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

Mission: Bloodroot

Hello!

I have finally managed to get out and do some shooting, and am now sorting through a whack of photos from the last little while.  This morning I decided to go in search of a spring wildflower that I've been wanting to photograph for a while: Bloodroot.  Those who know me know that I'm not much of a plant person, but I try to get myself out there at least once per Spring to take advantage of the spectacular blooms that dapple the forest floor.  They are actually tons of fun to shoot, and move less than my usually quarry.  I'm almost always pleased with the results.

Bloodroot, somehow, has evaded me in previous Springs...I always seem to miss it.  But I knew the timing would be right today, and I had fortuitously booked the day off work, so it was the perfect opportunity!  Exposing these snow-white flowers properly is a challenge, both in-camera and in post, but I did manage to get some shots I'm pretty happy with.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

I did shoot some other wildflowers as well, and couldn't resist a few animal subjects, so hopefully more photos soon!

Kyle

Wildflowers Continued

As promised, here are a few more wildflower images from the other day.  Still only halfway through them, so one more installment to come!

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

Round-lobed Hepatica (Anemone americana)

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

Off to work!
Kyle

Spring Wildflowers

I've been out taking pictures, I swear!  Here's a Red Trillium to prove it:

I added a whole bunch of photos to the sort pile today, so hopefully there will be more coming down the pipe shortly!

Kyle

More MacGregor Photos

Here's a handful more from last weekend at MacGregor.

Chalk-fronted Corporal (Ladona julia)

Dot-tailed Whiteface (Leucorrhinia intacta)

Eastern Red Damsel (Amphiagrion saucium)

Northern Crescent (Phycoides cocyta)

Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens pipiens)

Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium pubescens)

Perhaps the coolest find of the weekend was this crazy aquatic insect, trekking (in a very ungainly fashion) across a trail between two marshy areas.

Predaceous Diving Beetle larva (Family: Dytiscidae)

That's all for now!

Kyle

Trilliums

Hello!

The near-wintry weather this weekend put a damper on my hoped-for herp-photo outing, but I was eager to get the camera out so I headed over to a nearby spot that I know is rich with Trilliums.  It seems to be just the right time of year for these showy flowers, so I thought it'd be fun to play around with them.  The strong wind today made framing shots frustrating and slow shutter speeds impossible as the flowers never stop moving!  Nonetheless I did end up with a few shots that I am somewhat satisfied with:

Trillium Blanket

White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)

White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)

Red Trillium (Trillium erectum)

That's all for now!

Cheers!
Kyle

I'm Still Here!

Hello!

It has been some time since my last update, but that's mostly because I have been busy moving to my new place in Guelph, Ontario!  I am excited to be back in Guelph, and looking forward to using this as my home base for the next while.

This weekend I was fortunate enough to run into some old friends and be invited to join in some herp surveying.  I took the camera along, as I've been dying to get out and get shooting.  This was the perfect opportunity.  One of the first herps we saw (and heard) was the American Toad.

American Toad (Anaxyrus [Bufo] americanus)

Spring is definitely coming in to full swing and it's not just the toads that know it.  Marsh Marigold was blooming in huge clusters everywhere.

Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)

The definite highlight of the day came near the end, when we found a species I have never seen in the wild: the endangered Wood Turtle.

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)

All-in-all an excellent day, and hopefully a sign of good things to come!

Cheers!
Kyle

Odds and Ends #2

Hola!

Another one of those odds-and-ends posts today, with more photos from the last month.  I have found my most desired photographic accessory here is an external flash - many a backlit or dimly-lit photo could be improved with a little light.  For example, these two:

Brown-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrranulus)

White-faced Capuchin (Cebus capucinus)

Next, continuing with my Distant-cropped-record-shots-of-cool-birds series:

White-fronted Parrot (Amazona albifrons)

One more shot from the Butterfly Gardens, this one of an Owl Butterfly caterpillar.

Owl Butterfly (Caligo sp.)

What would an odds-and-ends post be without some sort of tree photo?  Odd, that's what.

Kyle and Tree

That's all for now, I shall post again soon!

Kyle

Odds and Ends #1

Hola!

I realize it was but an hour ago that I posted lamenting my complicated internet situation, but in a fortuitous turn of events I have found a more reliable connection (albeit somewhat further from home).  In the past several internet-less days I have had some time to sort photos.  I have arranged three posts worth of odds and ends that got lost in the shuffle of things earlier on.  Here is number 1:

To start with, a couple of the large, common flycatchers here:

Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulfuratus)

Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus)

One of those lovely butterflies from the MBG (Monteverde Butterfly Gardens); the Postman, who gets his name from his odd habit of following a consistent route through his habitat every day.

Postman (Heliconius melpomene)

In my continuing attempt to be a bit more artistic with my photography, and to capture the awesome trees here, I give you: a tree.

A Tree

One more, a grab-shot of our most common swallow:

Blue-and-white Swallows (Notiochelidon cyanoleuca)

That's it for now, Odds and Ends #2 approaches!

Cheers!
Kyle

A few odds and ends...

Hola!

At long last, another update from Monteverde.  After several days of wind and rain, some beautiful weather has allowed for a little more birding and photography.  For example, this lovely Motmot from yesterday morning.

Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota)

And our own little version of the Red-bellied Woodpecker:

Hoffman's Woodpecker (Melanerpes hoffmannii)

And in a rare attempt at being artistic (hah) a long-exposure shot down a hollow tree:

Tree

Ok, so I have been battling with these Sceloporus lizards that hang out on the walls here for some time now.  They have a wonderful knack of remaining perfectly still until exactly the moment when you are close enough to shoot, then running into a crack.  So finally I switched from the macro to the less-desirable telephoto to get the shots.  I am not entirely pleased with the results, but at least you can see the lizards.

Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus malachitis) male

Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus malachitis) female

A few points of herp news to report: my co-volunteer had a sighting of a Black-tailed Cribo on a tour, which I was able to confirm on a video.  I searched extensively but to no avail.  Also, another co-volunteer claims to have seen a Montane Pit-Viper on a day off (unconfirmed), so I'm headed to that location next time I'm free.  Also, yesterday I somehow merited an invitation on a collecting trip down the mountain and found that lower elevations seem much more productive for reptiles.  Unfortunately we were there for a very short time just before dark, but I did glimpse many small  (and some larger) lizards.  I was informed by my Costa Rican co-worker that there were many venomous snakes there and it was very dangerous.  I tried to nod gravely but couldn't hide a smile.  Nonetheless we were not to see any snakes, but did find some Howler Monkeys which was cool.

Anyway I'm off, but will try to update again soon!

Cheers!
Kyle