A few fall photos...

Finally getting around to editing some photos from the fall, and it's about time!  One of the highlights of my fall (as it has been for the past 4 years) was heading down to Illinois on Thanksgiving weekend in search of some awesome critters!  Here are a few highlights:

For me the most exciting moment of the trip was finding my very first Copperhead (I have seen and even photographed them before, but never found one myself)!  This little fella was hiding beneath a log, and never moved a muscle.

Northern x Southern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)

A significant portion of this trip is always spent in search of the elusive Eastern Box Turtle, and finding one is always an event.  This beautiful male was especially exciting!

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)

We had a banner year for one of the smallest and poorest-known snake species in the area, the Smooth Earth Snake.  These little guys normally hide underground or under leaf litter, so it was exciting to see a few out and about!

Smooth Earth Snake (Virginia valeriae)

Finally, being a nature photographer, especially one who focuses on reptiles, amphibians and bugs, often means getting a little dirty for the craft.  It's not uncommon for me to be lying on my belly in the mud or wading into a pond in search of the right angle.  But when I heard there was a Northern Widow in the outhouse, I knew things were going to get messy...

When you've gotta go... (thanks to Jenn Bock for immortalizing this moment)

What a beauty!

Northern Widow (Latrodectus variolus)

That's all for now!
Kyle

Arboretum fun

Took a stroll at the Guelph Arboretum the other day (one of my favourite local spots) and had some luck with a few unexpected species.  The first was a nesting snapper - definitely a new series of photographs for me.  Very cool!

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Although my primary goal for the day was dragonflies, the butterflies ended up being more cooperative.  Lots of species around - here are three.

Common Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia)

Northern Crescent (Phycoides cocyta)

White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis)

After the Arb I moved over for a stroll along the Eramosa River, and my eagle-eyed friend Jenn spotted this awesome crab spider with prey.  Thanks for the stellar spot and plant wrangling!

Goldenrod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia)

That's all for now!
Kyle

Turtles!

A couple of quick edits from the weekend.  Please don't ask the location - I am sworn to secrecy under penalty worse than death!

Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

The weather seems to be taking a turn for nice, the herps are all out and we are on the cusp of proper spring migration, so get out there and see some stuff!!

Kyle

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

Black Rat Snake...sort of...

Well last weekend I took off to eastern Ontario in search of the elusive Black Rat Snake*.  Having only a day and a half to find one, I (and my intrepid co-herper) searched intensively.  We were very nearly skunked, and found only one individual hiding in a crack in an old timber building.  Hardly even counts as a sighting!  Here is the best look we got:

Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta**)

Fortunately, the weekend was not a total bust, as we did find a few other herps.

Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)

Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)

That's all for now!

Kyle

*The powers-that-be would have you call this a Grey Rat Snake.  Until they can show me a grey one in Ontario they can bite me.
**The same powers would have you use any number of latin names (depending on which week you ask in).

Pelee Again

On another trip to Pelee last weekend I was really able to showcase my outstanding forethought and preparation - by completely forgetting the majority of my camera gear.  With one lens and a nearly-dead battery, my photography options were running low.  In the end, I only took 5 photos the entire weekend, and all of them were of this dirty turtle:

Midland Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata)

Nonetheless it was a solid weekend and we saw some great birds, including Kentucky Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler (and 19 other species of warbler), Black Tern, Northern Mockingbird, Red-headed Woodpecker and some other cool stuff that I don't currently remember.

:)
Kyle

That Magical Place

Took an impromptu trip to the most magical place on earth (or something like that) with a couple of friends this weekend.  We were mostly birding, but in addition to seeing plenty of birds (though nothing of exceptional note), I took the opportunity to photograph a couple of tricky reptiles (and one common one).  I also discovered that my Therm-a-rest has a hole in it, and stays inflated just long enough for me to fall asleep before losing all of its air and becoming completely ineffectual.  I am sore.  Here are the reptiles!

First, the common one:

Midland Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata)

Lovely, but not that exciting.  On to the less common (and typically more challenging to photograph).  Northern Map Turtles are among our most skittish turtles, and are usually difficult to get close to.  Nonetheless I managed to find a few obliging ones, like this big female (whose scutes are peeling off).

Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica)

And speaking of tough to photograph, Ontario's only lizard is freakin' fast!

Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

And one token bird photo, just to show there are other types of creature in this world:

American Coot (Fulica americana)

That's all for now!  Go outside!

Kyle

A Springtime Reminder

Found my first roadkilled turtle of the season today:

This is an excellent reminder that turtles are now active, and are coming into contact with people in a very negative way.  Female turtles often wander in search of egg-laying sites, and get run over in the process.  This is one of the primary risk factor for all turtle species in Ontario.

So, what should you do?

1. Watch carefully for turtles (and other critters) crossing the road, especially when driving near suitable habitat.

2. Give them a hand!  It is vital that we all help move turtles across the road.  Be sure to keep them going the direction they were already traveling.

So get out there and save those turtles!  On a more positive note, I did come across this more lively individual a few minutes later, which I safely escorted off the road.

Not too happy about being moved, but better than being crushed!

That is all,
Kyle

Photos taken on my phone, sorry for the quality.

Last Illinois Post (Finally)

Hello!

Have I mentioned that I have calendars for sale?  Here's a button you can click to by one (or seven):



You may recall that once upon a time I promised a final post from Illinois.  It sure has been a while.  But at long last I have gotten around to editing those miscellaneous images that remained.  Most are inverts, but there is a surprise guest at the end.  Here goes.

To begin, an Eastern Comma showing the namesake marking on the hindwing:

Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)

Continuing on the butterfly theme, a Red-spotted Purple (the name makes no sense to me either...):

Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis)

I found this cool grub under a log!  Seems to be some sort of beetle larva, but that's as far as I can guess.  It was big though!

Grub (Grubicus giganticus)*

*Please note this latin name may be a fake

Now on to one of my favourite subjects, spiders.  Some people seem to be under the mistaken impression that spiders are ugly.  I don't know where these people are getting their information, but they have obviously never met a jumping spider.  I dare you to look into that little face and not think adorable.

Jumping Spider (Family: Salticidae)

Jumping Spider (Family: Salticidae)

As we were taking down the tents at the end of the weekend, we found this cool wasp that had come to join us.  It was huge!

Wasp

Sometimes you think the trip is winding down, and mother nature throws you one more little surprise.  We got lost while driving to our last stop, and while trying to find our way we road-cruised this Eastern Box Turtle!  A life-herp for me, and one I was very excited to see.  Never did come out of its shell, but that's a box turtle for you!

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)

Well, the Illinois photos are all wrapped up.  What'll I do now....?

Kyle