ALLAN BOVEE -  PHOTOGRAPHY

ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY

JULY 2004

This afternoon I was sitting inside the house and looking out at my backyard when in the corner of my eye I noticed a small beetle scurry across the walkway. I lifted my close-focusing binoculars to confirm what I thought - a tiger beetle. I watched this small hunter work the sidewalk, stalking, searching, and stopping to investigate a moving insect nearby and then pounce on the helpless victim to feed upon it. I began to think back when I spent a lot of time photographing these interesting creatures and how many of them escaped from my confinement and began to populate my yard. This particular beetle was likely an offspring of the original group I had collected to photograph.

Out in the woods, I rarely walk down a sandy path in the open areas without seeing a tiger beetle. They are fast little beetles that are fascinating to watch. Their six legs are long and spread out like a spider's so they can scamper quickly across the ground. They can fly for a short distance in a zigzag manner of semi-controlled flight until landing a little further down the path where, they right themselves and quickly turn to face you again. They are only about a half inch long but may prey on insects much larger than themselves.

They are ferocious predators, feeding on insects which they run down and capture. They have a large pair of pincers in their front and use them to cleanly cut up insects into bite size pieces. I collected many to bring home for photography and made the mistake once of putting two in the same jar. When I got home one had cut up the other and was eating a piece but it too had gashes on its back and a leg was missing.

I find three kinds in my area. One is all bronze colored with an iridescent sheen on its back. This one is slightly smaller than the others and seems to be the most common species. Another is called the beautiful tiger beetle. It has a beige back with a shiny bronze pattern on it. These seem to remain active later in the year than the others. A third species is called the six-spotted green tiger beetle, a name eight times longer than the insect. It is bright iridescent green with six white spots, three on each wing cover.

I used to try an sneak up on them with my camera and flash setup but they usually spooked before I could focus and shoot. I found this to be difficult and frustrating so I went to capturing them with a butterfly net and bring a bunch of them home. I built a small sandbox, like their habitat, and covered it with a clear plastic cover with a handle. With the camera ready and focused and the tiger beetle settled down and holding still, I slowly pulled off the cover and shot before they would escape to my yard by flying. I could usually get one or two shots off before they freed themselves. For the next few seasons, I would see tiger beetles all around my yard, which I found enjoyable.

Finding tiger beetles out in the wild during my hikes is always a pleasure, a sign of summer, and seeing this one today brought back those old memories of one of my photo adventures.

Date this page was edited: July 7, 2004.

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AUGUST  2004

For the last couple of years I have spent more time looking for hooded warbler nests than any other bird. I didn't even know they were found in my area until two years ago when I started hearing a bird singing that was unfamiliar in Pontiac Lake Recreational Area. I was photographing a blue-gray gnatcatcher at its nest, and began to hear this loud, abrupt call. From my bird song tapes I determined it to be the hooded warbler but despite a thorough search in the area it yielded only a quick glance of the bird. It was probably an unattached male, that is there were no females in the area at all.

Then last year I located two singing males in Proud Lake Recreational Area and managed to locate my first nest. The nest contained one warbler egg and one cowbird egg and was abandoned by the female. A few weeks later with great diligence I managed to find another nest, this time containing three warbler eggs. But a short time later, a predator found the nest and it was destroyed. At the end of the season while hiking in Highland Recreational Area, I found three more singing males in different areas and was encouraged to return this year to search for more nests.

In the first area in Highland this year I found a scolding female, always a good sign. But on searching I never found a nest and two weeks later concluded the bird had made a nest but was gotten by a predator and the female was still protecting the area. Meanwhile in Proud Lake I located two nests in the same area as last year. However, both contained one warbler egg and one cowbird. The first was abandoned but the second had an incubating female until a predator found it a week later and destroyed it. When I found the two nests I then drove over to Highland to search for American redstart nests. These birds I have photographed before but wanted to improve on my results and knew there were many birds in the area. I found one nest on a mountain bike trail with an incubating female. I started looking in the proper habitat for another which took me some distance from my path. I didn't find another nest and began to return to the path when I heard a hooded warbler male sing. I had not seen any hooded warblers in this area before. I looked around and realized I was in perfect hooded warbler territory and within ten feet of where I was standing I located my third hooded warbler nest of the day. This one had three eggs and so I had to begin the long wait for eggs to hatch before I could move in my blind.

