Late season Monarch

I was pleasantly surprised today to find a monarch butterfly. 'Tis a bit late in the season, they all should be well south of here. Was a nice warm sunny day for this last week of October, although breezy. At least the big "weather bomb" that hit the midwest U.S., southern Ontario and southeast U.S. brushed by us last night, we just got a bit of rain and wind. Nevertheless we headed out to the lake to check on things, I had to paddle down the lake and open up the dam, water level was getting high again. I saw a few dozen meadowhawk dragonflies, the last dragonflies of the season that hang on until brutal cold and frost is finally too much for them. There was one big darner near the dumpster, flying too high and fast for me to get a bead on it. At the roadside pond painted turtles were basking on the logs. A water snake was curled up in the sun by the steps to the trailerpark area, until I came down and it wiggled away. Frogs were still numerous along the shoreline. I would have liked to have explored a bit this afternoon to see what else was still out and about but I was just too tired from lack of sleep last night and fighting the wind paddling down the lake. Seeing the monarch made my day. We were driving home and this big butterfly was winging along in front of us, I thought it was a mourning cloak until we got close and I saw the orange, so I stopped, grabbed my camera and leaped out of the truck to get a few shots. Was supposed to be clear tonight with "a few clouds", I had hoped to get out the camera and try some star trail shots, but those few clouds turned into dense overcast with a gale force wind. Hope my butterfly is holed up somewhere until it can flutter south.

Little green blobs

It somehow seems fitting that during the time that Comet Hartley sails through the sky someone on the nature list brought to our attention firefly larvae. While out trying to photograph the night sky, I "discovered" that we had several larvae on the ground down by the lake. Last night I tried to photograph them, this proved more challenging that I had thought. You need to set the tripod and macro lens near one that is consistently blinking so that you can focus on it. It took several minutes and some wet knees to get some mediocre shots, and then, as with all light objects in the dark, just got a blob. But some may interested in seeing what they look like so I'll post it here. This is much enlarged, in reality they are tiny green lights twinkling in the grass, as if to use their bioluminescence to reflect the very stars twinkling in the sky above, or even to celebrate the passage of a celestial body that looks similar in our eyes.

Comet Hartley for comparison.

Night shots

Had a beautiful clear night last night, but you can feel that it's getting into fall and winter, temps got down to just above freezing. I stood outside by the lake playing with the camera and barn door tracker for a couple hours until my fingers and toes started to hurt from the cold. It's soon going to be too cold to stand out there for any length of time, so I'm going to enjoy the view while I can. The first shot posted here is for a friend of mine who was smart enough to move to Arizona. He was lamenting that he's having to get used to the stars at that longitude/latitude, couldn't see the Big Dipper in the evenings. It's started to get low on the horizon here, managed to catch a shot as it was sinking towards the tree.

Second shot is a digital montage of 2 shots, one was taken with the barn door tracker to get the stars, the other was a star trails shot that kept the trees sharp. I love photoshop. I can see possibilities with this. I can also foresee more cold toes and fingers, it's supposed to be clear for the next couple of nights, I will no doubt be out again trying to get more similar shots while we're still here at the lake.

Comet Hartley

I finally "saw" the itsy-bitsy comet that is now whizzing through our solar system. I still can't find it with binoculars, but I put the camera on the tracker and pointed to where it's supposed to be and fired a few shots. The little green blob appeared in the image. Hopefully later this week it will get a bit brighter, and we shall continue to be blessed with clear skies.

Big ol' Toad

Rained all of today. This evening, just as it was getting dark, thought I'd bring in the night's supply of firewood, we have a small stack against the rockwall straight out the door, covered with a small tarp. There are some small stones to hold the tarp in place, I was grabbing them and setting them aside to pull the tarp back. When I grabbed for one of the "stones" I immediately realized the cold rubbery thing in my hand was not a rock. It was a big ol' toad, lovely specimen. I brought her inside for a better look, and to take a picture. I set her in a plastic tote while I brought in the firewood, in the few minutes it took she warmed up and got lively. I got the little camera and tipped her out onto the carpet by the door, then tried to herd her with my right hand onto my left. ("Her", had small ears.) Finally got her cornered, she had to climb onto my hand, then settled long enough to take some quick snaps. I was wanting to measure her but she'd have none of it, so I took her back out and set her back atop the tarp where I'd found her.

