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ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY APRIL 2007
On my first night in Florida, I took a walk and saw a beautiful sunset and heard chorus frogs calling. We won't hear them in Michigan for three months, I thought. At my first campground, I noticed the abundant myrtle warblers. Here, they winter and set up territories to defend from other birds just like they do up north. Having photographed the birds at their nest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I feel they are one of my favorite birds. You can make tsk!, tsk! noises that bring them closer and they exhibit the same insect searching methods employed up north. In Florida, however their coloration is the much duller winter plumage and sometimes it is difficult to separate them from other wintering wood warblers. But here is how: the myrtles always show a yellow-rump patch when they fly (which is their other name - the yellow-rumped warbler). The similar palm warblers don't have the streaked breasts and are always wagging their tales. They are generally on or near the ground, the myrtles are usually in shrubs or trees. The prairie warbler, another Florida snowbird, has a yellow throat. The parula warbler has its yellowish-red patch on its gray back. All can be told apart by their songs which you must take time to learn and all are singing despite being not being in the breeding season.
I had a bald eagle perch for several hours near my campsite in Fort Meyers. He stayed there until dark and I watched him with my binoculars as he groomed his feathers and looked out at all the backed up traffic along Summerlin Avenue. I don't think one person ever noticed him. In my campsite at Hobe Sound, I had an active osprey nest about 50 yards away. The birds were incubating eggs and the male would stand guard on a nearby snag of a dead tree. Any vulture which would soar near the nest would bring a fierce attack from the osprey and he would chase the bird right over my camper while screaming at the top of his lungs. Vultures are very common in Florida, the sky always contains ten or twenty birds soaring about looking for carrion. I don't think they were any threat to the osprey but with their numbers and the unpredictability of the soaring air currents, the male was kept busy all day. Despite their commonness, I still watch vultures because occasionally they may be something else, and I did see two eagles that at first glance I thought were just another vulture. There are the two species, the black which has broader wings and flies like a hawk but can't soar as long as the turkey vulture. The turkey vulture can soar for hours if there are thermal air currents and can fly from one horizon to the opposite while never flapping their wings. They followed me home to Michigan, and just after crossing the Michigan state line I saw my first turkey vulture of the year in that state.
I did some new art shows and it was nice to see the new areas and people. I have received a lot of emails and orders from down there and next month I will try to show some of the photography I did.
Return to PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNAL main page. Date this page was edited: April 6, 2007. |
My Florida trip this year was full of a
variety of adventures. The drive down in the midst of a blizzard was interesting
to say the least. I was told the snow wouldn't start in Michigan until 10:00 AM
and so I left at 5:00 AM. Unfortunately, it had been snowing all night in Ohio
and they had six inches on the ground when I got there. Driving at slow speeds
with the trucks, I was careful pulling my camper and I was able to handle the
roads, it was just the stopping for gas that was difficult. By the time I
reached Kentucky the snow had turned to freezing rain and it was a
"white-knuckle" trip through the mountains. But I had left a day early, and
arrived in Florida on time for my first show at Sanibel.
Also
common in the campgrounds is the catbird. They are very curious and just
making a squeaking-sound will cause them to immediately appear from the thick
scrub where they hang out. They will start to give their meow call that gives
them their name. At Myakka State Park, I had one come out every morning to spend
some time on my picnic table near where I was sitting. It definitely appeared to
get a closer look at me because it would walk around and watch whatever I was
doing. In Michigan they always make their presence known by calling from the
thickets as I hike by. Their close relative, the mockingbird, the state bird of
Florida, were starting to set up territories for nesting and males would find a
prominent perch and tirelessly sing. Their famous songs are not known for their
beauty but for their variety. They sing short phrases usually repeated once and
then change to a new one and continue on that way for a long time. Each phrase
is different, some are like other birds songs, from which they get their name,
while others imitate what they hear like car horns or lawnmowers. They just keep
going and going. One was above my canopy at my show in Venice and entertained me
the whole weekend. We don't see the mockingbird in Michigan, however the catbird
does sing similarly, vocalizing from an exposed perch or even it's nest for long
periods of time.
Down
at the concession stand at Myakka State Park, I had photographed a sunset
against the beautiful live oaks and palm trees and was walking back to the van
when I heard a crow start scolding in the near darkness. When I walked over to
where it was I found it had discovered an emerging opossum which didn't pay any
attention but started to hunt for garbage left by the tourists of the day. I
have always found it interesting as to how birds view us. The crow isn't
threatened by people but this little creature, which I am sure could climb a
tree and eat its eggs if it was in season, represented a real threat and so the
crow responded accordingly. We must be viewed as cattle, just creatures walking
around leaving a lot of garbage for them to eat. This was a fish crow, similar
to our American crow, but a little smaller and very different voice. Our crows
say CAW! while this one gives a very nasal CAH! They are found up and down the
coast of the U.S. but not in Michigan.