Relearning the wildlife of Gothic

Yesterday I showed my labmate some of the common plants and insects (and birds) that she will likely encounter during her own research, which provided a good refresher lesson for me as well.

Gothic Mountain

May update - assorted topics

We are having several consecutive days of relatively nice weather throughout the day so I have been quite busy working (and taking photos) but not posting them.  Here are a lot of photos from the last week of May.

Snow day (May 25th, 2015)

Before the weather got better, it got worse on the 25th when it snowed and we lost power overnight and in the morning after (so no heat and no internet). I couldn't do any work except walking around Gothic and taking pictures.

Birds of Gunnison National Forest, Colorado

After posts of flowers and insects, here are finally the birds that I photographed last summer.

 Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)

Wildflowers of Carden Plains

Despite me living so close to where I worked in 2010 (i.e., Carden Plains), I did not have the means to revisit the place.  Thanks to the field course I am assisting this month, I am now back to where it all began for me here in Ontario.

View from the Carden Rec Centre looking at Dalrymple Lake.

Alderville Black Oak Savanna - Control burning

Fire is a critical ecosystem process that has the ability to create new habitats for species and lead to the regeneration of forests and grasslands.  This process occurs both naturally and anthropogenically, and how it triggers the sprouting of dormant seeds is not very well understood (Edit: until just this Tuesday when another piece of knowledge is added to the puzzle.  Read this article and follow the link below for more information.).  Today, I volunteered to help out with managed burn of some sites at the Alderville Black Oak Savanna.  This area supports unique and important habitats (i.e., long-grass prairie and black oak savanna) here in Ontario, and you can find out more about this location at the official website. 

Before the actual burn took place, we went for a short walk around the site.

Shaw Nature Reserve

In the morning we learned about the botanical and floral diversity in pollination biology. For example, the different mating and breeding systems for plants, as well as the history of categorizing flower types to better associate the pollinators and the appropriate pollinator syndrome.

Photographed a Syrphid during a break.


Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

In the afternoon, we headed to a different part of Missouri Botanical Garden outside the city. It is called Shaw Nature Reserve.