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Norfolk Naturalist Year in Photos (Dec 2021-Nov 2022)

Last year, as part of the Norfolk Field Naturalists, I was able to present 20 of my photos and discuss them. That was what prompted my still-ongoing “Top 20 Nature photos 2013-2020” series (Links to Introduction, 1. The Pale-Painted Sand Wasp (Bembix pallidipicta, 2. Moose (Alces alces) Family , 3. Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) , 4. Common Five-Lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) , 5. Robber Fly Hunting Queen Ant ). This year, I am able to present another 20 photos. I’ve decided this time to keep the range of selection and the range of discussion much more condensed and to form it around my blogging year and my blog’s namesake locality: Norfolk County, Ontario. By keeping the time constrained to a single year, representing each month at least once and the location constrained to a single county in Southern Ontario, I think it can give a sense of the turning of the seasons, something I’ve always been fascinated by. One further restriction is I tried to avoid photos/organisms that have already featured on my blog this year. Introduction complete, here come the photos of my blogging year in review:

Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) in Port Rowan, December 2021:

These beautiful birds are a sight to see in the winter, snow falling around their dancing forms. Their resonant trumpeting calls, and their acrobatics in the white fields are breathtaking.

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) in Simcoe, January 2022:

I’m always pleased to find a species near to home, which I associate with farther away. I first encountered Hooded Mergansers in Algonquin Provincial Park, so I think of them as something from the wild north rather than my own county, but this past January, I took some photos of a female swimming through a park in downtown Simcoe.

Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) in my backyard, February 2022:

While reading through nature books and articles, I have read often of Pine Siskins moving through my area during the Winter in some years, and I had always hoped to see them. This year was the first time I saw them, and while my photographs are not very high quality (taken through my back windowpane), I was very excited to see and document this species at my backyard bird-feeder.

Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) in my backyard, March 2022:

Virginia Opossums are the only marsupials in Canada, part of a diverse group of mammals that are distinct from the placentals which make up the rest of the Canadian mammals. People often shorten the name to “possum” but this is technically incorrect for these animals. Pouched mammals in the New World (ie. North and South America) are known as ‘opossums’ while those in the Old World (Mostly Australasia for this group) are called ‘possums’.

American Winter Ant (Prenolepis imparis) in my backyard, March 2022:

These common ants are active early in the Spring and late in the Fall, which is how they acquired their association with Winter (Ellison et. al. 2012). Some workers of this species can store excess amounts of food in their abdomens and become living storage canisters, much like the more well-known honeypot ants (Myrmecocystus in North American deserts, or Camponotus inflatus and Melophorus bagoti in Australian deserts) (Ellison et. al, 2012).

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) on my Parents’ Farm, April 2022:

The first members of this species were seen in Ontario in the 1860s. Prior to European colonization and agriculture (which opened up preferred habitat for them) these adaptable mammals were located further south in the United States and Mexico (Naughton 2012).

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) in my backyard, May 2022:

Similar to my Hooded Merganser observation above, my first encounter with these amazing ground-foraging woodpeckers has coloured my appreciation for them as unique and surprising. I first saw Northern Flickers when driving through MacGregor Provincial Park in the early morning. Their speckled pattern was striking but even more distinctive was the way they move, like woodpeckers hopping up a tree trunk but horizontally on the ground surface rather than clinging to bark. Seeing a Northern Flicker in my own backyard was an exciting experience (it’s happened a few years now) and adds to my appreciation of the diversity all around me.

European Woolcarder Bee (Anthidium maniculatum) in my backyard, June 2022:

These solitary bees scrape the hairs off of leaves to line their nests (usually in a preexisting cavity in wood or plant stems). As the common name indicates, this particular bee species is introduced from Europe, and is the species you are likely to see in mid-summer (the native Anthidium species are active earlier in Spring) (Wilson and Carril 2016).

Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) in Long Point, June 2022:

Migratory Warblers are always a treat to see in the Spring and Summer, and this colourful bird singing its heart out is one of my favourites. This species is widespread across North America and northern South America. In the more southern regions of its range, it may breed in mangrove swamps, while in Canada it can be found breeding in windswept tundra.