When I arrived ten days later for photography the nest contained three active warblers and I was very happy for the chance I had been waiting for. I set up my blind and strobes and began to shoot. The birds began to return to the nest immediately to feed their young. I turn the motor drive off because the noise scares the birds, whereas the flashes going off doesn't bother the birds at all. The male was especially beautiful and he would sing while coming and going to the nest, a song I have become very familiar with.

The best way to locate the hooded warblers in the dense woods is by their constant habit of flicking their tail. I was surprised to see that the tail feathers are only lined in a lighter color, that is they don't have an actual white feather. In the dark woods it really shows up and was the main way I located a bird. Their song although loud and clear, has a ventriloquist quality and often I cannot find the bird by the song alone even when the bird is very close.

When the birds left the nest and I removed my blind, I could still hear the male in the area. Altogether I found five pairs of hooded warblers this year. Evidently the species is increasing in my area of Michigan, a welcome addition to our bird species list.

Date this page was edited: August 25, 2004

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SEPTEMBER 2004

Now that the nesting season is over, I wanted to review my accomplishments this year. I stayed local this year because I am planning an out west trip this fall and really wanted to find a hooded warbler near my home which I did (see August 2004 journal above).

This year I found the following nests:

    Eastern bluebird (2)                            Yellow warbler (3)
    Gray catbird (2)                                  Blue-gray gnatcatcher (2)
    Northern cardinal                                Tufted titmouse
    Wood thrush (2)                                 American redstart
    Downy woodpecker                            Hooded warbler (3)
    Acadian flycatcher (2)                       Eastern wood-pewee 

This year I had two successful nestings of Eastern bluebirds in my nest boxes. I wanted to photograph one pair but they fledged earlier than I had figured and so missed out on that one.

I located one of the catbird nests by the noise the birds were making trying to drive a pair of blue jays from the nest area. I surmised they must be nesting in the nearby shrub and found the nest with three eggs. But a week later some predator found it, probably the blue jays.

The cardinal nest I found while I was staring up in the tree tops watching some cerulean warblers sing and forage in an area in Highland Recreational area. I am convinced if I spend enough time in that area eventually I will find a warbler nest. However, photographing it would be difficult since they nest minimally sixty feet off the ground. Still, I would like at least to just find one. As I was staring up for some time with my binoculars (I feel good just to see a cerulean warbler), I lowered my head to rest my neck and saw a male cardinal bringing food to its young. I have lots of cardinal nest photos so I just watched awhile.

It was good to find two wood thrush nests, one in Highland and one in Proud Lake. After not seeing any birds for a few years they seem to be coming back in my area. I photographed my first wood thrush last year (see July 2003 journal).

I found a downy woodpecker nest by hearing the baby birds screeching for food while hiking in Highland. The parent birds rush to bring food and silence the young before a predator is alerted to the area.

This year I found two Acadian flycatcher nests mostly just to see if I could. I have photographed a nesting Acadian before, but I learned to ignore the male singing because he will call anywhere and not necessarily near the nest. The female is the one to look for because she has a curt scolding note she uses when near the nest. When I hear it, I just begin searching the area and can locate their rather loosely constructed nest. I did photograph one of the nests with its eggs. I have developed a "nest rig" consisting of two flashes set up in a bracket to attach to a camera. This will allow me to get something of a nest since so many are taken by predators before I can get any photos. This set up is still in the development stage.

I always find a lot of yellow warbler nests and use them as a guide to figure when the mainstream birds are nesting. I located them in Highland.

Two blue-gray gnatcatcher nests were found, I find them by the adults calling incessantly near the nest. One was in a huge wild apple tree and the other was destroyed by cedar waxwings (see June 2004 journal).

A tufted titmouse nested in the tree cavity in my backyard that a hairy woodpecker had drilled out last year. Woodpeckers carve out new nest holes every year and so the dormant house was put to good use.

I found three hooded warbler nests in one day this year which was fortunate since two of the nests were unsuccessful. There was probably another one or two nesting hoodeds that I didn't find.

