The end of an era?

Well ladies and gentlemen, the time has come...I'm officially closing down the blog. If we're honest, it's basically been closed down for a while now.  With so many other ways to share photos these days, it just doesn't make much sense anymore.  Maybe someday, if I ever get my act together to do some actual writing, I'll bring it back to life in one form or another.

Never fear though, as there are still plenty of ways to find me on the interwebs.  Here are some of them:

Website: www.kylehorner.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KyleHornerNature
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KHornerNature
Instagram: www.instagram.com/khornernature/

That'll be all for now.  I leave you with this photo of a dragonfly:

Swift River Cruiser (Macromia illinoiensis)

Jonesin'

Well, it's always this time of year that I begin to get desperate for the Spring, and the return of the frogs, snakes, dragonflies, butterflies, spiders and other creatures that I love to watch and photograph. It seems to be taking an especially long time this year, which makes it even worse!

My restlessness is good for one thing at least - it gets me editing photos in my never-ending backlog! I happen to have reached Northern Water Snake on the (alphabetical) list, and it added a little insult to my injured state when I realized that the photos below were taken on April 5 last year. That date is so close, but water-snake-watching seems so far away!

Nevertheless, I spent a great afternoon with the water snakes at Royal Botanical Gardes last Spring. They are undoubtedly one of my favourite Ontario species, though not everybody feels the same way! I think these shy, peaceful snakes are solid contenders for the most misunderstood species in our province, and I can't get enough of them!

Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)

Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)

Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)

Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) and Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)

Think warm thoughts!

Kyle

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

More Odes!

Spring seems to finally be springing - what a gorgeous day!  Had my first Killdeer of the year, and my first stoneflies too.  There is hope for the future.

In the meantime, the dragonfly (and damselfly) editing spree continues!  Here are some more:

Cherry-faced or Ruby Meadowhawk (Sympetrum sp.)

Cherry-faced or Ruby Meadowhawk (Sympetrum sp.)

Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta)

Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta)

Hopefully we'll be seeing some in-person soon!

Kyle

Playing catchup...as always!

Hello!

Somehow managed to get motivated to edit some photos still in the sort pile from last year today!  Here are some dragonflies and damselflies from the year that was 2013:

Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis)

Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata)

Four-spotted Skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata)

Frosted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia frigida)

Hagen's Bluet (Enallagma hageni)

Lance-tipped Darner (Aeshna constricta)

Hopefully progress continues!  Won't be long (hopefully) until we're seeing dragonflies for real!

Kyle

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

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

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