Cuckoo Wasp (Chrysis) in my backyard, July 2022:

Just as Cuckoos lay their eggs within another bird’s nest in order to benefit from the original inhabitant’s parental provisioning, so does the Cuckoo wasp benefit from another insect’s parental provisioning. In the case of this Genus, Chrysis, the female wasp lays her eggs inside the nest of other solitary wasps where the cuckoo wasp larva either feeds on the growing host wasp larva or the host larva’s food supply, placed in the nest by the host wasp parent (O’Neill 2001). The adult cuckoo wasp is well-armoured and can roll into a ball like an armadillo to present this tough shell as a defense against its hosts (Marshall 2006).

Marsh Snipe Fly (Rhagio tringarius) in my backyard, July 2022:

The larvae of Rhagio snipe flies are predators of invertebrates that dwell within the soil, but the adult diet (if they do eat anything) is unknown (Marshall 2012). This species, R. tringarius is introduced from Europe and is possibly replacing the similar native species, R. hirtus (Marshall 2012).

Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp (Sphecius speciosus) on my Parents’ Farm, July 2022:

Cicada-killer wasps are an example of a species that I had encountered significantly in print before encountering in the wild. I had read of their enormous size and strength, so when I spotted giant robust wasps on a visit to my parents’ farm I had my guess that these were the fabled hunters. These are impressive insects, but despite their large size and the males’ territoriality (the males will occasionally dive-bomb humans), they are not actually dangerous to people and should be tolerated and admired, rather than feared. The female can remove up to 1000 times her weight of soil to create her multi-celled nest which she provisions with adult cicadas (all of which used to be included within the genus Tibicen but which have now been moved to several genera (see Hill et. al. 2015 for a recent taxonomic review of the Cicada genus Tibicen)). Each larva is given 1-4 cicadas to feed on, males are given only 1 and female larvae more because females are sometimes 2.5 times larger than males (Evans and O’Neill 2007). The reason for this size disparity is that females do the digging and carry the giant prey items. The cicada-killers cannot carry paralyzed cicadas in flight unless they first drag them to a height and drop, which they will do occasionally in order to transport their large prey (Evans and O’Neill 2007).

Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis) in my Parents’ garden, August 2022:

This very large grasshopper can be up to 4.4 cm long and feeds on a variety of plants and crops (Marshall 2006).

Prionyx atratus in my Parents’ garden, August 2022:

Prionyx atratus is a solitary wasp which hunts late-instar* or adult grasshoppers, like the one photographed on the same day in the same garden above. The wasps sting the grasshoppers on the head or thorax, and then construct a burrow in soil for their single prey item. Once the nest is constructed they will place the paralyzed grasshopper inside with an egg attached and close off the nest. While working on the nest, the female hunter will sometimes cache the grasshopper prey nearby (O’Neill 2001). Researching this species led to a rather alarming observation noted in O’Neill 2001: “I have seen the cached grasshopper prey of Prionyx species devoured by other grasshoppers”. It seems that grasshoppers are not always only plant-pests but will consume each other if given the opportunity.

*instar refers to any larval stage between moults, so a late-instar means a larval stage that is close to being an adult.

Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates  in Long Point, September 2022:

One foggy morning in September, I was out taking photos in Long Point. The main thing I was looking for was birds, but every step I took along the wetland trail was punctuated by the sound and motion of leaping frogs. Taking a closer look at the path, I managed to crouch down and capture some closeups of this Northern Leopard Frog, helpfully sitting very still. 

Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) in my backyard, October 2022:

There comes a time in the year when insect populations begin to go into hiding or die off as Autumn and Winter creep upon the land. Every buzzing, whirring, crawling invertebrate at this time of year gains my attention all the more because I am conscious of the seasons’ turnings that will soon cover the flowers with snow and a hush will fall upon the local pollinators. So in October, I was quite excited to find a small gathering of pollinators right by my back step where an Aster was growing. This photo shows one such late-Fall insect: a Drone Fly.

Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) on my Parents’ Farm, October 2022:

Yet another late-flying insect caught my eye in October, this time a butterfly: an Orange Sulphur. This species of butterfly may or may not overwinter in Ontario. The adult individuals that we see in the Spring are likely migrants from its southern range (which includes Central America and the United States) (Hall et. al. 2014). I’m guessing this means that this individual spotted in the Fall was possibly on its way South to warmer climes.