I located an Eastern wood-pewee sitting on her eggs about eighty feet off the ground in Pontiac Lake Recreational Area. As with the cardinal, I was staring up into the forest canopy looking for cerulean warblers which were singing in the area. When I spotted the wood-pewee my heart raced a bit as I thought I had just found a cerulean warbler nest, the two nests are quite similar. But it was a wood-pewee which I had found before but no photos could be taken because of the degree of difficulty in trying to reach the nest.

Of all the nests found, only one hooded warbler was photographed. Next year I hope to go up north for some nest season work and will start to research my prospective subjects till then. Today I saw two black-throated blue warblers on my hike in Highland. Last week, I found a magnolia warbler. These birds don't nest here but are merely passing through on their migration south. They would make excellent subjects to look for next year up north.

Date this page was edited: September 23, 2004.

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OCTOBER 2004

Often people attending my art shows ask me where did I photograph the puffins? These clowns of the bird world are very popular and many have looked for them in their visits to Maine. In fact, driving through Maine, the birds are very popular souvenirs as ceramic or stuffed models or post cards. Yet they are not common in Maine at all but finding them isn't too hard to do.

There is an island off the coast near Cutler, Maine that takes a two hour boat drive to reach. This island is called Machias Seal Island and its sovereignty is disputed. The Canadian government maintains a light house and a wildlife research facility and the U.S. doesn't object to this. So, although you may observe puffins on this island, you are not really in Maine. I don't believe you can actually find a puffin in Maine but the tourist shops won't let on to that as they are too busy selling their beanie-bag puffins.

The island is very small, 20 or 30 acres, and so landing a boat is very difficult if the seas are rough at all. But if you can't land, the boat goes around the island a couple of times and you can see lots of puffins flying and landing on the rocky island. I went to the island from the island of Grand Manaan in the Bay of Fundy, part of Nova Scotia. Here the boat ride was only an hour, but despite four attempts during four days of trying, I only was able to land on Machias Seal Island once. But once is enough, all the photographs you need may be taken then.

Getting off the boat on to the slippery kelp beds and rocks is difficult especially with a lot of photographic equipment. The guide warns the passengers of nearby nesting arctic terns that immediately start to dive bomb the people in an attempt to protect their nests close by. Just keep waving a hand over your head and they will leave you alone, the wildlife workers on the island advise. Sure, no problem, except that both of my hands are full of photo gear. Yet I am complemented that these birds do peck me on the head, these are fascinating creatures that migrate more miles than any other bird in the world. Here, on this island they stop to raise their young and many nests can be seen in the grasses leading up the hill to the rocky outcrops. Soon they will depart for the Antarctic and by next year when they return to this island they will have flown 20,000+ miles.

We were led to one of several plywood blinds which would hold about six people each. Once inside and the doors were closed the puffins began to return to the island. In and among the rocks were their nests and they were bringing food for their young from the sea. The birds must hide their nests from the marauding sea gulls which are everywhere. The puffins would pose on the rocks coming and going from their burrows and photographs are easy. After a set time we were led out and back to the boat to keep the disturbance to a minimum.

The Atlantic puffin is a member of the Alcid family, a group of northern hemisphere sea birds which are complimentary to the southern penguins except the alcids can fly. Also seen on the island were other alcids such as razorbills and murres. In the sea on the way to and from the island were black guillemots and many gray seals.

The Machias Seal Island trip is a memorable experience I would recommend to anyone. I would love to go again. Even if you don't get to land there is always a lot to do in Maine. Nearby is Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge and Acadia National Park. 

Date this page was edited: October 23, 2004.

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NOVEMBER 2004

Trees grow as a product of their environment. We have all seen lone oak trees in the middle of a farm field where they are perfectly symmetrical in shape because there are no other trees around to crowd them. All tree species have unique shapes when allowed to grow in perfect conditions. Indeed most species of trees can be identified by their silhouettes.

But what about a tree that was born in the middle of a grove of fully mature oak trees? The seed could have been blown there by the wind or deposited by an animal. That tree must struggle more to survive in its environment of shady and tannic soil than others born more fortunate. 