I'm having to watch my step when I come out the door, the green frogs are on the move, sometimes 2 or 3 on the walkway. Tanka sees them hopping and then tries to get his big nose on them, they just hop into the goutweed groundcover and hide behind the flowerpots. The peepers have been calling for over a week, there's one outside the window as I type this. It must be sitting somewhere at the side of the house but I haven't found it yet, when I open the door it quits calling.

Flying Squirrel

This afternoon Dad and I wandered into the woods off our lane to check on some dead trees that we'll be cutting for firewood. It started to rain, so we trotted back out again, and just before I got to the road I spotted this dead flying squirrel lying belly-up on the forest floor. It looks as though some predator got it, from the marks probably some bird of prey. We had been talking loudly back and forth and tramping along, not my usual try-to-be-quiet prowling and looking, so we didn't notice whay may have gotten the squirrel. I scooped it up to examine it back at the house, it wasn't warm as it should have been had it a fresh kill, felt more like it had been laying there a while, although when I set it upon a newspaper the fleas started to come off it, so it hadn't been there long. My "Mammals of Ontario" describes the northern flying squirrel's belly hairs as being gray at the base, as this one does, so I'm thinking it's a northern. Makes me sad to find one in this condition, they're beautiful little squirrels. I had a live one active near my cabin last summer, saw it land on the trunk of pine, and I could hear a soft *thump* on my cabin roof now and then before I went to sleep, no doubt one of them landing on its way to and from the big oak tree. We have 3 big oaks in a clump near the house, I should put a little feeder platform on one of the trunks and put a couple handfulls of sunflower seeds out after dark, see if I can attract some to where I can photograph them.

Caterpillars

August and September are good months for finding caterpillars, they're coming into the mature stage and fattening up for winter, either overwintering in their present state or more often going into cocoon. I spotted some red-humped oakworm caterpillars on the side of the laneway on a small oak tree (* my guidebook says they're almost identical to the white-headed prominent but even the expert writing the book has difficulty separating the two, so for the sake of ease I'll refer to these as oakworm.)

Caterpillars are far too often overlooked, many of our species can be quite beautiful, sporting bright colours and lovely patterns.

Among my favourites are the tussock moth caterpillars, like this hickory tussock. They're like soft furry little teddy bears, silky to the touch, not spiky and in some cases stinging like the io moth caterpillar. I grabbed an io caterpillar once by mistake when picking up some leaves, the tips of my fingers were numb for a couple of days.

Couple others that I've found and have had time to photograph are this green and yellow striped black arches moth, and an orange with black headed caterpillar found on red oak, as yet unidentified. Looking at the pic of the orange caterpillar I'm seeing the "stitchery" of some critter that glued leaves together with web, I've been meaning to investigate that further, haven't gotten around to that yet.

Stinkpot turtle

The highlight of my day today was finding a stinkpot turtle. Stinkpots are a relatively rare species in Ontario, and are rarely seen due to their secretive and nocturnal habits. I've always suspected that we had some in the lake, seems to me we found "mud turtles" years ago when I was a kid, but couldn't say for sure if they were all just snapping turtles. Today I have confirmed their presence. It was a beautiful sunny day, light northerly breezes, Dad and I were working on various things. I've been fighting a horrendous cold all week so have been plodding about. This afternoon after having finished most work I took something over to my cabin, and dawdled about looking at flowers, then wandered down to my dock watching the fish in the calm water. Something moving on the bottom of the lake caught my attention, a small turtle was crawling over to the rocks at the base of my dock, and stopped and half hid when it saw me moving closer for a look. By the shape of the shell I realized right away that it wasn't a painted turtle, and hoped it were a stinkpot. I ran and got my fishing net, knelt on the dock and carefully scooped up the turtle. To my delight it was indeed a stinkpot, and I carried my prize up to the house to show it off to Dad. I grabbed camera and measuring tape, took some photos of the indignant creature, then took him promptly back to the lake and set him gently in the water, where he quickly headed for the bottom and immediately dove into the weeds and mud. I say "he", the cloaca was near the end of the tail.

