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ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE
PHOTOGRAPHY SUMMER 2009
So my hike in Highland one day last summer
was very surprising to hear this bird in June indicating it was probably nesting
here. I was hearing the bird where one of the creeks deltas out into a beautiful
swamp and this is a quality area. You know this by the maidenhair ferns around. I have found pileated woodpeckers and barred owls nesting
here. In
the spring I photograph the bloodroot and marsh marigold here. I spent a few
days looking for its nest but knew it would be a very difficult task. But I did
notice the wren seemed to hang with me as I quietly moved about as I would see it
suddenly pop up on a log or around a tree trunk. It seemed to respond positively
to squeaky noises I would make and I got to thinking I might be able to get some
photos.
I returned to the area one morning with my camera gear and sure enough, the winter wren appeared. Photos were difficult since by the time I would swing my camera and heavy lens on the tripod to get ready for a shot, he would disappear and start singing somewhere else. But with perseverance, and many sessions over a few weeks, I was able to get some photographs. All the time I was jumping around trying to corner the bird in my viewfinder, it would forage, sing and disappear giving me a great challenge but an enjoyable time. Once I watched it on the ground next to a log suddenly snatch a large moth out of its hiding place. It then beat the insect to death on the log and eat up all the pieces. The whole scene happened five feet away, too close to focus the camera. The bird always holds its tiny tail over its back as most wrens do, but this species keeps its tail like that most of the time.
This summer I also had a Carolina wren in my yard. I figured it must have nested by a neighbor's garage. These wrens are much more people wrens. I had one nest in my backyard successfully and then nest a second time that summer in the front. I got lots of great photos (See my journal entree for August 2003 for that adventure). This year the bird brought its young to my spruce tree where I could watch it feed them insects it scoured in the yard. The Carolina wren is a southern species of wren which is rare this far north, while the winter wren is a northern species which is rare this far south. To have both birds in my area of Michigan in one summer was a great privilege. I worked with the winter wren all summer when I got the chance. It was there well into August. I hope that he returns next year to Highland. Return to PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNAL main page. Date this page was edited: September 12, 2009. |
I am always interested in seeing and
photographing new bird species especially when near my home. This summer I was
surprised to hear a winter wren singing in Highland Recreational Area on one of
my hikes through the natural area region. The song is unmistakable, in fact it may
be the most incredible of all bird songs. Winter wrens are tiny birds one of the
smallest species. They rarely show themselves and when you do spot one, they
usually run along the ground like a mouse. I have seen them in the winter along
the quiet brooks that feed into Haven Hill Lake but usually only for a second or
two until they disappear from sight. They are very silent in the winter. In the
spring and fall I have seen them in Highland as well. Here they are more
energetic and may even sing part of their song. The bird is rather plain and
cryptically colored but its lack of color is more then made up by its incredible
song.
In the Upper Peninsula, I have found them in
the summer on their breeding grounds. Here one can really appreciate their
singing as they are very vocal around their nesting territory. I find these
wrens in conifer forests with a lot of underbrush growing and the loud song
breaking the stillness of woods is unforgettable. The song is a rapid succession
of high tinkling warbles and trills that lasts for about eight seconds with the
end rising higher and higher until it is no longer audible. Although I have
never found a nest of this bird to get close for photographs, it is always
thrilling when I get to hear one so close. This is a bird of the northern woods
and my sightings in Highland have always been migrating birds or winter
residents. 
During
my hikes out to photograph the winter wren I discovered more nests. I found a
rose-breasted grosbeak which only lasted a day or two before a predator got the
eggs. Also, two catbird nests were near my path, one successful while one was
predated. The big find was three wood thrush nests. This bird was once fairly
common in Highland but had disappeared in the last ten years to where I would
see or hear one only rarely. Then, in the last few years I began seeing more
until I finally was able to photograph a nest (See my journal for July 2003).
This year finding three separate nests of the wood thrush, all within a mile or
so was a great find. All of the nests were successful. Also, I stopped one time
on the path when I heard a cuckoo give its cuk cuk call and I looked up
to see a bird in a shrub near me. When I picked up the bird in my telephoto, I
was surprised to see it was a yellow-billed cuckoo. The black-billed cuckoo is
far more common and I have found many nests of this species (see November 2003
journal for example). I have only seen a yellow-billed one other time in my life
and it was in Highland in the parking lot at Goose meadow where I start my hikes
sometimes. But this bird was definitely hinting of a nest nearby, and after a
short search I found not a nest but a fledged bird that must have just left the
nest. That was what the parent was warning me about. I took some photos and left
them alone.
