New year, new (old) blog?

Hello!

Well it's a full 7 months since I last posted here - in fact I let pretty much all of my social-media-type things go in the latter half of 2014.  Just needed a break I suppose, and a bit of a re-think.  But with the onset of 2015 I'm diving back into the mix, and there are many changes and updates to annouce!

First and foremost, about a month back I published a new website!  The old one was long overdue for an upgrade, and I'm excited to have something new, simple and clean.  You can see it in the same bat-place:

www.kylehorner.com

Secondly, I have taken yet a third reluctant plunge (Facebook and Twitter being long under the belt) into a social medium, and gotten an Instagram account.  Do you Instagram?  If so, you can find me here:

http://instagram.com/khornernature/

Thirdly, I'm excited to be guiding a trip to Florida for Eagle Eye Tours in about a month's time.  If you have some spare cash and nothing to do mid-Feb, you can find the details here:

http://www.eagle-eye.com/florida-birding-tour

And finally, with photography and other activities being slow in the winter, I have been working hard to process as many photos as I can, and finally get my collection up-to-date!  Here's a whole bunch of shiny new edits from the last few months:

Definite Tussock Moth (Orgyia definata)

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Dun Skipper (Euphyes vestris)

Band-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum semicinctum)

Long-tailed Salamander (Eurycea longicauda)

Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata)

White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)


American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)


Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)


Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)

Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus)

Mississippi Green Water Snake (Nerodia cyclopion)

Masked Treefrog (Smilisca phaeota)

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

Fingers crossed for more to come (New Years resolutions being what they will)!

Kyle

Spring is on the way! Slowly...

Hello!

I have once again been blog-absent for a long time...It has been a busy little while, and late winter is definitely my least favourite time for photography.  But I'm back now, and the photography (and blogging) season is on the way!

First some good news - I had a photo published in the spring issue of ON Nature Magazine!  Check out the Spring Peeper on page 11, and be sure to read the article (James is an awesome guy and great herper).

This article got me thinking about spring, as amphibian breeding will be starting up in the next couple of weeks.  This is often my first pursuit of the year, and I'm excited to head out after dark for a wade around in the swamp!  Keep a keen ear for those peeping Spring Peepers, croaking Northern Leopard Frogs and quacking Wood Frogs, and head down to the local pond or ditch to check them out (watch where you step!).  If you're feeling sciencey, be sure to participate in the Backyard Frog Survey like James suggests!

In the meantime, here are some photos to tide you over and get you excited for spring!

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)

Grey Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)

Blatant re-use of old photos because I have no new material?  Yes please!

Think frogs!

Kyle

Presentation This Week

It has been a busy bird-count (and holiday) season, so I haven't had much time to edit photos or post to the blog recently.  All told I have done 3 Christmas Bird Counts, one Christmas Bird Count for Kids and the Guelph Arboretum Winter Bird Count.  Counting birds is just so much fun!  Highlights of the counts were as follows:

-one Common Raven on the Port Hope count (this was a very slow day, so highlights were hard to come by!)
-two Iceland Gulls on the Guelph count (both gorgeous adults)
-one Merlin on the Guelph CBC4Kids (mostly notable because the participants got excellent looks!)
-one Great Black Back x Herring Gull hybrid on the CBC4Kids (this was less exciting for the children)
-one Ring-necked Pheasant on the Rice Lake Plains count (almost certainly a game-farm escapee, but still cool!)
-one Brown Thrasher and one Barred Owl on the Arb Winter Bird Count (thrasher in winter...WEIRD!)
-good numbers of Common Redpolls and Bohemian Waxwings all round

If you didn't count this year, be sure to do it next year - even a slow day of bird-counting is tons of fun!

On a more tropical note, I will be delivering my Madagascar presentation this coming Thursday for the Guelph Field Naturalists.  The meeting is at 7:30 at the Arboretum Centre and it is open to the public, so come on by!  Here are a couple of teasers:

Perinet Chameleon (Calumma gastrotaenia)

Unnamed Frog (Platypelis barbouri)

Hope to see you there!
Kyle

Toad Hunt

Decided yesterday to head out on a search for a species I have never photographed: the ever-so-elusive Fowler's Toad!  A day of searching produced a single toad, but I can't fault him for cooperativeness.

Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)

These endangered toads differ from the garden-variety American Toads (Anaxyrus americanus) in several minor and frustrating ways, including the shape of the ridges on their heads and the number of warts in a cluster.  Mostly though, they differ in their habitat preferences: Fowler's only like sandy beaches and dunes!

Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)

Lots of dragonflies still passing through on their migration south.  We don't have too many migratory dragonflies, and the most familiar is probably the giant Green Darner (Anax junius).  For me though, it's all about the saddlebags.

Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata)

As a little bonus for my time spent on the hunt, I came across the prettiest pillbug I've ever seen in Ontario!  These little crustaceans (related to the sowbugs or potato bugs you have in your garden) protect themselves by curling into a ball (or pill) when threatened.  I managed a series of photos that I quite liked.

Pillbug (unknown species, Order: Isopoda)

Pillbug (unknown species)

Pillbug (unknown species)

Pillbug (unknown species)

That's all for now!
Kyle

More Mad Frogs!

At long last, the second half of the Madagascar frog photos.  These (and more) were all taken on a short stroll in the rain near Andasibe, and all with my Lumix point-and-shoot so quality varies :).  The diversity of Madagascar's frogs is stunning, and this represents only a small percentage!  These frogs are awaiting IDs so no names this time, but I will try to get them up soon.

That's all for now.  What's next?  Who knows!

Kyle

Peepers!

I found yet another distraction from editing trip photos - here in southern Ontario the frogs and salamanders are out in force!  Had a great evening yesterday with a couple of friends searching for amphibians at some nearby breeding ponds.  We saw a number of species, but I have always been a big fan of Spring Peepers and they were putting on a great show!  Here are a few of the shots:

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) - showing the distinctive cross, the feature behind the name 'crucifer.'

Also observed on the evening were Bullfrog, Green Frog, Wood Frog, Redback Salamander, Blue-spotted (type) Salamander, Spotted Salamander and Northern Water Snake.  A fantastic night!

Kyle

Mad Frogs #1

At long last I am getting settled back in and to the giant stack of photos sitting on my desktop.  I've set my sights on the Madagascar frogs as my first conquest, and it is proving to be a daunting foe!  The country is home to more frogs than breeding birds, and although we barely scratched the surface I took a ton of photos.  Anyway, here is the first of what I hope will be 2 installments.

The first (like a few others) is a repost - or rather a proper edit of an earlier photo - but worth revisiting!  One of the must-see frogs in Madagascar - the Baron's Mantella (skilfully found by our guide - a feat not as easy as you'd think):

Baron's Mantella (Mantella baroni)

A pretty little frog found all over the country:

Betsileo Reed Frog (Heterixalus betsileo)

Betsileo Reed Frog (Heterixalus betsileo)

There are more frogs in Madagascar than there are names for them, and many of the smaller species don't seem to have one.

No Common Name (Blommersia grandisonae)

Eyeballs!

Greater Madagascan Green Treefrog (Boophis luteus)

We found this little forest frog in a number of places, and it never seemed to look the same twice.  In the breeding season they turn completely yellow!

Madagascar Wood Frog (Aglyptodactylus madagascariensis)

Madagascar Wood Frog (Aglyptodactylus madagascariensis)

Madagascar Wood Frog (Aglyptodactylus madagascariensis)

Madagascar Wood Frog (Aglyptodactylus madagascariensis)

Another common frog, this guy is strikingly similar (in both appearance and behaviour) to our Leopard Frogs.

Mascarene Grass Frog (Ptychadena madagascariensis)

Mascarene Grass Frog (Ptychadena madagascariensis)

This next one is vexing - it took forever to identify this little frog, and nowhere can I find another photo in which it is sporting its mossy camouflage.  I had assumed the 'moss' was fake - simply a part of the frog's skin - but now I'm not so sure...

Moser's Forest Frog (Gephyromantis moseri)

Another seemingly nameless, but pretty, little forest frog.

No Common Name (Platypelis barbouri)

Wow, that was a long one!  Hopefully more to come soon!

Kyle