Category: Blogversary

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Blogversary

Happy 4th Birthday, Norfolk Naturalist!

Dance Fly of the genus Dolichopus in my backyard.

It’s that time of year again, when I review the past year of blogging and reading, as well as the last year of photos. The photos will be showcased in the next blog post, sometime in December. This post will be all about my past blogging year (Dec 2022-Nov 2023) since this is the anniversary of my first blogpost on this site. Here we go!

Garter Snake on the Lynn Valley Trail.

The first article after last years blogversary article was the start of a new tradition, my blogging year top photos! (Norfolk Naturalist Year in Photos (Dec 2021-Nov 2022)) I plan to do the same thing this year, so keep an eye out for my next photo roundup post sometime in December.

Striped Skunk in my backyard, affectionately named by my son, “Jam”.

In August 2022, I went on a night hike to listen to bats and it was an incredible experience. So incredible that I wrote a post about it: Flying Creatures of the Night. Then I wrote a post about one of the two bat species we observed on that night hike, Big Brown Bat.

Slug on the Lynn Valley Trail, affectionately named by my son, “Trail”.

In March, I finally completed a book review I’ve been working on for a while for Terns, by David Cabot and Ian Nisbet. Then in April, another Norfolk Field Naturalist outing inspired me to write an article, this time about the American Woodcock: The American Woodcock in Literature and in Life.

Great Golden Digger Wasp (one of my new favourites) in my backyard.

Over the rest of the year, I completed some more of My Top 20 Nature Photos of 2013-2020… of which there are still over half to come… But anyway, I wrote about a Spring Peeper, a Leafhopper, a Maple Looper Moth, and a Common Compost Fly.

Goldfinch at the Royal Botanical Garden trails in Hamilton.

Between these, I published an article about my observations on one of my camping trips this past summer, to Port Burwell. I went on 2 other significant camping trips, one to Algonquin and another to Pinery Provincial Park. I’d like to write up my observations on both of those trips as well (I saw lots of neat creatures as always), but haven’t finished writing about them yet.

American Toad, in the RBG trails.

In September, I finished a post that I have been working on in the background for a long time, about the beautiful fly genus: Callopistromyia, the Peacock Flies. And in October, I reposted one of my tumblr blog posts: Hidden Worlds, a post about some of my early explorations with my macro lens and the world of springtails.

Caspian Tern, at Waterford Ponds.

And as usual, here is a list of the nature-related books that I read during the past blogging year, with short reviews/thoughts:

A Small Porch, by Wendell Berry:

In this collection of poetry, some were quite beautiful, the ones which invoked a sense of being outside in nature experiencing the curiosity and wonder of trees and birds and flowers, and the turning of seasons. The Essay which makes up a third of this collection was quite fascinating with lots to think about and much to challenge the way we think about land use. Powerful stuff that I will certainly be thinking about into the future.

Great Lakes Nature: An Outdoor Year, Revised and in Color, by Mary Blocksma:

Very nice short articles about different nature observations throughout the year, with nice small illustrations and with a focus on identification. No scientific names, which was a negative for me (because I like scientific names). For someone just getting into an awareness of the natural world around them I would say this book is an excellent way to make nature observation and identification a habit. For myself, already having established nature observation as a habit I didn’t find it as interesting or useful.

The Guests of Ants: How Myrmecophiles Interact with Their Hosts, by Bert Holldobler and Christina L. Kapwich:

Wonderful exploration of the fascinating world of Ant Guests, those organisms that have made their way into ant colonies (or in/on the ants themselves). There are detailed case studies, tantalizing avenues for further study, and marvels on every page. The images are incredible and the stories of the myrmecophiles are often jaw-dropping. More of a sequel to “The Superorganism” in style and coverage than “The Ants”. 

The Handbook of Bird Families, by Jonathan Elphick:

Excellent at conveying the global diversity of birds (there are almost 11 000 species named and I found myself encountering genera and families that I had never heard of before on a regular basis within). The photographs are excellent, though often small. The text is also very small print, which could be a challenge to some readers.

Each family of birds receives at least 1 or two paragraphs of broad overview as well as a fact-box with quick stats, some families which are hyper-diverse being allotted 3-5 pages of text. The text mainly catalogues diversity, by describing which subfamilies the family is divided into, how many and which genera are in what parts of the world and brief snippets of natural history and behaviour throughout.

There were editorial errors on a regular basis unfortunately… it felt like paragraphs had been reassigned to different Bird Families after being written because of taxonomic changes or as though they were pieces of a previous book, shifted into a new context without being thoroughly proofread. This caused some confusion, but not too much, and overall the amount of information within about bird diversity was absolutely worth the occasional re-read of a confusing paragraph. I think it could have used a more thorough editor but overall a very good book cataloguing the world’s avi-fauna.

