Getting Back to Business

Hello world!

I can't believe that my last blog post was "A few fall photos...", nearly 5 months ago!  It has been a long winter in many ways, and I haven't spent much time thinking about blogs or Facebook or photos.  Although the winter is typically a slow season for me, especially from a photography standpoint (a major challenge of specializing in reptiles, amphibians and bugs), it has been punctuated by some exciting things!  I co-lead my first tour for Eagle Eye Tours (a hunt for endemic birds in Central Mexico), and had a great time delivering presentations for the Toronto Field Naturalists, the Flamborough Probus Club, the Royal Botanical Gardens Docents and Nature Guelph.  I also just recently had an image published in Ontario Nature magazine, attached to a great article about the Long Point Causeway Improvement Project (p.7)!

As the weather warms (sort of) I'm trying to get back on top of things, in preparation for the return of the migrants and the emergency of all the scaly, slimy and crawly things that I love.  I've been working on a few odds and ends, such as:

• Updating my Upcoming Presentations page.

• Refurbishing my long-dormant Flickr profile.

• Taking the plunge into the strange, new world of 500px.

Today I even edited a few photos from my giant pile!  Here are a trio from last summer that never saw the light of day:

Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea)

Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea)

Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta)

Now all I need is for Spring to arrive, and I'll be all set to go!  Getting a bit impatient...

Kyle

Dominican Butterflies and Fall Plans

Hello!

I hope this first day of fall is treating you all well!  I love the changing seasons...and change in general.  I never like to do the same thing for too long!

I haven't been doing much shooting recently, but I have been editing a bit.  I was working back through some old photos from a 2011 trip to the Dominican Republic, and found a folder full of butterflies I'd always intended to identify but never gotten around to.  I managed to nail down most of them, although one remains a mystery (any butterfly aficionados out there fancy a challenge?).  Here they are:

White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae)

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Zebra (Heliconius charithonae)

And now the stumper....ready for it?

Mangrove or Tropical Buckeye (Junonia genoveva or evarete)

I don't feel so badly about being unable to pin this down, as a) the two species look incredibly similar and b) nobody seems to know which one is which!  BugGuide (which I take to be the be-all-and-end-all on all things bug-related) has this to say:

"There has been a lot of confusion due to the switching back and forth of the usage of the names Junonia genoveva and Junonia evarete, and most of the photographs up to date on BugGuide were switched from current usage due to this confusion, and the resultant fact that many field guides have backwards or confused treatments as well. Hopefully the Lamas treatment will be the final word, and things won't keep switching back and forth!"

Unfortunately the Lamas treatment simply assigns the correct name to the correct butterfly, but doesn't help at all in identifying which is which.  And because you can't trust the name-assignment in any other guide/source, it seems pretty much impossible to get this little bugger to species!  The one that got away I suppose...

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Anyway, on to non-butterfly-related things.  Got a few fun plans for the fall, and I'm hoping they'll push me to spend some time camera-in-hand.  First, I'm headed out to Tadoussac, QC next week with my father in search of these:

Then down to the US of A in October on an annual hunt (but not the shooting type) for these:

I'm pretty excited for both, as I've really been jonesin' for an adventure, even a small one!  Finally, on October 7 I will be giving a talk to the Hamilton Naturalists' Club about these:

The talk is open to the public, so come on out!

I think that's all the news for now - get out there and see some cool fall nature!

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

Presentation next weekend!

I am getting excited for my presentation next weekend at the Ingersoll District Nature Club!  The topic has been chosen and it will be "An Island Apart: The Stunning and Bizarre Wildlife of Madagascar."  This is a brand-new presentation, and I can't wait to do it!  For details, visit www.ingersollnature.ca.

I have made some updates to the "Upcoming Presentations" tab (at the top of this page) to reflect some recent changes and additions.  And of course, I always post updates on my Facebook page, and now my Twitter account (I'm so connected)!

Here's as sneak peek from the Mad presentation - I think I'll use it as the cover photo:

Jewel Chameleon (Furcifer lateralis)

:)
Kyle

Upcoming Presentations

Hello!

I am excited to be doing presentations for a handful of naturalists' clubs this fall and winter!  I have put up a list of my upcoming presentations on a separate page of the blog (see tabs at the top, or just go here).  If you've never been to a naturalists' club meeting, maybe it's about time you start!

:)
Kyle