Guides

Getting started with Field Chronicle

How to start a Field Chronicle wildlife journal—verify email, optional setup, first outing, a place on the map, and an optional sighting or photo.

Field Chronicle isn’t trying to be “another photo gallery”—it’s trying to be the operating system for your time in the field.

You do not need to fill every section on day one. The useful first record is an outing with a place and a date. Everything else—species, photos, projects, gear—attaches to that outing.

SceneHomeField Journal
New outingPlan an outing

Start your field journal

The useful first record is an outing with a place and a date.

  • Outing with a date
  • Named pin on the map
  • Sighting or photo — optional

Start on Home. You do not need every section on day one — New outing is enough.

Create an account and open the journal

Registration is invite-gated. Confirm the email Field Chronicle sends before you can sign in. After the first login, an optional five-step guide can set language, Gear, appearance, privacy, and live map recommendations—Skip or Finish; you can rerun it later from Profile. Home is the dashboard. Quick links jump to Field Journal, Sightings, Species, Photos, Calendar, Projects, and Gear. You can ignore most of them until you have one outing.

Log your first outing

Open the Field Journal. Add an outing for the day you were outside. Pin at least one location on the map and give it a name you will recognize later. A one-line visit note is enough: weather, companions, or what you hoped to see. That outing is the spine of the journal.

Add a sighting or a photo if you have one

If you identified something, log a sighting on that outing. If you took pictures, upload a few selects into Photos and attach them to the outing or the sighting. Skip both if the walk was just a walk—the pin still counts. Keep RAW archives and public checklists where they already live; Field Chronicle holds the day itself.

Come back through Home or the calendar

After a few visits, Home widgets and the calendar show that you have been keeping a journal—how often you went out, not only what you filed. Adjust settings (language, appearance, which Home widgets you see) when the defaults get in the way—not before.

All Field Chronicle guides

When you want a deeper look, these how-tos cover every kind of field time and every part of the journal:

Related guides

  • How Field Chronicle fits with other tools

    What Field Chronicle does differently from photo libraries, citizen-science apps, and notes tools—and how it works beside them without replacing them.

  • Field Chronicle for wildlife photographers

    Keep shoot days, species, EXIF-rich photos, and gear in one wildlife journal so a trip is more than a camera roll.

  • Field Chronicle for birders

    Grow a life list, log sightings, revisit patches, and see seasonal effort in one field journal built for birders.

  • Field Chronicle for nature lovers

    A personal nature notebook for walks and weekends—outings, a few photos, and a simple home view without a specialist workflow.

  • Using Home in Field Chronicle

    How the Field Chronicle Home dashboard works—quick links, activity widgets, and a quiet start to your wildlife journal.

  • Using Calendar and summary

    See Field Chronicle outings on a calendar and review wildlife activity summaries across any range of time.

  • Using the Field Journal

    Plan outings on a map, pin places, log species from the field, and keep visit notes so each Field Chronicle trip stays a living field record.

  • Using Sightings

    Log wildlife sightings with species, notes, and photos, then browse every Field Chronicle observation across outings.

  • Using Species and your life list

    Browse every species you have recorded in Field Chronicle, filter by group, and reopen notes, maps, and photos from one list.

  • Using the Photo library

    Explore Field Chronicle wildlife photos by date, species, outing, or place—your field gallery with EXIF still attached.

  • Using Projects

    Save Field Chronicle project filters over outings, species, sightings, notes, maps, and photos for ongoing wildlife study.

  • Using Field gear

    Catalog cameras, lenses, and field kit in Field Chronicle so equipment stays organized beside your wildlife journal.

  • Using Social

    Optionally share Field Chronicle outings with friends—a private journal first, with likes, a friends feed, and chat when you want them.

  • Using Settings

    Adjust Field Chronicle language, appearance, Home widgets, privacy, live map recommendations, and Field Journal location types so the journal fits how you work.