Frogs and Toads of the World (2011), by Chris Mattison:

Amazing tour through the diversity of Frogs and Toads throughout the globe. With a species count of 5000+ this 200 page book can only serve as an introduction to the true diversity of the group, but as such an introduction it works well, full of excellent photos and informative text.

Cranes of the World, by Paul Johnsgard:

While dated, this book provided an excellent summary of what was known about Cranes (fascinating birds of the Family Gruidae) throughout the world in the 1980s. I uncovered many interesting facts about these beautiful birds within. I found the species accounts (which make up the majority of the book) to be somewhat dry but the book is designed to be a reference work, so I can’t blame it for laying out the facts systematically. It remains the only book of its kind as far as I can tell and it’s freely available online: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi…
So if you’re interested in Cranes, check it out!

The Best Of The Raven: 150 Essays From Algonquin Park’s Popular Newsletter, by Dan Strickland and Russ Rutter:

I read these natural history essays while camping at Algonquin Park (2 trips), and thoroughly enjoyed them. Full of information that brings you deeper into the fascinating natural world surrounding you in Algonquin Park, amazing.

Consider Her Ways, by Frederick Philip Grove:

This book was so much fun. An expedition of leafcutter ants goes forth into the unknown continent of what we call North America. Along the way they encounter new species of ants with new ways of living and document their astounding discoveries into the world of humanity and ant-kind.

The journey is epic, the philosophies discussed by the ants are fascinating and relevant, and there is even an amazing ‘cameo’ by a famous myrmecologist. The format of the book is so much fun, with footnotes lending the document a verisimilitude that I loved (for example the human discoverer of the document mentions his confusion at certain phrases but opted to leave them in for completeness). The ending was rather abrupt and I was a little disappointed that the main encounters and discoveries discussed were limited to ants and humans rather than any other species that the ants would have encountered.

Overall, a very fun read, a tour through the world of ant diversity told from the perspective of some ants themselves. Amazing.

The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees, by Douglas W. Tallamy:

The book moves through the year month by month describing the various ecological happenings on oak trees during those months. So I read through the book in that way, reading each month as it was happening around me. Interesting, learned lots, and I now pay more attention to Oak trees when I find them.

That wraps up my blogversary article for this year! Hope you enjoyed the brief tour of my nature writing/reading year. Next up will be my roundup of top nature photos from this past year, stay tuned!

For previous blogversary articles, see below:

–Happy Birthday, Norfolk Naturalist!

–Happy 2nd Birthday, Norfolk Naturalist!

–Happy 3rd Birthday, Norfolk Naturalist!

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Blogversary

Happy 3rd Birthday, Norfolk Naturalist!

3 Years of Blogging at norfolknaturalist.ca have passed and it’s time to look back at the past year of my naturalist adventures and reading/writing. Let’s go!

Look closely and you’ll see one of my most amazing bird sightings this year, a stealthy American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) in Long Point, May 2022.

Starting off this past year of blogging was my introduction to a series of posts highlighting my Top 20 Nature Photos 2013-2020. I explain in that post why I chose that date range and how I chose the photos. When posting the first one, I ended up writing more than I expected about the species, in this case the Pale-painted Sand wasp (Bembix pallidipicta). I wrote several more entries in this series through the following months: (Moose (Alces alces) family, Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), and in September I published entry 5: Robber Fly (Neoitamus orphne) hunting Queen Ant (Formica novaeboracensis). I was originally planning to post them all in a row for my first 20 posts of this past blogging year… but oh well. I promise I am still working on the other 15 posts and I think the wait will be worth it for the species to get their proper spotlight.

A close encounter with the Heron I usually see, the Great Blue (Ardea herodias).

In March of this year, I reposted my original blogpost (Cryptic Caterpillars) from my tumblr blog (anorfolknaturalist.tumblr.com) because I hadn’t finished any other blogposts for the month and I also want to repost all of my original tumblr blogposts on this website, with occasional minor edits and updating. I reposted another tumblr post in May (MacGregor Point Observations (May 2018)) And in October, I reposted yet another, this time with a Halloween theme: Eaters of the Dead.

In April I was amazed and delighted to find that Ravens were nesting on my parents’ property (specifically on their silo), so I wrote a post about my observations and their significance.

Great Egret (Ardea alba), in Long Point, September 2022.

