Spring in Southern Missouri

 In 2015, in an attempt to extend my show season (which in Michigan is really only May through September for fine art) I did a whole bunch of shows out of state. Florida is the go-to place in the winter, and the state is crammed full of shows from early November into April. But starting in March, shows start to pop up in other southern states as spring makes it's slow creep northward. I decided to try some shows in spring in the south, to see if they were lucrative enough to make the hassle of driving that far and being gone that long worth it.

I piggybacked two shows, one in St. Louis, and the other in Stillwater, Oklahoma, so that I wasn't driving all that way for one show. This of course gave me the opportunity to explore the area in between shows. I will reserve judgement on the shows--the first, at Queeny Park in St. Louis, Missouri, was indoor, and the day turned out to be BEAUTIFUL--warm and sunny, a bad combination in spring if you're wanting folks to spend a day indoors. The second show, in Stillwater, had it's own issues, having been booted from its usual location on the main drag to a street a few blocks over, which meant a lot of people couldn't find it. I ended up cover costs, which of course is not a way to make a living, so I am not going back this year.

On the plus-side, it gave me an opportunity to explore regions that I'd never been to before. We stayed in St. Louis long enough to do the show, then drove south to the northern edge of the Ozark Mountains and camped for a few days on the Meramec River at Meramec State Park. It was spring in the hills, as much as a month ahead of our season in Michigan. The trees were budding, spring ephemerals were blooming, and we reveled in the warmth.

The park lies primarily on the west side of the river, encompassing 6,896 acres of high-quality riparian habitat. To get to the campground, which is in the floodplain area along the river, you take a long and winding road that plunges towards the river--or at least that's how it feels when you're pulling a camper with a van loaded down with your life's work. I had made reservations but it turned out to be completely unnecessary, as there was not another soul on our loop.

Meramec State Park campground. There is a small creek just to the right of this photo, and we were concerned that heavy rain in the hills to the west could swell the creek and cut off our exit. It didn't happen, but we were ready in case we had to evacuate quickly.

There's about 15 miles of established trails in the park, including the Wilderness Trail, which has a limited number of back-country campsites. We were not equipped for primitive camping so we stuck with the River and Bluff View trails which followed the river. We hiked as far as the Visitor Center, which was probably about three miles. We had hoped they'd have snacks there but they did not. The woman at the counter was gracious enough to sell us a couple cans of pop from the employee stash in the back. We had packed some granola bars, apples, and water, but it wasn't enough and we were pretty hungry. While three miles does not seem all that far, it takes us a long time to get anywhere due to the fact that I have to stop and take pictures of everything. And then of course we had to hike back. But it was well worth it. The scenery was beautiful, and the park was packed with birds.

This map is turned 90°--north is to the right.

The Meramec River, and all of the Ozarks, are the result of erosion rather than tectonic lifting. This was, once upon a time, a flat plain. But rainwater runoff eventually wore the plain down into gullies and rivers, creating the topography we see today. One sign we saw mentioned that if you stand atop one of the hills and look across the landscape, you would notice that all the hills are the same height--indicating the elevation of the ancient plain.

Meramec River looking north.

The river was edged with dogwood, sycamore and pines. Spring rains clouded the river with silt.

Meramec River looking south.

We picked up the River Trail from our campsite, walking through the group campground to the trailhead. Some of the trail was flat but much of it was up and down and a bit rugged in places. We wished we had packed hiking poles.

Bluff View Trail

Beautiful sycamores leaned over the river, leaves just beginning to emerge.

Lisa and a sycamore.

I loved the ruggedness of this trail, with its exposed roots and rocks, juxtaposed with the tender wildflowers blooming in the woods.

This dogwood on the far bank contrasted nicely with the dark rock of the bluff behind it.

And of course, as it was April in the South, there were birds. Right off the bat on our first morning at the park, directly across from our campsite along the river, I saw my first Prothonotary Warbler. Oh what excitement ensued!

We saw lots of birds along the trail, including White-eyed Vireo, White-throated Sparrows, and this poser, a Brown Thrasher.

