Another Year...

Well it seems that everyone is doing a 'year-in-review,' and since I always do what everyone else is doing (hah), I thought I'd repost some of my favourite photos from the past year.  This also helps me continue to avoid the editing that I really should be doing...

I had some trouble whittling it down, so there's a bunch of them!

The year started with a trip to Cuba in early January with a small group, where we found a creature I'd long wanted to see:

Cuban Ground Boa (Tropidophis melanurus) in Cuba

I barely managed to snag this shot of a Great Blue while speeding by in a boat, and it has become one of my favourites!

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) in Cuba

Not much photography done in the early spring, but late April and May found me birding Point Pelee on several occasions.  I did find some time to search for reptiles too.

Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) at Point Pelee

Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica) at Point Pelee

In the summer I spent a long weekend on Georgian Bay with a few excellent friends, and although the weather definitely didn't cooperate, we had a good weekend and found a few exciting critters.

Robber Fly (species unknown) on Georgian Bay

Grey Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) on Georgian Bay

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) on Georgian Bay

In August I spent a lot of time chasing butterflies close to home.  I bought a new camera body, so this gave me a great opportunity to break it in on some of my favourite subjects.  I decided to try resisting my predilection for the extreme close-up, and took a step back for a different perspective on some of the photos.

Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) in Guelph

There is something irresistible about a good close-up though...

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) in Guelph

I spent some time with Hummingbird Moths this summer, as I find them a very challenging subject!

Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) in Guelph

It was really a banner year for Giant Swallowtails, and they were showing up everywhere!

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) in Guelph

In the late summer I spent a day herping in Simcoe County with some friends, and one member of our group nearly stepped on a neonate rattlesnake - one of the most amazing wildlife sightings of my life!

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) in Simcoe County

On Thanksgiving weekend I took my annual pilgrimage to southern Illinois with some amazing people, and had a great weekend searching for some spectacular herps (thanks Steve!).

Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) in southern Illinois

This tiny froglet will forever remain unidentified...

Cope's or Bird-voiced Treefrog (Hyla sp.) in southern Illinois

On my last herping excursion of the year I found no herps, but I did grab a quick shot of an American Copper, which has become a real favourite of mine.

American Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) at Long Point

And that brings us up to the present, and one of my favourite (and last) photos of the year:

Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia) in the Dominican Republic

That's all for now!  I am looking forward to kicking off 2012 with a trip to Madagascar and South Africa, and hope to have plenty of exciting photos to post when I get back!

Kyle