In June I went to see Jurassic World: Dominion, the latest film in the Jurassic Saga. I wouldn’t say it’s a great film, but I did really enjoy it, especially with the theatre experience. I wrote a blogpost about my personal interactions with the Jurassic books/films/videogames and some paleontological things because they were on my mind a lot at the time. You will see that some of the books I read over the blogging year (overviewed below) were also inspired by my dinosaur obsession which comes and goes quite often.

Some of my most exciting observations this year were of birds that I encountered in Long Point. And some of the most exciting birds were members of the Heron Family (Ardeidae). Usually I see and take photos of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) which is great but it was amazing to encounter several other members of this charismatic group of birds this year. My close encounter with a Green Heron (Butorides virescens) was so striking that I wrote it up into a blogpost: A Green Heron Stalks the Shallows.

Two other blogposts feature some of my Long Point observations. One is sort of a tour through a variety of observations I made during March 2022: Bullfrogs and Buffleheads. Another is more like the Green Heron post mentioned above, as it focuses on a specific bird that caught my attention. In this case, it was the Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis): The Teal Tale Teale Told.

During August, we took a trip to one of my favourite places: Algonquin Provincial Park. While there, I made some nature observations and took some photos, sharing them in my blogpost here: Algonquin in August.

And that wraps up my writing this year. Below, we will take a tour through the books I read this past year (that are nature/science related) and discuss them briefly.

Nature’s Year: Changing Seasons in Central and Eastern Ontario, by Drew Monkman:


Although the book is not directly focused on my local area (Norfolk County falls outside of the books focal range), the close proximity of the areas documented mean that many of the natural phenomena described within are of relevance to the seasons around me as well. I really appreciated the layout of the book. Each month is divided into sections based on organism type: “Plants and Fungi”, “Reptiles and Amphibians”, “Mammals” and so on. Beneath each of these sub-headings, interesting happenings are described, some in point-form and others in detail (full page or two). It was great to witness the natural events mentioned in the book, to read along as each month progressed as I did in 2021. Reading the book through the year prepares your mind to see the natural events it describes. An advantage of the layout is that it also works well as a reference because you can flip to a certain month and type of organism to see what notable species or events are occurring.


Biodiversity in Dead Wood, edited by Jogeir N. Stokland, Juha Siitonen, and Bengt Gunnar Jonsson:


A new favourite book of mine, this volume opened up the mysterious biome of decaying wood and explored the diversity of life within, from bacteria to birds. The interactions of organisms with each other and their environment is the heart of ecology and it’s clear from my reading that species are interconnected in fascinating and complex ways.


Spider Communication: Mechanisms and Ecological Significance, edited by Peter N. Witt and Jerome S. Rovner:


The title of this book drew me to it as I am always fascinated by animal behaviour and Spiders seem to me unlikely subjects of a volume dedicated to communication. Reading the book offers a new perspective on spider interactions with each other through their silk and body movements and even acoustics! They also communicate with predators and prey,

Hedgehog (Collins New Naturalist), by Pat Morris:


I didn’t really know anything about Hedgehogs before reading this book. And there was no need, as this volume summarizes in entertaining fashion most anything anyone would want to know about British Hedgehogs.


The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide, edited by George Mckay:


I read through this book slowly, as it is not really meant to be read straight through. This book serves best as a flip-through book, showcasing the diversity of animals around the world. The illustrations are at times a bit strange (I believe many are stock illustrations) and don’t seem to match with the animal they depict, but others are quite beautiful and the diversity they portray is fun to look at. The text is very cursory as would be expected with a popular “flip-through” tome like this. My major gripe with this book is something I used to harp on about all the time growing up as an insect enthusiast: Invertebrates are barely represented. Mammals get the majority of pages devoted to them, and Birds are close behind. Mammals and Birds are fascinating, and far more diverse than one would assume if you have only watched nature documentaries (which focus on the same set of species rather than showcasing the variety that are actually out there). Even still, they are a fraction of the diversity of the animal kingdom, which is more appropriately ruled in species numbers by the Arthropods or Mollusks. Despite this (a very common problem in overview books) I really had fun slowly reading through this book, taking in a page or so of variety a day. I wouldn’t say it is the best or most comprehensive of animal encyclopedias, but it serves as a good introduction as long as one is well aware of the classic hairy or feathered vertebrate bias.


British Tits (Collins New Naturalist), by Christopher M. Perrins:


British Tits have always struck me as beautiful chickadees, which indeed they are. I was always jealous of Britain having the wonderful cheery birds I know from my backyard, but with more vibrant colour. Tits are fascinating birds, with life histories and behaviour to match their beautiful exteriors. This book was an excellent overview of the species of Parulidae that occur in the British Isles.