Using the barn door tracker

We FINALLY had a clear night last night, no moon, no humidity, and I had a chance to play with the barn door tracker. I had tried one night a couple weeks ago but had the hinges on the wrong side. Last night I got it turned correctly, sighted on Polaris, then proceeded to take some pictures. Much better results when you've got it set up properly. The results were not bad for a start. I was hoping for a few more clear nights so I can practise with it before Comet Hartley shows up, but we're back into cloudy weather for a few more days, and then the moon will be getting brighter next week. Maybe if Henry's gets me my adapter tube for the camera I can set up the scope and shoot the moon til we get clear skies again. In the meantime, these will have to do.

Lightning

We had a wicked storm a couple nights ago, the good thing about it was the lightning. Not that I'm fond of getting zapped, and it can be a bit scary, but a storm like this at night is a great opportunity for photography. I started shooting the storm from the dock, but as it got nearer and the rain started pelting down I hightailed it for the safety of the house. It's too bad our view had become overgrown over the years by the trees. I need to find some way to park my truck down by the lake where's there a clearer view, and shoot through the driver's side window.

Barn Door Tracker

I spent the afternoon constructing a "barn door tracker" for astro-photography. It's a contraption meant to keep the camera pointed at the star you're aiming at, compensating for the earth's rotation, and preventing star trails. I'm hoping to try it out tonight if the sky remains clear, and IF I can haul my sleepy bones out of bed after moonset, which happens at 3:01 a.m.

Moonlight

We're in a phase of waxing moon, my dark skies and stars are going to have to wait for a while. I was hoping to get the camera adapter to set up the scope, but forgot to take the camera with me to the photo store, so that will have to wait for another week.

So...if you don't get dark skies, enjoy what you have. Some clouds came in over the moon, reflected on the still waters of the lake this makes a pretty sight. First shot was taken with the lens that I had, the kit lens 18-55mm, only opens up to f 5.6. I was wanting a more light-sensitve lens, bought me a 50mm f 1.8, the second shot was taken with that one. Picks up starlight very nicely, only drawback is that it doesn't cover much sky. The wide angle lens that I've been drooling over is way out of my price range at the moment. Next project is to build a "barn door tracker", see if I can get some shots of the milky way.

Perseid Meteor Shower 2010

After suffering through forecasts of cloudy, clear, cloudy, clear, the sky finally cleared up nicely in time for the annual Perseid meteor shower. I set up the camera around 11:00 p.m., and stayed out taking long exposures until 3:30 a.m. when a bank of clouds rolled in and spoiled the fun. I would have stayed til dawn, it was a good show. Unfortunately the only "small" lens I have only stops down to 5.6, I need a wide angle lens that stops down (or is it up on the wider open?) to 2.8 or even 1.4 . Something that is faster and more light-sensitive at any rate. I see the ol' "toys budget" being blown on a new lens in the near future. I'm in withdrawal this weekend, cloudy skies. The Kappa Cygnids, a minor meteor shower, is coming on the 18th, if it's clear, I'll be out there.

Something else I'll have to save for is a decent telescope if this obsession continues. The Chapters Bookstore gift certificate was burning a hole through my wallet, I finally got Terrence Dickinson's book Night Watch, good all-around astronomy book. There are nebulas and galaxies waiting for my peering eyes to scope them out. I found the Andromeda galaxy last week through binoculars. Now I'm wanting bigger and brighter. Some women settle for shoes or jewelry. I want the very stars!

Moon through telescope

Last night I took out my little Bushnell spotting scope and just for the heck of it took a look at the moon. I haven't looked at the moon through the scope in a while, forgot how wonderful it looks. I wondered if I could get a shot somehow with the camera, so I put on the macro lens and held it up to the eyepiece and fired away. Some of the shots were not too bad. Now I need to get another tripod and line them up for a steadier better focused shot. Of course it would be best to get a camera adapter and just attach the camera to the scope, but I don't have one yet, so this will have to do for now.

