Simon Corston-Oliver
@simonhco.bsky.social
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.
Pinned
Lots of rain lately so the waterfalls were roaring.
Crystal Falls at Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, BC yesterday.
#naturephotography #landscape #waterfall
Crystal Falls at Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, BC yesterday.
#naturephotography #landscape #waterfall
November 25, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Lots of rain lately so the waterfalls were roaring.
Crystal Falls at Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, BC yesterday.
#naturephotography #landscape #waterfall
Crystal Falls at Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, BC yesterday.
#naturephotography #landscape #waterfall
November 24, 2025 at 12:46 AM
November 24, 2025 at 12:02 AM
My first time hunting frogs after dark. At Taichung Metropolitan Park, Taiwan.
Not sure about ID. Taiwan has so many species of amphibians! My best guess is East Asian Ornate Chorus Frog (Microhyla fissipes).
#herps 🌿
Not sure about ID. Taiwan has so many species of amphibians! My best guess is East Asian Ornate Chorus Frog (Microhyla fissipes).
#herps 🌿
November 23, 2025 at 10:07 PM
My first time hunting frogs after dark. At Taichung Metropolitan Park, Taiwan.
Not sure about ID. Taiwan has so many species of amphibians! My best guess is East Asian Ornate Chorus Frog (Microhyla fissipes).
#herps 🌿
Not sure about ID. Taiwan has so many species of amphibians! My best guess is East Asian Ornate Chorus Frog (Microhyla fissipes).
#herps 🌿
Another first for me, although I know they're quite common: a mudskipper.
Gaomei wetlands, Taichung, Taiwan.
🌿
Gaomei wetlands, Taichung, Taiwan.
🌿
November 22, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Another first for me, although I know they're quite common: a mudskipper.
Gaomei wetlands, Taichung, Taiwan.
🌿
Gaomei wetlands, Taichung, Taiwan.
🌿
A Malayan night heron looking remarkably dry given that there was torrential rain.
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
#birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
#birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography
November 22, 2025 at 2:03 AM
A Malayan night heron looking remarkably dry given that there was torrential rain.
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
#birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
#birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography
A young black bear to the side of the hiking trail at DeBoville Slough, Coquitlam, BC.
The slough is next to cranberry and blueberry farms so you see a lot of bear scat and sometimes bears.
The bear settled in for a nap while I took some photos (from a safe distance!).
#mammals #naturephotography
The slough is next to cranberry and blueberry farms so you see a lot of bear scat and sometimes bears.
The bear settled in for a nap while I took some photos (from a safe distance!).
#mammals #naturephotography
November 21, 2025 at 1:07 AM
A young black bear to the side of the hiking trail at DeBoville Slough, Coquitlam, BC.
The slough is next to cranberry and blueberry farms so you see a lot of bear scat and sometimes bears.
The bear settled in for a nap while I took some photos (from a safe distance!).
#mammals #naturephotography
The slough is next to cranberry and blueberry farms so you see a lot of bear scat and sometimes bears.
The bear settled in for a nap while I took some photos (from a safe distance!).
#mammals #naturephotography
A belted kingfisher at DeBoville Slough, Coquitlam, BC today.
In the background are cranberry and blueberry bushes in their autumn colours.
#birds #birdphotography 🌿
In the background are cranberry and blueberry bushes in their autumn colours.
#birds #birdphotography 🌿
November 21, 2025 at 12:55 AM
A belted kingfisher at DeBoville Slough, Coquitlam, BC today.
In the background are cranberry and blueberry bushes in their autumn colours.
#birds #birdphotography 🌿
In the background are cranberry and blueberry bushes in their autumn colours.
#birds #birdphotography 🌿
The first project I worked on in Computational Linguistics was anaphora resolution
#linguistics #anaphora
#linguistics #anaphora
November 20, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The first project I worked on in Computational Linguistics was anaphora resolution
#linguistics #anaphora
#linguistics #anaphora
One very soggy Malaysian Night Heron. We had torrential rain the entire time we were in Taipei (Oct 2025).
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
#birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
#birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography
November 18, 2025 at 5:53 PM
One very soggy Malaysian Night Heron. We had torrential rain the entire time we were in Taipei (Oct 2025).
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
#birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
#birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography
Me (from New Zealand) in Taiwan: ooh a pūkeko (𝑃𝑜𝑟𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑜 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑢𝑠, Australasian swamphen)! But actually I'm pretty sure it's a Common Gallinule.
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan. Completely unphased by the torrential rain that week.
#birds #naturephotography
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan. Completely unphased by the torrential rain that week.
#birds #naturephotography
November 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Me (from New Zealand) in Taiwan: ooh a pūkeko (𝑃𝑜𝑟𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑜 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑢𝑠, Australasian swamphen)! But actually I'm pretty sure it's a Common Gallinule.