Dinopedia, by Darren Naish:

A compact and great little book filled with tidbits about the history of dinosaur research, some of the paleontologists who conducted said research or influenced the field of dinosaur study, and brief summaries on dinosaur groups. My personal tastes lie with this last group of entries, but each entry was interesting in its own way, supplying concise facts and summaries and highlighting areas of interest within the world of dinosaur research. I greatly enjoyed the illustrations by the author which really enhance the book.

Reef Life: A Guide to Tropical Marine Life, by Brandon Cole and Scott Michael:


A delightful photo-focused tour through the world of coral reefs and tropical sea life. The focus is on fishes, while smaller sections describe and display some representative invertebrates. Styled something like a field guide, but with plenty of ecological and biological information throughout, this book gives a taste of the diversity of coral reefs and the interconnected lives of the species that create and depend on them.

Bat Ecology, edited by Thomas H. Kunz and M. Brock Fenton:


Bats are fascinating, and I learned a lot about them from this book. Because of the book’s focus on Ecology, there was no real overview of Bats as a group which would have been nice for myself to have some sort of general idea before diving into specifics. Not a fault of the book, just something to note if you’re unfamiliar with bats from a scientific point of view. The chapters are each written by different authors and cover a wide range of topics, and as such there were excellent and enjoyable chapters (for myself the chapter on Roosting sites and the chapter on Pollination were particularly fascinating) and some chapters that were less so. Not a fault of the book, but my personal point of view and knowledge base left me struggling through the chapters on Sperm Competition and Patterns of Range Size. Those two chapters in particular felt like specific scientific studies rather than reviews of a subject area which the other chapters felt like. So, while mixed, the interest I have in Bats has certainly been increased and I have certainly learned a lot about some of the diverse ecologies that bats have around the world, while still wanting more.

This Day: New and Collected Sabbath Poems 1979-2012, by Wendell Berry:

In the preface, Wendell Berry remarks that the poems should be read outside in similar circumstances to when they were written. And I originally envisioned doing so. When I began to read them in very different circumstances, I found that instead of diminishing the power of the poetry by contrast, the poetry brought the beauty and wonder of nature into my less-than-ideal setting (usually indoors in winter or at work).

Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Protect the World’s Largest Owl, by Jonathan C. Slaght:


Although I will always want a book like this to have more focus on the animals themselves (in this case Blakiston’s Fish Owls) I thought this was a very interesting listen (I had the audiobook). Lots of adventures and misadventures in the Russian wilderness, as well as strange and intriguing people that the author encounters. And there was quite a bit about how the field research actually worked and the sorts of things I really was looking for: info and descriptions of the wildlife encounters including the focal species. Overall, a good read about an animal I didn’t know much about before and the efforts to research and protect it.

Dinosaurs Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology, by Michael J. Benton:

I picked up this book from the library, inspired by my recent viewing of Jurassic World: Dominion, and found this book to be a mixed bag. I enjoyed some of the stories behind discoveries or changes in perspective on dinosaurs and their world… but I found other such stories to be irrelevant or out of place. In general, the flow of the book was a bit haphazard. The information within sated my appetite for dinosaurian (and some non-dinosaur) biology and ecology temporarily and I enjoyed the illustrations and figures.

Ant Ecology, edited by Lori Lach, Catherine L. Parr, and Kirsti L. Abbott:


Because this is an edited multiauthored volume, it becomes difficult to review the whole, as chapters are written with different topics and by different people. Overall, this was an interesting look at more recent ant research (20 years more recent than my other source for ant knowledge: The Ants by E. O. Wilson, written in 1990). There is a heavy conservation and practical (invasive ecology) focus to the book which may attract workers in these fields.

The Amber Forest: A Reconstruction of a Vanished World, by George Poinar Jr. and Roberta Poinar:


Fascinating gallery of ancient organisms preserved in amber of a particular age and location. Mostly insects and other arthropods which is fine by me, I enjoyed the overview of insect relationships and such that were covered alongside the representatives of the different groups found in amber. The format was a little strange and took some getting used to, I feel like there could have been a better way to present the images and the text but I don’t know, felt a little awkward flipping back and forth throughout reading. All in all, very interesting especially if you like insects and fossils.

A Naturalist At Large, by Bernd Heinrich:


A fun tour through various natural history topics. Bernd Heinrich is curious about the nature he observes and doesn’t take things for granted and by doing so, he discovers by bits and pieces, fascinating natural history stories. I especially liked the chapters focused on birds or insects, perhaps due to my own interests and knowledge but I think perhaps it is because those were Bernd Heinrich’s research focuses as well and his insight there was thus enhanced.

Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids, edited by D. W. Macdonald and C. Sillero-Zubiri:


A great review of Canid Conservation around the world. The case studies were interesting snapshots of species under investigation from Grey Wolves of Isle Royale, in Lake Superior, to the Blanford’s Fox in the deserts of the Middle East. While not comprehensive on the biology/ecology of canids (some species didn’t even get a case study chapter such as Bush Dogs), this was an excellent primer on the diversity of species and challenges in the canid research world.

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, by Frans de Waal:


A book aimed at tearing down the division between human and “animal” cognition. Presents a wide array of anecdotes and experiments that demonstrate that human thinking is a matter of degree and not a separate category altogether from the millions of other species on this planet. I was a bit disappointed that the author focused mainly on chimpanzee research (his own specialty) but this served to really break down the idea that human thinking is a different sort from other species as chimpanzees display many of our ways of thinking that humans previously considered unique to our species. I would have loved to read more about cognition in diverse species and phyla, the one section on invertebrates was intriguing but all too short, but all in all the book presents its arguments well, and discusses the history of thinking about animal thinking in an interesting and thought-provoking way.

That concludes my writing and reading overview for the past blogging year! Stay tuned for more nature sightings, observations, photos and natural history!




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Blogversary

Happy 2nd Birthday, Norfolk Naturalist!

If you’ve ever spent time around Red-wing Blackbirds then I’m sure you can hear their distinctive ohk-a-lee! call when looking at this picture.

Two years ago today, I published my first blog article on my site: norfolknaturalist.ca. So today, I’m going to celebrate two years of Norfolk Naturalist blogging, by looking back over the past year at what I’ve written on my blog, what I’ve read that is nature-related, and other events and recollections of the past year that are related to the Norfolk Naturalist blog. For last year’s birthday article, go here. So here we go!

Many exciting things occurred over the past year for the Norfolk Naturalist, including an event I attended in December 2020: my first ever zoological conference: Tetzoomcon! I didn’t finish writing up my thoughts on the event until Tetzoomcon 2021 was announced so although the event was in December 2020, the article was posted in August 2021.

Also in December 2020, I published the first article in my Sand Wasps series, the Introduction, and in January of 2021 I published Part 2: the Tribe Alyssontini. I haven’t continued the Sand Wasps series since… my initial impetus to write about Sand Wasps was reading the book The Sand Wasps by Howard Evans and Kevin O’Neill, which I mention in my Introduction article. Basically, it’s a series that I’ll continue when I feel inspired to write more about Sand Wasps.

Sandhill Crane close encounter on the Big Creek trail in Long Point. I would like to do a roundup of top nature photos taken during the last blogging year (especially those that didn’t make it onto my blog this year), but didn’t get that together in time. Perhaps I’ll post a second article later. For now, I’ll post a few of my best sightings interspersed through this article.

In February I wrote an article titled Swimming Squirrels, which was all about a fascinating paper I read in the Canadian Field-Naturalist which described an observation of a Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) swimming and catching a fish, behaviour that is surprising to me.

Another unfinished, and barely begun series was started in March with my posting of Natural Curiosities, Part 1: Emu Feathers. I meant to go through various nature objects that I had obtained through the years and describe the organisms they came from or represented, but I only finished the one that’s published. Perhaps the next year of blogging will contain more parts to this series (I certainly have more natural curiosities to describe and write about).

Pollinators on a milkweed flower in my backyard, featuring the amazing Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus).

In April I published a Book Review of The Palaeoartist’s Handbook by Mark Witton. Later in the year, I published another book review of Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera, by Stephen Marshall.

A rather different article was posted in May, in which I examined what the distinction between life and non-life really is and the complexities of the question from a scientific point of view. This article mentions viruses and alludes to being the beginning of yet another series of posts… of which it is the only one so far…

Milkweed Borer Beetle in my backyard.

The tail end of June saw the stepping up of my blog-writing. I fell into something of a routine with my writing and found ways to write that felt natural and productive. No longer was I struggling to produce an article per month and for the rest of the year I wrote several articles per month which was a real achievement for myself. First I wrote up my experiences visiting a trail in Long Point, in two parts (Part 1 and Part 2). Then I wrote an article about Wrens (Troglodytes).

After these articles, I proceeded to write and post about the various organisms I had seen and photographed at my parents’ house, and in my own backyard (Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Others) all observed during the month of June.

During July, I went camping at Port Burwell Provincial Park and made several interesting observations there which I wrote up into a post.

The next notable camping trip was to Algonquin Provincial Park, one of my favourite places in the world. While there, I took plenty of photos and saw many wonderful creatures. I wrote up my Algonquin observations into five parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird taking a sip in my backyard.

After my long series of Algonquin observation posts, I changed it up a little with a Podcast review of one of my favourite podcasts: The Field Guides. My website was actually mentioned on the podcast in their following episode, which really made my… year, and they added a link to my site on their website which is incredible.