Moon

Playing with the camera past couple of nights, shooting the moon. Finally bought me a cable release for my Rebel XT. Use it once, you wonder how in heck you ever got along without it! The moon being eaten by trees was shot with the 75-300 mm zoom, had trouble seeing to get good sharp focus.

Bombus, halictid, and the purple flowering raspberries

What nectar-eating creature could resist an offering such as this? The purple-flowering raspberries, like many other plants this year, are just bursting with a profusion of blossoms. I can't recall ever having seen such large clusters of flowers on these shrubs. I wish I had more time to just stand and admire them, camera at the ready, the bees and other insects are taking advantage of the bounty.

This little halictid bee worked over this blossom pretty thoroughly. These are

among my favourite insects, one of the first bees to come out in spring and dazzle the eye with their metallic green working their way through the bright yellow dandelions.

We've been discussing Bombus, the bumblebees, on the nature list. I'm wondering how many species we have in this region, my amateur offhand observations give me the impression of 4, this without having examined them closely. There's the big ones, I call those the B52's. Then there's the "midsize guys" (gals, but don't tell the bees, it doesn't rhyme). Then there's the little duffers, mini-bumbles, about 1/3 the size of the B52's. In the mid-sized range there's the red-butt bumblebees, they have a wide reddish stripe across the abdomen. The B52s move about purposefully, with that recognizable drone. The midsize guys always seem to be in a hurry, frantically buzzing about. The little duffers act more like honeybees. It's amazing that they can fly so well when you see the size of the wings in proportion to the body. They remind me of furry little cherubs, pudgy bodies being held aloft with undersized wings, some kind of magic keeping them airborne.

Polyphemus moth

Tuesday morning (July 6) I noticed a male polyphemus moth hanging on one of the moon lights. I got my plastic box/cage and popped it in there, kept it in a cool room until late afternoon. I took it out and set it on a chunk of old wood and set about photographing it, it wasn't quite cool enough, it started to vibrate the wings. I got about 20 shots, most of them slightly out of focus due to the movement of the wings, and then it took off. This is the 3rd live one I've found this year, plus the wings of one found on the ground by the postal stop in Glenburnie.

Hairy tailed mole

Doing a little catch-up, been so brutally hot and humid this week didn't feel much like photography or chasing any critters. Got most of my work done in the mornings and then vegged out for the afternoons. Wednesday afternoon I did a load of laundry, hung it on the line, and came back down around to the house. At the spot where we stack our firewood, there was a small pile of sticks and debris left behind. As I came by I heard loud rustlings, the pile of sticks was moving, and I wondered what on earth was under there causing the commotion. 2 moles came up out of the pile, one of them ran out into the open. Fortunately I had my towel with me, I dropped it on the mole and scooped it up. Mole didn't like that, there was some squeaking and struggling in the towel. I took it into the house, and, knowing that moles can't jump, set it in the bathtub. Mole came out of the towel and skittered around on the porcelain, little feet pedalling like mad, not making much progress. I got my plastic box/cage, shooed in there, and took a closer look. It was not one of the star-nosed moles that I usually find, I noticed the nose right away, pink and pointy, sniffing in all directions. I didn't flip it over to see if it were male or female, it was a hot day, 86F in the shade and humid, I didn't want to stress the poor little thing any more than I already had. I grabbed the camera and took a few shots, then took it right back outside and set it loose about 18 inches from a hole beside the pile of sticks. Little mole sniffed about, recognized familiar territory, and made a beeline for the hole. Managed to get a couple shots of it on the ground, and one as it scrambled its way down the hole.

Tonight's supper

Opening day of bass season. My big decision today: beer batter, or lightly fried with a bit of lemon?

Bio Blitz, gray moth

Big gray moth, it was the size of a sphinx moth.

UPDATE: Thanks to the nature list, this has been identified as a Waved Sphinx, Ceratomia undulosa.

Bio Blitz moth

One of the moths from the Bio Blitz.

(I'll refer to this as "wavy lined".)

