ontariofieldbiology.blogspot.com
Ontario Field Biology: August 2015
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Monday, August 24, 2015. A couple of weeks back I had the chance to do some work in Renfrew County. Despite some demanding terrain I had a great time and with the exception of a bat acoustic survey on a sand bar one night, the mosquitoes were non-existent. Here are a few photos from the trip. Fireweed ( Chamerion angustifolium. Otherwise known as Hardhack. In comparison with Narrow-leaved Meadowsweet ( S. alba. Sp", I took the latter option in this case. Growing on a rock barren among an open canopy of s...
ontariofieldbiology.blogspot.com
Ontario Field Biology: Insects in Essex
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Tuesday, August 4, 2015. I've spent the last couple of days in Essex County for work and although my tasks focused on vegetation surveys, the insect diversity stole the show. My co-worker Nathan is great with his odonate identification and pointed out this pair of Blue-fronted Dancer ( Argia apicalis. An attractive sedge, Gray's Sedge ( Carex grayii. The large, round mace-like structure is hard to miss. Known from the Ojibway Prairie Complex. Duke's Skipper were found at a couple of spots. After work, a ...
ontariofieldbiology.blogspot.com
Ontario Field Biology: July 2015
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Tuesday, July 28, 2015. I spotted my first Least Skipper of the year. About the size of my thumbnail, these are Ontario's smallest butterfly. You can easily distinguish them from other skippers like the European Skipper by the elongated abdomen which extends out past the hind wings. Sticking my head into the forest I found a small patch of Virginia Stickweed. Which has narrower leaves, appressed pubescence and limited barbs on the seeds. Sunday, July 26, 2015. Cooling off at Pinehurst Lake CA. A nice GRC...
ontariofieldbiology.blogspot.com
Ontario Field Biology: April 2015
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Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Holy Smokies Part I. I just got back last night from my first trip to the Smoky Mountains; wow, what a spot! In speaking with a friend last summer that has been a number of times I knew I had to experience the spring wildflowers at their peak. I'm going through a tonne of photos but thought I'd share a few tonight. The trip was certainly plant-heavy, fuelled by the diverse greenery (which changed it's composition every hundred yards) and my co-worker and fellow field botanist And...
ontariofieldbiology.blogspot.com
Ontario Field Biology: November 2014
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Sunday, November 30, 2014. Ipperwash Dunes Pt. II. If the picture of june grass in my last post didn't grab your attention, hopefully you'll find this post a little more interesting.like this picture of a pre-flowering wild wormwood. Wormwood is a fairly common dune species, generally considered a biennial or short-lived perennial. Plants in the genus Artemisia are hosts for a rare parasitic plant called clustered-cancer-root. The site has plenty of cylindric blazing star. Lack of flowers bugging you?
ontariofieldbiology.blogspot.com
Ontario Field Biology: Bkejwanong Botany
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Sunday, August 2, 2015. A short drive from the Heritage Centre took us past a few planted Ohio Buckeye. There are potentially naturally occurring trees on the island but we didn't get to those areas. An article. Stepping out of the car, I was greeted by a wall of flowering Culver's Root, Late and Giant Goldenrod, Missouri Ironweed and, as seen in the photo below, the remains of Ohio Spiderwort. The hundreds of flowering stems of Missouri Ironweed. Which is locally common in the wet prairies here, but cer...
nanaimonaturalist.blogspot.com
Nanaimo Naturlist
http://nanaimonaturalist.blogspot.com/2015/12/december-21-wetter-weather-has-for-most.html
Monday, 21 December 2015. The wetter weather has, for the most part, kept me from spending time outdoors (as has studying flora, biogeoclimatic ecological classification, interviews and christmas preparations) but I did participate in 2 christmas bird counts this week. It would appear that the trees in the higher elevations (possibly Mountain Hemlock Ecozone) are either not reachable by foresters, or not profitable to invest in harvesting. Snow covered mountainous ridges (with clear cutting beneath).