We spotted this Turkey Vulture along the trail perched in a tree. I think this is a bird that is under-appreciated, due in large part to its rather unattractive visage. But these birds are among the most graceful fliers, and I was happy to get good looks at one standing still.

 Birds weren't the only critters about. Turtles lined logs all along the river. I am not 100% certain but I think these are two different species--a common map turtle on the left, and a Western painted turtle on the right.

More explorations to come!

Sandhill Cranes at Kensington Metropark

Where I live in Pinckney, Michigan, I am blessed to be within a half hour's drive of tens of thousands of acres of public land. Pinckney, Waterloo, Brighton and Island Lake State Recreation areas encompass more than 41,000 acres, while the Huron/Clinton Metroparks in our area add another 7,200 acres, for over 48,000 acres of space to explore. Oh, and let's not forget the 20 mile long Lakelands Trail State Park, a mostly paved rail trail that runs between Stockbridge and Hamburg. There is no excuse for us to not be getting out on a nearly daily basis, and there are many opportunities for wildlife viewing within an easy commute.

Last May photos started showing up on my Facebook newsfeed of a pair of Sandhill Cranes and their two colts. They were nesting at Kensington Metropark, where several pairs of cranes have been nesting for years now. These birds are quite habituated, and when walking the trails at the nature center you will often encounter them on the path, and can comfortably get within feet of them. We found out one nest was quite near the trail at Wildwing Pond, and Lisa insisted one dreary day that we go and see them so I could do a new piece of artwork featuring cranes.

We arrived to find the pair in a stare down with what we guessed was probably a snapping turtle. The pond is known for its huge snappers, and it's a miracle anything living on or near the water survives to adulthood. Dad was making himself big while mom peered into the water. The little ones watched from the relative safety of the center of the nest, which was perhaps three feet in diameter.

Dad ventured into the water while mom took a few steps back...

..and checked on the kids.

She eventually laid down and the colts climbed up under her wings to stay warm.

She curled up with them but kept a watchful eye.

We eventually moved where we could get a closer view. There were a number of photographers there already but the cranes did not seem to care in the least. But every time there was a new threat from the water, mom would stand up and out would drop both colts, bouncing to the ground. We worried about them and their wet bellies on this chilly day.

Both mom and dad started up a ruckus, sounding the alarm. I looked around to see what had gotten their knickers in a twist.

Ah, that would do it. Mute Swans are notoriously aggressive, and the cranes were not having any of this interloper in their territory. The swan eventually swam back over to its side of the pond.

The pickings were slim on the crane's little nest, and while mom looked for food to feed her colts, it seemed none was to be found.

They settled back down again after the swan passed and all was quiet for about two minutes. While they rested they both kept an open eye on the nest.

Could you get any cuter?

Then dad decided it was dinner time, stretched his huge wings...

...and headed for shore.

Mom poked around again for something for the kids but came up empty. She eventually left the nest too.

The colts stood at the edge of the nest for a couple minutes before the larger of the two stepped into the water to follow its parents. We all held our breath...

...but the colt made it safely to shore. The other followed a minute later. But now they were both really wet and we could see them shivering.

But at least there was sustenance to be found!

New Artwork: Sea Otters

We are in the midst of a kitchen renovation that has taken an awful lot of my attention and not left much for blogging. In the meantime this is a nice, quick post featuring my latest piece.

When I was in Alaska for the birding tour in June 2014 one of the highlights was the afternoon we spent on Kachemak Bay. We were treated to some wonderfully up close views of sea otters, which I was so geeked about, and knew I'd be doing a piece. This pair, showing a mom and youngin', floated within 20-30 feet of our boat. Mom was busy grooming junior. It is vitally important for these animals' coats to be immaculate--dirty fur can result in hypothermia. It was a joy to watch and photograph these two in calm waters on a bright, sunny day, and working on this piece took me right back there.

"Bath Time", Colored pencil and ink, 18 x 12, framed to 22 x 16, $1,300.00

Reproductions will be available later in the year on my website.

