About Spotter
Spotter is a field companion for hikers and anyone who wants to know what they just found outside: a plant, a bird, a track in the snow, a mushroom on a log or a rock on the beach. It is a small, independent app.
Who makes it
Derek Gauger is a full-stack software developer and architect in Wisconsin. He founded Real Blue Software LLC to build and run his own products alongside client work, and he designed and built Spotter: the iPhone and Android apps, the identification service behind them, and this website.
Derek is responsible for everything published on spotternature.com. If something here is wrong, he wants to know: dgauger@realbluesoftware.com.
How Field Notes are written
- Field Notes are drafted with the help of AI writing tools, working from established references such as university extension services, state natural resources agencies, field guides and natural history collections. Each post links to further reading on its topic.
- Every post is checked for factual and safety errors before it is published, and posts are corrected when readers or new sources show a mistake. The date under a post's title says when it was last updated.
- Posts aim to answer one question well: how to recognize something and tell it from its look-alikes.
Safety policy
- Spotter and Field Notes are for identification and learning. Nothing here is advice to eat, handle or use any wild plant, mushroom or animal, and no post makes edibility claims.
- Identification results in the app are generated by AI and can be wrong. For anything that affects your health or safety, confirm with a local expert, such as your county extension office or a regional mycological society.
- If someone may have eaten something toxic, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 (US) or emergency services.
Explore
Get Spotter
Free on iPhone and Android, with 5 identifications every day.
