saw:

• Attach a photo if you got one
• Include notes about the habitat (what was the tree cover like? Were there many shrubs? Was there much litter in the water or on the banks?)

UPLOAD YOUR FINDINGS

If you were lucky enough to see a platypus and get a photo you can upload your photos to social media using the hashtag #PlatyProject

We’d love to hear about your platypus encounters! If you’ve seen one send an email to [email protected] 

That’s still really helpful information that contributes to platypus science!

• Visit platy-project.acf.org.au, select ‘record a sighting’ and then select 'zero platypus' to record your attempted sighting.
• We’d also love to hear about your adventure by emailing [email protected].
• You can upload photos of other plants and animals to a public and free community science app like iNaturalist.