UPDATE: Thanks to the nature list, the "wavy lined has been identified as Common Lytrosis, Lytrosis unitaria, the "cloaked" one is Alien Probole Moth, Probole alienaria.

Second moth from the Bio Blitz.

(I'll refer to it as light cloak with border.)

Bio Blitz Ants

Found these "pointy-butt ants" under a rock during the bio blitz. Neat looking little things.

UPDATE: Thanks to the nature list, these were narrowed down to the genus Crematogaster. It's too bad we don't have easily available identification guides for ants, there's so many of them, and they're fascinating creatures. Just think, a horde of females working together in cooperative effort without much interference from the males.

Bio Blitz: fly

Another Bio Blitz creature I'm trying to identify. This fly was found on a milkweed leaf at the side of old field pasture.

Liverwort from Bio Blitz

A liverwort, growing amidst some mniums and mosses on a rotted log in wet forest.

UPDATE: Thanks to the nature list, this has been identified as Conocephalum conicum.

More stuff from Bio Blitz

A land snail found under a rock. It's too bad I didn't know that Morton Creek was more like a small river, I could have brought my kayak and a long-handled net to scoop mud to try for molluscs. The access to the creek was crowded with bushes, made it difficult to get into.

Bio Blitz fungus

Some sort of fungus found under rotting wood/bark in wet woods, with some kind of beetle larva.

Damselfly, found during Bio Blitz

The rainy weather didn't help us out much for insects. I did manage one shot of a damselfly.

UPDATE: Thanks to the nature list, this one has been identified as a male Sedge Sprite.

Damselflies are such delightful little creatures. It's too bad I can't find a good comprehensive guide book. I shall try to photograph as many damselflies and dragonflies as I can this summer.

Now to figure things out...

I'm worse than a little kid, I'm still excited about having seen a bear. Now on to the practical part, sorting out all my scribbles and getting my list in order. So far I have about 195 species, got pics of a few things that I'll need help with, starting with this insect. It was about 1/2 inch long, found it on a milkweed leaf. Can't find it in my insect books, probably overlooking it.

Update: the kind folks on the nature list identified this one as the larva of a milkweed bug.

Bio Blitz

Had a great time at the KFN annual Bio Blitz, held near Morton. My personal highlight was finding a black bear, cute little duffer, must have been a yearling. Not small enough to worry about Mama, not big enough to worry about it. I just had the great fortune to be at the right place at the right time to see it run out onto the road ahead of us. Thank goodness I had a young biologist with me as a witness, the bear ran up into the woods and looked back at us through some trees, so this is as good a shot as I could get. As he put it, we got the classic Sasquatch pictures, but at least you can see the outline. It's ABOUT TIME I get to see a bear in this end of the province!

Got my ladder back

Chicks May 25, still blind and downy.


I'm always amazed at how quickly chicks grow. We had robins build a nest on top of the stepladder in the shed, seemed like in no time they had gone from hatchlings to fledglings. I found one that fledged out, sitting atop the little shed we keep back of the house in case we need to set up the generator. The next morning I watched the parents busily pulling worms from the freshly mown lawn, and it occurred to me I'd better look inside the shed to make sure they all got out. Good thing I looked, there was a tall empty plastic trash can, one of the chicks was sitting in the bottom of it, chirping at me when I loomed over the top. I reached down and grabbed it with both hands, chick chirped loudly, both parents started screaming from the neighbour's poplar tree a few feet away. I took it out and held it up for parents to see, they kept on screaming til I put it on the picnic table. As soon as I moved away one of the parents came down to inspect it. I thoroughly checked the shed to make sure no more of the chicks were trapped in there, then closed it up and went inside the house to watch the parents feed it on the picnic table.













Fledgling June 3rd.

Blue Star, Red Planet

I had read on spaceweather that Mars was going to be 1 degree from Regulus, a bright blue star, so decided to see if I could find this conjunction. As soon as I went outside and looked up I found it, bright shiny red and blue easy to see even for us beginner astronomers. Got a blurry slight out of focus shot, cropped a bit of that one to show the lovely colours.

Made for a nice star trail shot.