This year, I joined the Norfolk Field Naturalists, an organization of nature enthusiasts in Norfolk County and my first experience with them was a hike in Backus Woods, searching for fungi to photograph. We found plenty, I learned lots, and I wrote up my observations in a series of 3 posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Some sort of Polypore mushroom growing out of the side of a tree in Backus Woods.

In addition to hikes with other local naturalists, the group also arranges meetings every month with a presenter. This year, because of the global pandemic, the meetings were done over zoom. So far the presentations have been excellent and interesting, and I might write up more about them in a future article.

Coming up in December is a Members’ Night meeting in which members can submit up to 20 photos of their own for a slideshow. I’ve already submitted my photos and will be blogging about my selection of 20 photos from my personal collection in due time.

Just during November I received the latest issue of the Canadian Field-Naturalist, a science journal that I subscribe to. Within, I was delighted to find that one of the articles mentioned a species that I profiled for my first post on this website (besides my welcome post): the Eastern Band-winged Hover Fly (Ocyptamus fascipennis). I have added an update to this post to reflect this recent interesting note about this species (spoiler alert: it’s possibly migratory).

Nature-related books I’ve read over the past blogging year (from November 30, 2020 to November 30, 2021):

Here’s a quick gallery of the nature-related books that I’ve read over the past year with a short summary of my thoughts on the books. Some of these books have more substantial reviews in the works or already published on my site. The books are presented in no particular order except vaguely chronological of when I started reading them.

The Golden Throng, by Edwin Way Teale:

A book about bees, by Edwin Way Teale, a classic naturalist writer. The book doesn’t go into as much detail as I might prefer, but if you want a book that can ignite curiosity or admiration for bees for someone who isn’t already curious or fascinated then I would recommend this book.

Naked Trees, by John Terpstra:

Excellent poetry about trees, delving into their nature and their interactions with people.

Life through the Ages II, by Mark Witton:

Incredible book, filled with beautiful illustrations of past life and concise descriptions of bygone eras. This book was a wonderful treat in visuals and text. Highly recommended for fans of paleoart or extinct life or the diversity of life (which must include the vast array of extinct organisms).

Behavioral Ecology of the Eastern Red-Backed Salamander, by Robert G. Jaeger, Birgit Gollman, Carl D. Anthony, Caitlin R. Gabor and Nancy R. Kohn:

A fascinating book describing various experiments and research ideas on a single species: the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) in a specific place: Northeastern United States. I love finding a book like this which contains details about a species that can be found nowhere else.

Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life, by E. O. Wilson:

I didn’t love this book. I found it was a bit incohesive and fragmented in tone and content despite being presented as if it was a single argument piece. I disliked some of the inconsistent messaging on science/religion/philosophy of science, but I really enjoyed the discussion of various ecosystems and fascinating organisms that live there. I think Wilson’s writing works best in this book when he’s explaining and refuting the anthropocentric worldview, and I think if it had been more tightly focused on this aspect it could be a more cohesive exploration of the topic.

In the Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick:

This is a history book that recounts the tragedy of the whaleship Essex, which was rammed and sunk by a Sperm Whale in 1820. Not particularly nature-focused, but it does contain some information about Sperm Whales and the whaling industry of the time. Fascinating shipwreck survivor tale.

Parasitism: The Ecology and Evolution of Interspecific Interactions, by Claude Combes:

Composite showing my used copy of Parasitism by Claude Combes front cover and side view. If it weren’t for used copies of books, I wouldn’t be able to buy and read a lot of the books I buy and read (because they’re out of print, prohibitively expensive new, etc etc).

Absolutely incredible book that covers such a broad range of topics that it’s hard to summarize. Describes the process of Parasitism from multiple levels sometimes going very heavily theoretical and sometimes describing particular in-depth case studies of model systems. I learned lots and had a ton of fun reading it.

Dinosaur Facts and Figures: The Theropods and Other Dinosauriformes, by Ruben Molina-Perez, Asier Larramendi, Andrey Atuchin and Sante Mazzei:

Beautifully illustrated dinosaur book with a focus on “records” some of which are bizarrely specific, and some of which are quite fascinating. I think this book is worth it for the illustrations, but there are also a lot of interesting facts as well. I particularly liked the geographical context section because I find that many general dinosaur books don’t give you a good idea of what dinosaurs lived where.

Naturalist, by E. O. Wilson:

Very fascinating look at the journey of a young man growing into a scientist. Interesting to see where different aspects of E. O. Wilson’s philosophy arose from and how they influenced his growth and avenues of research.

