Simon Corston-Oliver
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simonhco.bsky.social
Simon Corston-Oliver
@simonhco.bsky.social
530 followers 530 following 330 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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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
Cladonia lichen competing for space on a tree trunk at Belcarra, BC.

TIL a new word: 𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎, the red tips.

🌿 #lichen #fungifriends #macrophotography
Three bright red tips of cladonia lichen stand out against a dark green background of various mosses.
February 17, 2026 at 1:22 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
It’s a sign!

Sadly I did not see any amphibians today. Still too early in the season.

Belcarra, BC
#herps 🌿
A sandwich board on the side of the road that reads “Newt migration. Newts on road. Please slow down!” With a picture of a newt
February 16, 2026 at 8:34 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
I was looking for something in my archives and came across this shot that I had somehow never edited.

An old pharmacy in Florence, Italy. 2019.

#travelphotography #urban #street #architecture
The facade of a former pharmacy. The pharmacy's products are etched in marble. A blurred cyclist goes by.
February 15, 2026 at 1:01 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
A family of northern flickers.

From an evening in late June 2024. Every year I watch this old wooden piling to see who has taken up residence. No new tenants this morning. Still too early in the season.

#BlueSkyArtShow #wood #birds 🌿
Two northern flicker chicks push through a hole in a wooden piling. A northern flicker is putting food directly into one chick's beak. From another hole a chick peeks out.
February 15, 2026 at 12:22 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Today’s hike in Coquitlam: totally not-scary and perfectly normal electricity stuff (under some pylons) and a naturally-occurring selfie mirror.
A sign that says “while walking on the right of way [under some pylons] you may feel a minor electrical shock when you touch an object (e.g. fence, sign). These are caused by induction just like walking across a carpet. These shocks, while annoying, are harmless. “ A selfie-mirror on a logging road. How thoughtful
February 11, 2026 at 12:16 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
I'm at the end of editing my pics from my time in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Here's me (left) and Eddy (right) my amazing guide. We saw 49 species of bird in a single morning around Chunyaxché and Sian Ka'an.

Photo kindly taken by Tyler Huestis, a fellow Canadian with a keen eye.

#birdwatching #birds
Me (left) and my guide Eddy (right) in the jungle birdwatching.
February 10, 2026 at 12:35 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
A boat-billed flycatcher.

Chunyaxché, QR, Mexico (south of Tulum).

#birds 🌿 #birdwatching #birdlovers
A boat-billed flycatcher high on a branch.
February 10, 2026 at 12:03 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
One more of the downy woodpecker that landed right beside me on the dyke at Addington Pitt Marsh, British Columbia yesterday.

#birds #birdwatching 🌿 #birdlovers
Side view of a downy woodpecker as it clings to a knot on a stem among some grass. It was working to extract seeds from the knot.
February 7, 2026 at 11:47 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
Clearly the work of a beaver with grand ambitions. Addington Pitt Marsh, BC.

#mammals 🌿
A large fallen tree that has been felled by a beaver.
February 7, 2026 at 10:50 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
A downy woodpecker landed right beside me on the dyke at Addington Pitt Marsh, British Columbia yesterday. Camera data says it was 2.41m away from me.

It kept an eye on me but was more focused on getting the seeds out of these stems.

#birds #birdwatching 🌿
A down woodpecker clings to a knot on a stem as it works on a extracting seeds.
February 7, 2026 at 10:28 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
A beaver swimming through the reflections of marsh plants in a channel at the Addington-Pitt Marsh. It is carrying some building material in its mouth.

#mammals 🌿
A beaver swims across the dark reflections of some swamp plants, leaving a wake behind it in the water.
February 6, 2026 at 1:28 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
A ruddy woodcreeper creeping around to the sunny side of a tree trunk.

Chunyaxché, QR, Mexico (south of Tulum).

#birds 🌿 #birdwatching
A ruddy woodcreeper clings to a tree trunk. Its head and breast are lit by light coming from behind the trunk.
February 5, 2026 at 2:01 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
A white-bellied emerald hummingbird. Dark and rainy and hidden in the trees.

Chunyaxché, QR, Mexico (south of Tulum).

#birds 🌿 #birdwatching
A white-bellied emerald hummingbird resting on a branch against a dark green background.
February 5, 2026 at 1:12 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Red-throated ant-tanager.

