Simon Corston-Oliver
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simonhco.bsky.social
Simon Corston-Oliver
@simonhco.bsky.social
410 followers 470 following 220 posts
Linguist / computational linguist. Keen hiker and nature photographer in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I mostly photograph amphibians, fungus and birds, or whatever comes across my path.
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simonhco.bsky.social
Simon Corston-Oliver @simonhco.bsky.social · Sep 14
I led a nature walk today at Burnaby Lake, British Columbia. We heard Pacific treefrogs but didn't see any.

Then after the walk I saw this tiny guy (~2cm) perched on top of a black-eyed Susan in the rain.

#herps 🐸 🌿 #frog #treefrog
A lime green Pacific treefrog perches on the black center of a black-eyed center. The petal of the flower are a vivid yellow and glossy with rain.
simonhco.bsky.social
So many vibrant mushrooms at Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.

Canon R5+RF100. 1/4, f5.6, ISO400. Stack of 57 images.

#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms 🍄 🌿
An orange mushroom growing from a rotting log.
November 11, 2025 at 4:26 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
One thing I am learning as I look more closely at mushrooms is that things can be messy and there can be a lot of bugs on and around them.

This mushroom was bursting out of a dirt bank. There's a mosquito hiding under the cap.

Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.

#fungifriends 🍄 🌿 #fungi
A mushroom that looks like it has burst from the ground at an angle. There is dirt and some small bugs on the surface and a mosquito hiding under the cap. Canon R5+RF100. Focus stack of 27 images. 1/15, f5.6, ISO 2000
November 11, 2025 at 2:03 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, British Columbia. I didn’t see any rough-skinned newts but I did see an ensatina (kind of lungless salamander). Stay tuned

#herps #newt 🦎
A sign that says “SLOW. Newts crossing.” With a black silhouette of a newt Information about the newts crossing the road.
November 11, 2025 at 12:43 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Walking through a neighborhood in Tainan, Taiwan I came upon a troupe of actors putting the finishing touches on their costumes. They were good sports about me taking their photo.

#taiwan #streetphotography #street #travelphotography
A troupe of actors in traditional Chinese costumes and with dramatic makeup sits outside. One actor is facing the camera and making a peace sign. Canon R5+RF100-500 @ 300mm. 1/400s, f13, ISO 1600.
November 6, 2025 at 2:42 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
A dung beetle struggling to move what I believe (given what I had seen on the trail) is macaque monkey poop.

Tashan trail at Alishan National Forest, Taiwan.

#beetle #taiwan 🪲🌿
October 29, 2025 at 7:42 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Someone is in for a big surprise if that fan starts up. Dekang Scenic Area, Taichung,Taiwan.

#herps
A gecko sits on the flat surface of a blade of a bathroom window fan.
October 27, 2025 at 7:58 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
There are things that may be commonplace is some parts of the world but seem remarkable to me, like orchids growing on a hiking trail. Dakeng, Taiwan. #bloomscrolling
Four white orchids bloom from a stem of a plant attached to a tree trunk.
October 26, 2025 at 8:25 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
1km into a hike in Dakeng, Taichung, Taiwan when suddenly a stand selling bags of chili peppers appears.
A stand advertising chili peppers for ~$5 CAD per bag. Chili peppers and eggs. The jar with the black lid was for payment on the honor system.
October 26, 2025 at 8:20 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Poster art exhibit on the theme of indigenous women at the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, Taipei, Taiwan.

#linguistics
October 23, 2025 at 8:38 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Is it just me or do these Chinese characters look like Hangul? Taipei, Taiwan.

@zevhandel.bsky.social ?

#linguistics
Store front showing the name in Latin script and Chinese but the Chinese characters look like hangul
October 23, 2025 at 6:31 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
The iNaturalist experts tell me it’s probably a chanterelle.

#fungifriends
simonhco.bsky.social Simon Corston-Oliver @simonhco.bsky.social · Oct 14
Fungus bursting out of the detritus on the forest floor.

I am not sure of ID -- can any experts help?

Belcarra, BC.

#fungifriends #naturephotography #fungi 🌿
A side view that also shows the gills. There is a small Western hemlock cone next to it. Canon R5 + RF100, 0.5sec, f4.5, ISO 400 Focus stack of 38 images A view showing the top of the cap. There is a small Western hemlock cone next to it. Canon R5 + RF100, 0.5sec, f4.5, ISO 400 Focus stack of 70 images
October 16, 2025 at 3:30 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
Three male wood ducks looking mighty fine on World Migratory Bird Day at Burnaby Lake, BC.

#birds #birdphotography #naturephotography 🌿
Three male wood ducks standing in a row on a log in Burnaby Lake. The center duck is facing us. The ducks on either side are facing away but turning back to groom.
October 14, 2025 at 11:31 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
Common puffballs (I think).

Belcarra, BC.