After Man: A Zoology of the Future, by Dougal Dixon:

A speculative look at what animals and ecosystems might evolve after another 50 million years. Thought-provoking and very fun way to explore evolutionary ‘rules’ and ideas.

Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera, by Stephen Marshall:

This book is absolutely incredible, full of amazing photographs and fascinating text. Read my full Review here.

Terns, by David Cabot and Ian Nisbet:

In-depth natural history of British and Irish Tern species, but also covers many other Terns from around the world. Excellent photos and detailed text. I am working on a longer review of this book and will post it here soon.

Days Without Time, by Edwin Way Teale:

The subtitle of this book is “Adventures of a Naturalist” and as such it’s a random collection of chapters, each presenting a different nature encounter of the author. I quite enjoyed this book. Some sections feel a little dated (the book was published in 1948) but the curiosity and sense of wonder that Edwin Way Teale has for nature is something that resonates strongly with me. The final two paragraphs feel like they should be in a banner across the top of my blog:

“The out-of-doors is – as it always has been – everybody’s art gallery, everybody’s concert hall, everybody’s library of poetry written in a universal language. The beauty of nature is every generation’s gift. It is free for the taking, around us always. And each man, according to his character, realizes its possibilities. To dwell with this beauty of the out-of-doors, as much as we can, is the better part of wisdom. Here we feel ourselves losing nervous tension, relaxing like a drought-dried plant in a summer shower. Here the hunger of our eyes for the green of trees and the color of flowers is satisfied. Here the longing of our ears for the sound of wind in the grasses and the lap of waves on sand is gratified. Here there is beauty to lift the heart and calm endurance to speak of courage. And here there is something more, something magical, something that fills a deep need of the human heart.”

Trees of Algonquin Provincial Park:

I read this “book” (it’s a pictorial guide to the trees of Algonquin Park, 40-something pages long) while camping in Algonquin Provincial Park. It brought a greater appreciation for the beautiful trees that surrounded me there.

Cougar: Ecology and Conservation, edited by Maurice Hornocker and Sharon Negri:

This edited volume contains basically all aspects of Cougar ecology and conservation that you could imagine. I particularly found it fascinating to read about Cougars in Central and South America as I’m used to picturing them in the Rocky Mountains of Western North America. As an edited volume, some topics are repetitive and some are not as interesting to myself as others. Overall though, an excellent scientific overview of cougar research published in 2008.

Oakwatch, by Jim Flegg:

Oakwatch describes the species that live in and around oak trees in Britain. Great exploration of the seasonal changes that occur and the trees that tie so many distinct species together. Something to read slowly through the year as the seasons change, which is how I read it.

Grassroot Jungles, by Edwin Way Teale:

A book about insects, with a very relaxed naturalists’ style. I personally prefer the similar book by the same author: Near Horizons: The Story of an Insect Garden for an overview of the insects he has observed in his own backyard. Even so, Grassroot Jungles has the same charm and joy at the everyday wonders that are the Insects all around us.

In Conclusion:

I hope that you enjoyed this look back at the past year at norfolknaturalist.ca! Last year’s blogversary article concluded with a goal that my second anniversary would contain more than 7 posts to summarize and I am happy to say that I have far exceeded that goal! Next year, I hope to stick to my main goal of producing interesting nature articles on various topics that grab my attention, at least once a month. I truly love sharing my fascination with the natural world and hopefully inspiring others to take a closer look and keep learning. If you enjoy my writing and photos and have the means and desire to support me, I now have a donation function set up on my Home page. I really appreciate any level of support, which includes most importantly sharing my website with others who might find it interesting or worth a read.

Here’s to many more years of norfolk naturalist blogging!

Categories
Blogversary

Happy Birthday, Norfolk Naturalist!

Inspired by one of my favourite blogs on the internet, Tetrapod Zoology, or TetZoo (http://tetzoo.com/), I’d like to create a birthday article every year- not for the day I was born, but for the anniversary of my blog’s creation. In this post, I’ll summarize the past year of my blog, as well as the story of Norfolk Naturalist leading up to the blog’s creation. So here we go…

My first Tumblr Blogpost featured this twig-mimicking Geometrid Caterpillar, spotted on the Lynn Valley Trail in Simcoe, Ontario.

