I can't help it, I just love catching things.

Eric holding a western tiger swallowtail butterfly.

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved catching "critters."  The list includes snakes, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and any other organism that falls prey to my collection methods.  This summer I have already captured (and released) a long-toed salamander, a wood frog, a dragonfly adult, numerous beetles, and the swallowtail butterfly shown above.

The above shows pictures of me holding some of the other creatures I have caught and held.  I have also caught a fair variety of fish, but not all of them have been successfully released (and a few were very tasty).  Some of the most memorable captures I have made include three speckled kingsnakes, a Caribbean anole lizard, two rubber boas, a pygmy owl (it was stunned by a window hit), a northwestern salamander, and a rough-skinned newt that I captured while Mike Lynch and I were hiking near Duncan, BC.  

One of my habits is to turn over surface structures that may cover creatures of interest.  I am careful to replace the object afterwards.  I find that only about 1% of my discovery attempts produce anything, but I am always thrilled when it does.  I have had the misfortune of exposing bee nests twice, but that has never resulted in anything other than a significant adrenalin release.  I often find lizards (western fence, northern alligator, and blue-tailed skink) this way, as well as snakes, amphibians, and interesting insects (most notably ground beetles).

I also like hunting in the water for all that exists there.  I use a variety of techniques to obtain aquatic insects, amphibians, and search tidepools for various marine life.  Although I don't scuba dive, I do snorkel and have found many fascinating organisms such as planaria, freshwater sponges, hydra, and a host of insects.  

As always, I catch it, sometimes photograph it, enjoy the moment, and then release the organism back into its environment.  It is a practice I hope to continue doing for a very long time.  What can I say; I love it.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com