Birds of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

 Not only does the Corkscrew Swamp contain the largest remnant of old-growth bald cypress in the world, it also hosts a lot of birds. Over 200 species have been sighted there, and while that's not as many as you might find on a wildlife refuge in a migration flyway, say, in rural eastern Oregon, it's still a respectable number. What was great about Corkscrew was how dang close those birds were. The boardwalk takes you deep into the swamp and there are literally birds everywhere, sometimes just a few feet from the walkway.

Before heading out onto the trail, we stopped at the visitor's center and checked the board for recent sightings. While I am happy to just go for a walk and take pictures, there's always that part of me that wants to log a new bird. I don't recall now all of the species on the list (I wish I'd taken a picture of the board) but one that stuck out was a Blue-headed Vireo. I'd never even heard of this bird (although it does migrate through Michigan) so we made that our target bird. Wouldn't you know, it would be one of the first birds we'd see, right in the area where the list said we'd find it. I wish they were all that easy!

Blue-headed Vireo in some deep shade. Pretty little bird with a touch of yellow and bold white eye ring.

Lots of little birds flitted about the swamp, including this female Palm Warbler. I wish I'd gotten better shots, but she was clinging to this branch above the water and nabbing insects from the surface. I love watching their behavior as much as I enjoy their sheer beauty.

Female Palm Warbler on the hunt.

The little birds are very difficult to photograph because they move so dang fast, and, in a situation like this, they are usually in the shade, which means slow shutter speeds and, consequently, blurry photos. I was really happy, then, to get a few decent shots of a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher more or less in focus, from tip to tip, with a bonus of a tasty morsel in its beak. I need to practice shooting with a fill flash to help stop movement and bring these guys out of the darkness.

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher with a spider--yum!

I think one of the things I love so much about photographing birds is it brings me closer to them. Not only do I get to study them in the field, through the lens, but I get to study them further at home, months or even years later. And there's always the challenge of getting a better image of a bird I've already seen. It goes like this:

1) Get an image, any image, of a bird seen for the first time
2) Try to get better images of a bird already photographed
3) Finally capture that "OMG I can't expect to do better than that" image that all photographers dream of.

I have very few number threes, which is what keeps me going back out into the field, keeps me shooting. This image is not a level three, but is certainly a number two--I'd only gotten fairly poor images of Great-crested Flycatchers until I came across this gorgeous bird. While its crest is not raised you do get a good look at those rusty primaries.

Good looks were had of a Great-crested Flycatcher.

But the birds who stole the show in the swamp were the wading birds. Holy moly, they were all over, and close. Little Blue Herons were plentiful, and we watched as this one nabbed a tasty treat then paused to scratch an itch.

Little Blue Heron.

White Ibis were everywhere, probably the most plentiful bird in the sanctuary. I was able to get good shots from a variety of angles. I like this one showing its narrow bill and blue eyes.

White Ibis in the soft afternoon sun.

This is not the greatest quality image as this bird was in some deep shade but as you can see, he found himself quite a meal in a large black crayfish. They probe the muddy bottom with that long narrow bill until they bump up against something, then bring it up and inspect it. He swallowed this crustacean whole.

Ibis and crayfish. The water behind the bird is really pretty, I just noticed.

There were a lot of immature Black-crowned Nightherons too, and we watched this youngster stalking prey. He eventually lunged but came up empty.

Imm. Black-crowned Nightheron hunting.

I waffled back and forth about whether this is an Anhinga or Double-crested Cormorant but I have finally settled on Anhinga--the red eye is what finally settled it. Cormorants have green eyes. In any case, it had speared this fish, and we watched as it worked it off it's bill and swallowed it. This is one of the only shots not obstructed by a branch, which is also another challenge when shooting in the woods.

Anhinga and an unfortunate fish.

Did I mention that the birds where really close? This is an uncropped image of a Great Egret who was just below the boardwalk, stalking prey.

Almost too close to see!