While raking leaves in my yard one fall, I was surprised to see some leaves of the bigtooth aspen in the pile. I didn't know of any of these trees in the immediate area. I find many in the woods behind the house but quite a ways back near the river. It is one of my favorite trees. I have photographed it in the winter in snow, with its spring buds, in the fall with its golden leaves, and as a frost subject. Deer and grouse feed on the buds in winter as a source of food when the deep snows keep them from finding food on the ground.

One day during the spring migration, I was following a black-throated blue warbler with my binoculars as it gleaned the tree branches for insects behind my house. As it flew through the oaks I kept up with it until it landed in tree I noticed had its spring catkins still blooming. A big tooth aspen, right there behind my house in the midst of the towering oak trees. This particular tree had made some incredible adaptations to survive out there. It had grown extremely thin and tall with its first branch at least forty feet off the ground. Its top at seventy feet consisted of only a few branches able to reach the sunlight above the oaks. Bigtooth aspen normally are shaped like an ice cream bar with the width near the bottom the same as the top. But this specimen was shaped like a flag, a clump of branches at the very top of a long thin pole. The trunk was only twelve inches in diameter compared with its oak tree neighbors with trunks of two to three feet in diameter. But there it was doing just fine at surviving. The tree quickly became one of my favorites and I could watch it from my house whenever I looked out the doorwall. It swayed wildly in the wind but every spring it grew leaves on its few branches in the clump at the top.

One year, the tree developed a kink which caused it to list to the side, probably from a severe wind. It apparently couldn't recover from this injury because this spring it didn't produce any leaves. Finally, with the high winds last week, the trunk snapped about twenty feet up and the top crashed down leaning against an oak tree. As I was raking leaves yesterday I went out and touched my old friend. It had fought a vigorous battle for years but now it was over.

Nature isn't always about the big and beautiful but also of the less fortunate. We like to support the underdogs like a tree that had everything going against it but made the best of what it had. 

     Date this page was edited: November 10, 2004.             

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DECEMBER 2004

I had major problems with my scanner and I am late with this months entree. Sorry. Please see my Art Show Schedule, the Florida shows are complete. If you are in the area for one of those shows please stop by.

This fall I was able to take a long awaited trip out west. I have always wanted to travel to Banff and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies but looking at the map I realized I would pass close to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, so I figured to do those this time and look to Banff for the future. I pulled my camping trailer and spent about three weeks in the parks. The trailer becomes a bit of a problem with long drives because you can't go as fast and must stop earlier to find your campsite as opposed to driving later and stopping at a motel. So the trip takes much longer. On the way out I did stay at motels just to drive later in the day but on the way back I camped every night sort of taking my time and getting to enjoy the drive much better.

After all the urban areas were passed and then the farm lands in Wisconsin and Minnesota, I finally got to the Missouri River in South Dakota where it is officially "out West". Lewis and Clark had camped here near Chamberlin, SD and after visiting a few exhibits and buying some books, I have become a great fan of theirs. I plan to visit more of the Lewis and Clark exhibits on my next trip out West. This is the bicentennial of their adventure, their three year odyssey went from 1803 to 1806.

After crossing the Missouri it becomes very desolate with hills and rock formations all the way to the Rockies. Traffic becomes minimal on I-90 and when you do see a car going the other way, you wave. When I got to Wyoming I decided to stop at the Devils Tower National Monument. I had been driving for 3 days and could see I wasn't going to get to Glacier for at least another day. I was a little nervous about pulling my trailer up the mountains but the roads were set up so I could pull into a slow lane as I went up the grades and there were many other campers and RVs at the Tower.

The Tower was incredible and I could see how the Native Americans consider it to be a holy place. I took some photos from different angles but it was midday and the light was bright and contrasty and the wind was constantly blowing the trees about. One thing I did get good photos of was the prairie dogs in a protected prairie dog village. I could get very close and they were used to people and so got some good photos. I may do well with them in my art shows as some people think they are cute, others despise them.

I pulled out of the area and made a long drive the rest of the way to Glacier National Park and set up camp. Finally I could disconnect the camper and scamper about in just my van.

This is a short entry as I am so late and behind. Next month I'll continue with the adventure when I get better organized. I am scanning cut up 6 X 7 transparencies as that is the only camera I take scenics with now and my scanner only scans 35mm slides. But with my many rejects, I have lots of slides to cut up. Talk to you next month.

Date this page was edited: December 28, 2004.

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