~ Early Web Links ~

Thomas J. Elpel's plant identification hub teaches visitors to recognize wildflowers, weeds, and edible plants by learning the patterns of plant families rather than memorizing individual species. The site complements his book 'Botany in a Day' and includes slideshows, weed ecology, foraging guides, mushroom information, and online classes.

Created by Dick and Sandy Daniels, this site functions as a comprehensive online field guide covering over 10,000 bird species organized by genus and family, making it easy to compare related birds side by side. Entries span every major region of the world including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, with links to additional information for each species.

Hosted at Bucknell University, this online database presents the complete third edition of 'Mammal Species of the World' (MSW3), edited by Don E. Wilson and DeeAnn M. Reeder, covering taxonomic and geographic reference data for all recognized mammal species. Researchers and enthusiasts can browse the full hierarchy from Order down to Subspecies, search by scientific or common name, and even export the entire taxonomy as a CSV file.

MushroomExpert.Com, maintained by Michael Kuo, is a comprehensive reference covering over 1,300 mushroom species with detailed entries, identification keys, and photographs for each genus and species. It stands out as one of the most thorough free mycology databases on the web, covering everything from common yard fungi to rare and obscure species across North America.

Peter Alfrey's birding notebook chronicles his passionate pursuit of birds across the UK and beyond, with detailed field accounts of species sightings, migration events, and twitches at sites like Beddington Farmlands and the Azores. The blog spans years of dated posts and connects to related projects including an eBird profile, a Black Sea observatory project, and pelagic birding trips.

Run by Jayson Kowinsky, FossilGuy.com is a comprehensive guide to fossil hunting and paleontology featuring field trip reports, fossil identification sheets, prehistoric animal profiles, and interviews with professional paleontologists. With content spanning from Megalodon teeth to trilobites to dinosaur news, it's a richly detailed resource for both amateur collectors and serious paleo enthusiasts.

Curated by the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division, this digital archive spans 1890 to 1961 and brings together photographs, documents, and original materials tracing the history of salmon fishing and the roots of the Pacific Northwest salmon crisis. Visitors can browse topics ranging from Native American fishing practices and salmon canneries to hatcheries and the Columbia River salmon industry.

Nature Camp is a collaborative MelonLand Guild bringing together nature enthusiasts who share a love of bugs, plants, mushrooms, rocks, and wildlife photography. The site features a member directory, forum discussion links, and curated nature resources like iNaturalist and BugGuide, all built and maintained collectively by its growing community.

Animal Info is a comprehensive reference site dedicated to rare, threatened, and endangered mammals around the world, offering detailed species profiles covering biology, ecology, habitat, and conservation status. Visitors can browse by species group, search an alphabetical index of common and scientific names, or explore by country to discover biodiversity and population data for hundreds of at-risk animals.

Science Workshop appears to be a science-oriented site, though its content is extremely minimal with only a single image visible at crawl time. The domain name suggests a focus on science education or hands-on scientific topics, but without further content the site's exact subject remains uncertain.