Walking around the neighborhood of Chunyaxché, QR, Mexico (south of Tulum) and the Laguna de Muyil reserve we saw so 49 different species of bird.

#birds 🌿 #birdwatching
A red-throated ant-tanager sits on a branch.
February 4, 2026 at 6:05 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Playing peekaboo with a rather wet hooded oriole.

Chunyaxché, QR, Mexico (south of Tulum).

#birds 🌿 #birdwatching
A hooded oriole seen through the bushes. The feathers of its breast are a vivid orange red and quite wet. It is eating some sort of berry.
February 4, 2026 at 1:37 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
One more shot of the rose-throated becard from yesterday, right after it had eaten a huge moth. You can see the scales of the moth on the beak and on the power line.

Chunyaxché, QR, Mexico (south of Tulum).

#birds 🌿 #birdwatching
A rose-throated becard on a power line. It has just eaten a huge moth so you can see gunk on its beak and on the power line.
February 4, 2026 at 12:43 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Rose-throated becard with a moth in the side streets of Chunyaxché, QR, Mexico (south of Tulum).

Shooting against a completely overcast sky, but what can you do? It landed right above me like it wanted me to take its pic. It would be rude not to.

#birds 🌿 #birdwatching
A rose-throated becard sits on a power line. It has a large moth in its beak.
February 3, 2026 at 2:09 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Looking down from an observation tower on a black spiny-tailed iguana lying on a park bench. Check out that spiny tail!

Jardín Botánico Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marin, Puerto Morelos, QR, Mexico.

#herps 🌿 🦎
A view from above of a black spiny-tailed iguana. It is stretched out on a wooden bench.
February 2, 2026 at 4:43 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
A black spiny-tailed iguana at the Jardín Botánico Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marin, Puerto Morelos, QR, Mexico. It was lying in the sun on a park bench but then when it decided to climb the tree it was surprisingly quick.

#herps 🌿 🦎
A black spiny-tailed iguana climbing up a tree. Only the top half of the iguana's body is visible, showing the spines along its back and the long digits on its front feet.
February 2, 2026 at 1:33 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
The ultimate lazy birdwatching catch.

I was sitting on the balcony of our hotel at the end of the day sipping a beer when I noticed this golden-fronted woodpecker on a palm tree.

#birds 🌿 #birdwatching
A golden-fronted woodpecker clings to the trunk of a palm tree in the golden hour.
February 2, 2026 at 1:03 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
While standing outside a convenience store in Puerto Morelos, QR, Mexico I noticed a dead bat on the side of the road.

It's a little morbid, but also fascinating to see the ants at work. Where would we be without all those little critters recycling things?

#mammals 🦇 🌿 🐜 #insects
A close-up of the ants working around the wrist and first finger. A dead bat lying on a painted yellow strip at the side of the road. There are ants swarming over the ant's body.
February 2, 2026 at 12:47 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
Enough with the monkeys. Now for birds. A pair of macaws at the Xaman Ha open-air aviary, Playa del Carmen, QR, Mexico.

#birds 🦜 🌿
A pair of macaws. Their plumage is bright red with bright blue, yellow and green on the wings. The birds are both looking at the photographer, one with its head cocked.
February 2, 2026 at 12:08 AM
simonhco.bsky.social
An agouti, a kind of large rodent. Playa del Carmen, QR, Mexico. Called 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒 in Spanish in Quintana Roo.

#mammals 🌿
An agouti viewed in side profile on the forest floor.
January 28, 2026 at 2:25 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
An anole in Playa del Carmen, QR, Mexico.

#herps 🦎 🌿
An anole sunbathing on a limestone rock. Possibly a copper anole. Confirming ID on iNaturalist.
January 28, 2026 at 2:17 PM
simonhco.bsky.social
A yellow-headed Amazon (Amazona oratrix), which I learned from iNaturalist is classified as endangered. AFAIK it's just the quiet and the food that keeps the birds there.

At the Xaman Ha open-air aviary, Playa del Carmen, QR, Mexico.

#birds 🦜 🌿
A yellow-headed Amazon parrot sitting on a perch. One wing feather is slightly displaced, showing vivid red, dark blue and black colors.
January 28, 2026 at 12:41 AM