The sanctuary boardwalk closed at sunset and we were hungry, so we hustled through the last half mile or so and headed back to the van for a picnic lunch, then went back out to the boardwalk to cover that last bit more leisurely. Much to my delight, right past the visitor's center at the intersection of the loop, was a male Pileated Woodpecker, going to town on a pine tree. Oh happy day! Getting pileated shots is not easy--in most places they are pretty shy birds. But this one, well, he didn't care at all about the people milling about underneath as he searched for insects. I did a piece based on this bird as soon as I had a chance--maybe the fastest I've turned a photo around to art. It sold at the first show it was displayed. Guess I should do some more!

The magnificent Pileated Woodpecker.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida

So now that we have Alaska out of the way, I can get on with writing about the bazillion other places I've been in the past few years. Thanks to a bunch of out-of-state art shows I did in 2014, I visited a number of new places. While I've been to south Florida before, I'd never been to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Blair Audubon Center near Bonita Springs, Florida.

I had booked a campsite at a place called Gulf Coast Camping RV Resort in Bonita Springs. My show was on Sanibel Island, home to "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which I thought would be a good place for a wildlife artist (it wasn't, at least not for my style of work). Bonita Springs was the closest place I could find with an available site. When we arrived we discovered that this is a 55 and over community--oops! While there were some spaces available for the mobile retiree, most of the lots were filled with more permanent travel trailers--ones that had been skirted and sided and made to look like little houses. No one, as far as I know, objected to us camping there, and our neighbors were quite friendly.

It was in the office of the campground that I saw a brochure for Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. I had never heard of it, but since I was looking for something to do during our few days off after the show, I decided we should check it out. I was not disappointed!

At 13,000 acres, Corkscrew encompasses the largest intact stand of old-growth bald cypress trees in the world. The sanctuary includes a number of other types of habitat, making it a great place to see a wide variety of birds and mammals. No food is allowed on the 2.25 mile long boardwalk, so be sure to eat at the visitor's center, where there is a really good lunch counter as well as well-appointed gift shop.

Map of Corkscrew Swamp showing different types of habitat in the sanctuary.

The trail lead us through the pine flatwoods and along the wet prairie, where grasses and ferns mixed with scraggly trees.

Once in the cypress grove, we were surrounded by towering trees that shade a bonanza of ponds and swamps teeming with birds. Many of the largest trees are named, but I found photographing them to be useless as I just can't convey the enormity of these giants, some of which are over 500 years old.

Boardwalk through Corkscrew.

Florida strangler figs, Ficus aurea, are prevalent. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about them:

"Ficus aurea is a strangler fig. In figs of this group, seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree with the seedling living as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. After that, it enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a free-standing tree in its own right. Individuals may reach 30 m (100 ft) in height. Like all figs, it has an obligate mutualism with fig wasps: figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers. The tree provides habitat, food and shelter for a host of tropical lifeforms including epiphytes in cloud forests and birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. F. aurea is used intraditional medicine, for live fencing, as an ornamental and as a bonsai."

Florida strangler fig on bald cypress.

The low sun angle of mid-February cast long shadows through the afternoon swamp.

We didn't see any mammals, but there are several dozen in the sanctuary, including the critically endangered Florida panther. We did see several alligators, but not until later in the day when it had warmed up a bit.

Young gator warming up on a downed cypress, covered with water lettuce.

Several plants were in bloom, including this swamp lily, crinum americanum.

Swamp lily in the shade.

But perhaps the most spectacular find, plant-wise, was this cardinal air plant, Tillandsia fasciculata, a bromeliad, that was blooming right next to the trail. An epiphyte, these are plants that do not grow in soil, but rather attach themselves to trees and collect nutrients through their leaves. It's one of those plants that is so alien to someone who grew up in the north, and I spent quite a while studying and photographing it.

Cardinal air plant, or Tillandsia fasciculata

These amazing plants do not harm the tree, and actually serve to help other critters as the plants become small reservoirs up in the trees. Insects are drawn to them, which in turn benefits frogs and birds. I was smitten with the placement of the pistol and stamen on these plants--that tiny splash of purple that you could easily miss if you only gave this plant a passing look.

Next: the birds of Corkscrew Swamp