#fungifriends #naturephotography #fungi 🌿 🍄
A clump of three white puffballs. There are small black dots over the surface of the puffballs. Canon R5 + RF100, 0.5 sec, f7.1, ISO 400 Focus stack of 16 images.
October 14, 2025 at 11:12 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
Fungus bursting out of the detritus on the forest floor.

I am not sure of ID -- can any experts help?

Belcarra, BC.

#fungifriends #naturephotography #fungi 🌿
A side view that also shows the gills. There is a small Western hemlock cone next to it. Canon R5 + RF100, 0.5sec, f4.5, ISO 400 Focus stack of 38 images A view showing the top of the cap. There is a small Western hemlock cone next to it. Canon R5 + RF100, 0.5sec, f4.5, ISO 400 Focus stack of 70 images
October 14, 2025 at 10:43 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
Finally working thru some pics from April 2024.

Cretan frogs, Mili Gorge, Crete, Greece.

Classified as endangered, esp. due to competition with invasive American bullfrogs. I was lucky to see them.

Note the color variations and the vocal sacs. It was breeding season.

#herps 🐸 🌿 #frog #crete
A Cretan frog, its vocal sacs fully inflated. The frog is light brown with dark brown patches. Two Cretan frogs with dark brown patches against a light green background. A brown Cretan frog mostly in the water with its head and part of its torso exposed. A Cretan frog. It is light brown with dark brown patches on the torso and dark brown stripes on the hind legs.
October 9, 2025 at 11:32 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
Me in the forest: what is this odd looking tiny fungus?
Me at home: oh it's a tree root with a bit of rotten wood on the end.

🌿 #fungus
A thin tree root sticks up. At the tip of thr root there is a small piece of rotten wood that looks like the cap of a mushroom.
October 8, 2025 at 12:03 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Bleeding bonnet fungus growing from holes in a rotting log. Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, Maple Ridge, British Columbia.

If you zoom in you can see various little critters in, on and under the caps.

#fungi #fungifriends #mycology #naturephotography #macrophotography 🌿
One large mushroom grows from a hole in a log. From another hole a clump of four mushrooms grow. There are small white mites on and around the mushrooms and a larger bug partly visible under one cap. Canon R5+RF100, 0.5sec, f5.6, ISO 400. Focus stack of 47 images.
October 7, 2025 at 11:44 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
Labyrinth Street in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. You are being watched.
street signs on the corner of a stone building. The signs are in Greek. One says "Tobazi Street" the other says "Labyrinth street". There are two security cameras, one facing down each street.
October 5, 2025 at 7:13 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
Cretan ebony (Ebenus cretica), a legume native to Crete, Greece.

#bloomscrolling #bloomsky #flower #flowerphotography 🌿
A bloom flower catches the light. The flower has white feathery petals.
October 5, 2025 at 1:48 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
We were reminiscing last night about our trip to Greece in 2024, so today I decided to revisit some photos from Crete.

This is the Imbros Gorge hike, that descends through an increasingly narrow canyon -- down to 1.6m wide.

#landscape #landscapephotography #nature #crete
A path leads into a narrow gap between high rock walls in a gorge.
October 5, 2025 at 1:21 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Scrambling up Christmas Gully in the low cloud yesterday to Mt Strachan I realized I was being watched by a sooty grouse. Two in fact!

The cloud was blowing up the gully, changing every few minutes from misty to clear.

Mt Seymour Provincial Park, BC

#birds #birdphotography #naturephotography 🌿
A sooty grouse in the misty clouds, its head turned slightly to watch me. Four minutes later the cloud cleared, giving a clear view of the grouse's plumage. Five minutes later again and it was clear and sunny as the grouse foraged among the grasses.
September 24, 2025 at 12:05 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
A red-breasted sapsucker sucking sap. (Well, technically poking holes in the bark and then licking the sap.)

The little tufts of yellowish flowers are a good match for the lichen on the trees.

Today at Mt Seymour, West Vancouver.

#birds #birdphotography #woodpecker #naturephotography 🌿
A red-breasted sapsucker on a tree. Its head is turned towards the viewer.
September 23, 2025 at 1:44 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
A second pass at the yellow rose I posted a few days ago.

#flowerphotography #bloomscrolling #flowers #roses #bloomonpurpose
A yellow rose illuminated against a black background. Re-edited slightly to correct color balance.
September 22, 2025 at 12:24 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
A wasp nest on the ground right beside the Sugar Mountain hiking trail. Sasamat Lake, BC.

I didn't feel brave enough to try to get some macro shots of the wasps for ID.

#naturephotography #wasp 🌿
A mostly underground wasp nest with just a papery shell showing. There is one wasp near the main entrance and another that appears to be repairing the edge of the nest.
September 20, 2025 at 10:53 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
A male hairy woodpecker hard at work on the Sugar Mountain trail at Sasamat Lake, British Columbia.

#birds #birdphotography #woodpecker #naturephotography 🌿
A male hairy woodpecker on a tree trunk. Its beak is open and the tongue is visible
September 20, 2025 at 10:38 PM