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan. Completely unphased by the torrential rain that week.
#birds #naturephotography
Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan. Completely unphased by the torrential rain that week.
#birds #naturephotography
Starting to work thru the photos from my recent Taiwan trip.
One very spiky caterpillar on the hiking trail at Dakeng Scenic Area near Taichung, Taiwan.
#macrophotography #naturephotography 🌿
One very spiky caterpillar on the hiking trail at Dakeng Scenic Area near Taichung, Taiwan.
#macrophotography #naturephotography 🌿
November 18, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Starting to work thru the photos from my recent Taiwan trip.
One very spiky caterpillar on the hiking trail at Dakeng Scenic Area near Taichung, Taiwan.
#macrophotography #naturephotography 🌿
One very spiky caterpillar on the hiking trail at Dakeng Scenic Area near Taichung, Taiwan.
#macrophotography #naturephotography 🌿
Another view of the ensatina that crawled under my camera bag a few days ago. It was ~10cm (4") long.
Clearly the lesson from that day is to wait for the #herps to come to you.
Handheld focus stack of 40 images.
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#salamander 🌿 #naturephotography
Clearly the lesson from that day is to wait for the #herps to come to you.
Handheld focus stack of 40 images.
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#salamander 🌿 #naturephotography
November 16, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Another view of the ensatina that crawled under my camera bag a few days ago. It was ~10cm (4") long.
Clearly the lesson from that day is to wait for the #herps to come to you.
Handheld focus stack of 40 images.
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#salamander 🌿 #naturephotography
Clearly the lesson from that day is to wait for the #herps to come to you.
Handheld focus stack of 40 images.
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#salamander 🌿 #naturephotography
A slug eating a mushroom. If you zoom in around the head you can see some tiny bugs hitching a ride on the slug.
Belcarra, British Columbia.
#FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿
Belcarra, British Columbia.
#FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿
November 15, 2025 at 1:57 AM
A slug eating a mushroom. If you zoom in around the head you can see some tiny bugs hitching a ride on the slug.
Belcarra, British Columbia.
#FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿
Belcarra, British Columbia.
#FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿
A little mushroom pushing up thru the twigs on the forest floor.
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, British Columbia.
#FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, British Columbia.
#FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿
November 15, 2025 at 1:19 AM
A little mushroom pushing up thru the twigs on the forest floor.
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, British Columbia.
#FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, British Columbia.
#FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿
I picked up my camera bag after taking some photos of mushrooms and discovered that an ensatina (a kind of lungless salamander) had crawled under the bag!
It's the opposite of "the one that got away".
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#herps #salamander 🌿 #naturephotography
It's the opposite of "the one that got away".
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#herps #salamander 🌿 #naturephotography
November 14, 2025 at 2:33 AM
I picked up my camera bag after taking some photos of mushrooms and discovered that an ensatina (a kind of lungless salamander) had crawled under the bag!
It's the opposite of "the one that got away".
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#herps #salamander 🌿 #naturephotography
It's the opposite of "the one that got away".
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#herps #salamander 🌿 #naturephotography
So many vibrant mushrooms at Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
Canon R5+RF100. 1/4, f5.6, ISO400. Stack of 57 images.
#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms 🍄 🌿
Canon R5+RF100. 1/4, f5.6, ISO400. Stack of 57 images.
#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms 🍄 🌿
November 11, 2025 at 4:26 PM
So many vibrant mushrooms at Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
Canon R5+RF100. 1/4, f5.6, ISO400. Stack of 57 images.
#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms 🍄 🌿
Canon R5+RF100. 1/4, f5.6, ISO400. Stack of 57 images.
#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms 🍄 🌿
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
This mushroom was bursting out of a dirt bank. There's a mosquito hiding under the cap.
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#fungifriends 🍄 🌿 #fungi
November 11, 2025 at 2:03 AM
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
This mushroom was bursting out of a dirt bank. There's a mosquito hiding under the cap.
Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC.
#fungifriends 🍄 🌿 #fungi
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
#taiwan #streetphotography #street #travelphotography
November 6, 2025 at 2:42 AM
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
#taiwan #streetphotography #street #travelphotography
October 27, 2025 at 7:58 AM
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
October 26, 2025 at 8:25 AM
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
1km into a hike in Dakeng, Taichung, Taiwan when suddenly a stand selling bags of chili peppers appears.
October 26, 2025 at 8:20 AM
1km into a hike in Dakeng, Taichung, Taiwan when suddenly a stand selling bags of chili peppers appears.
Poster art exhibit on the theme of indigenous women at the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, Taipei, Taiwan.
#linguistics
#linguistics
October 23, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Poster art exhibit on the theme of indigenous women at the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, Taipei, Taiwan.
#linguistics
#linguistics