NorfolkNaturalist Version 1

I’ve tried to start creating blog content many times over the years, but it would usually fall to the wayside of my routine. A few years ago, I created a Tumblr blog in which I wanted to post articles about my own nature observations: norfolknaturalist.tumblr.com. My first post was about Cryptic Caterpillars, and I went on to explore various nature topics through the creatures I had observed myself (usually attempting to do so within a timely manner). Sometimes they were focused on a specific aspect of nature, or a specific animal or plant, and other times they were set up as a slideshow of my trip to a Provincial Park (such as MacGregor Point or Algonquin), giving brief comments about the creatures I observed on my trips. My first tumblr post, Cryptic Caterpillars, was published in March 2018, and it was only a month later that I would acquire my most exciting new tool for nature exploration: a Macro Lens. Up to that point, my nature photos were taken with a telephoto lens, and for insects that meant standing far away and cropping the picture later. Sometimes these pictures hold up, especially for insects like Dragonflies and Butterflies, but my dreams became reality when I was able to photograph Springtails dwarfed by the head of a screw. I had also become a member of iNaturalist at the beginning of 2018. So the ability to photograph the smaller creatures I was so fascinated with, combined with the support and community identification of the amazing iNaturalist website, expanded my horizons as an amateur naturalist.

One of my greatest passions has been learning about the animals and plants and fungi in my own surroundings, and these tools allowed me to do so. My tumblr allowed me to share this passion and interest with others of like mind, and I was excited to be sharing my wonder at the nature that is everywhere.

After a year of posting once or twice a month, I stopped for a while, until in November 2019 I began this current blog as a new platform for sharing my interests and observations. Before we look at Norfolk Naturalist in its current form, let’s take a little detour to Instagram.

One of my most exciting finds ever: a Megarhyssa parasitoid wasp on the Lynn Valley Trail, Simcoe, Ontario. I will have to write a blogpost about this amazing creature sometime.

Observations of the Day

In late 2018 I began to post “Observation of the Day” pictures on Instagram under the profile “norfolknaturalist” (for my Instagram account go here: https://www.instagram.com/norfolknaturalist/). These pictures very quickly became “Observation of the Week” as I really wasn’t that fast at finding interesting creatures to photograph, taking pictures, editing the pictures and transferring them to Instagram. Especially since a lot of my identifications were awaiting confirmation on iNaturalist. These first few pictures (which were titled with their species name and location observed) were then superseded by pictures from my archive of nature photos taken over the years. These photos were posted with a fact about the organisms involved, which grew into my new formula for Instagram: picture of a creature, and a paragraph of interesting information about them. It was really at the beginning of 2020 that I started to post regularly on Instagram, and it was exciting to be doing so. I had accumulated over the years a variety of photos of interesting creatures from local trails in Simcoe, Ontario, as well as various Provincial Parks during camping trips. Reviewing these photos and learning more about the creatures portrayed within them, then sharing that information was quite fun, and I’m really glad I started doing this, and I’m thankful for all the support and interest I’ve received.

A Moose photographed in Algonquin Provincial Park this year. It’s just a nice picture I took of a charismatic animal.

The Current Blog (norfolknaturalist.ca)

I created and posted my first page on this blog, norfolknaturalist.ca, on November 30, 2019. (Welcome to my New Nature Blog) The first post was simply a quick overview of my interests, ideas, and goals with the website: namely, sharing my passion and interest in the amazing animals and plants that provide me with neverending fascination.

One thing I’ve always wanted to do is gather together as much fascinating information about an organism as I can into a post (sort of a mini-review of that creature). I’ve done this twice this past year, once with the Eastern Band-Winged Hoverfly (Ocyptamus fascipennis), and another on the Introduced Pine Sawfly (Diprion similis).

In December 2019, I visited Pinery Provincial Park and had some excellent encounters with some of the beautiful winter birds.

Besides Nature Observations and Species Profiles, I want to share my love of reading Nature books, and so I’ve published a few book reviews on my site as well. First was a Book Review of The Flora of MiddleEarth. Many of the books I read are textbook-ish and I’ve found it difficult to find reviews of some of them online because they aren’t designed to be read for pleasure. Sharing my experience diving into some of these books, and some of the fascinating information within is one of my goals with this site, and since that first Book Review, I’ve written two more: one for Pterosaurs by Mark Witton, and one for The Social Biology of Wasps, edited by Kenneth G. Ross and Robert W. Matthews.

And that brings us to the sum total of 7 posts in a whole year. Not very prolific at all. But there’s one very good reason for that.

In April of this year, my son was born. I haven’t been writing as regularly as I might be otherwise, distracted in the best possible way.

My goal for next year’s Birthday Article is that I’ll be able to summarize more than 7 posts, because I hope to write on my blog a little more regularly.

I hope you enjoyed my small tour through Norfolk Naturalist history and I hope you can return soon for some new content! I’ve got a few things in the works: Savvy Squirrels, Sand Wasps, and maybe even Salamanders!

Here’s an Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) that I found this year under a log on the Lynn Valley Trail, in Simcoe, Ontario.