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) in my backyard, November 2022:

As I prepared to choose at least one photo from every month of the past year, I realized that I didn’t have any photos taken in November. So I rushed outside in my backyard to take some photos of the backyard birds at our feeders. My favourite picture was this of a Dark-eyed Junco. Juncos are familiar and common backyard birds, though they prefer to feed from the ground, rather than directly from the hanging feeders. I feel like this is a perfect species to end with: very common and familiar, found in my own backyard, yet I still find it exciting to see and observe these amazing creatures. I’m looking forward to next year, and can’t wait to see what other species I will wonder at and learn about through 2023.

References:

Ellison, Aaron, Gotelli, Nicholas, Farnsworth, Elizabeth, adn Alpert, Gary. 2012. A Field Guide to the Ants of New England. Yale University Press.

Evans, Howard and O’Neill, Kevin. 2007. The Sand Wasps: Natural History and Behavior. Harvard University Press.

Hall, Peter, Jones, Colin, Guidotti, Antonia, and Hubley, Brad. 2014. The ROM Field Guide to Butterflies of Ontario. Royal Ontario Museum.

Hill, Kathy, Marshall, David, Moulds, Maxwell, and Simon, Chris. 2015. “Molecular phylogenetics, diversification, and systematics of Tibicen Latreille 1825 and allied cicadas of the tribe Cryptotympanini, with three new genera and emphasis on species from the USA and Canada” Zootaxa Vol. 3985 No. 2: 10 Jul. 2015. [you can read the article yourself here: https://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2015/f/zt03985p251.pdf] DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3985.2.3

Marshall, Stephen. 2006. Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity. Firefly Books.

Marshall, Stephen. 2012. Flies: Their Natural History and Diversity. Firefly Books.

Naughton, Donna. 2012. The Natural History of Canadian Mammals. University of Toronto Press.

O’Neill, Kevin. 2001. Solitary Wasps: Behavior and Natural History. Cornell University Press.

Wilson, Joseph, and Carril, Olivia. 2016. The Bees In Your Backyard. Princeton University Press.

Categories
Nature Observations Top 20 Photos 2013-2020

2. Moose (Alces alces) Family

Subject: Moose (Alces alces) Mother and Calves.

Location: Algonquin Provincial Park.

Date: July 2016.

For an Introduction to this series (my Top 20 Nature Photos of 2013-2020) go here.

The Story Behind the Shot: For several summers, I have stayed in Algonquin Provincial Park for a week, camping in Pog Lake Campground and exploring various trails and locations along the Highway 60 corridor, attempting to photograph interesting creatures that I encountered. One of the most quintessential Algonquin animals is the Moose, and I didn’t spot one on this trip until we were on our way out of the park, driving down the highway early in the morning. This family group of Moose (a mother and two calves) was an amazing treat to watch as they continued to browse some foliage and walk through the clearing adjacent to the road.

The Story Behind the Species: Moose are large mammals, the largest land mammal that one can encounter in Eastern North America. As such, they have been the subject of plenty of research and interest. For this post I want to focus on their reproductive cycle since the photo I captured features a mother and her two calves. Calves are born in May, after 7 months of growth within the mother. Pregnant Moose will often seek out islands in lakes as the location to give birth as it provides some protection from roaming bears or wolves (Strickland and Rutter 2018). You may be wondering how a mother moose can reach an island that a bear or wolf won’t frequent. Moose are actually quite excellent swimmers, they can feed on underwater plants, can swim to depths of 5.5 m and stay under for more than 30 seconds (Naughton 2012). The two young in my photo are likely twins since they appear to be the same size. Apparently, “twins are not uncommon under good conditions” (Naughton 2012). The young stay with their mother for a full year before they disperse (Strickland and Rutter 2018).

A fascinating animal and one I’m sure I will return to explore further on my blog in the future.

References:

Naughton, Donna. 2012. The Natural History of Canadian Mammals.

Strickland, Dan and Rutter, Russell. 2018. Mammals of Algonquin Provincial Park.

For the previous articles in my Top 20 Nature Photos of 2013-2020 series, see:

–Introduction

-1. Pale-Painted Sand Wasp

For more observations in Algonquin Park, see my Algonquin Observations (August 2021) series:

–Part 1: Pog Lake Campground

–Part 2: Opeongo Road

–Part 3: Peck Lake Trail

–Part 4: Spruce Bog Speedrun and the Logging Museum Trail

–Part 5: Spruce Bog: The Reckoning

Categories
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!