Scores of hummingbirds in a fen meadow

 

A stunning western Ohio fen, as seen early this morning. I came here seeking to photograph a small suite of interesting species, but my ambitions got hijacked by scores of charismatic Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

PHOTO NOTES: I took this image and the next with my iPhone 16. This in spite of having my backpack loaded with my Canon 16-35mm f/4 wide-angle lens. Call me lazy, but I was also carrying a Gitzo tripod/Wemberley head combo on this two-mile trek, mounted to the Canon R5 and 800mm f/5.6 lens and that collective unit is a tank. Sometimes it's just easier to pull the phone out, and it performs pretty well in challenging light (I'm facing the sun).

A closer view of an especially floriferous patch of fen meadow. The entire opening is only about 1.8 acres, but the botanical diversity is incredible. There are many rare species, for Ohio, including much of the goldenrod in this image, which is Ohio Goldenrod (Solidago ohioensis). There's also plenty of Obedient-plant (Physostegia virginiana) in the picture.

Earlier in the week, I had found what I think is a Badger den in this general area, so I was keeping my eye on that area. The beautiful Grass-of-parnassus (Parnassia glauca) was also nearing peak bloom, and I had just discovered there is an oligolectic (specialist) bee that uses that: the Parnassia Bee (Andrena parnassiae). So, those two items were high on my list for today's mission.

However, as soon as I entered the fen proper via its encircling boardwalk, it quickly became apparent that the place was awash in Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris). I had certainly noticed them on my previous visit, several days earlier, but had stayed on point and focused on botanical imagery. Besides, I did not have a large lens with me, so it was easier to ignore the sprites. This time, I was armed for bear, so to speak, with the aforementioned monster lens. I also had the Canon 600 speedlite and Better Beamer flash extender, as paying great attention to the hummingbirds was high on my list today.

The female above is guarding her flower patch, which was mostly Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). If an interloper entered her turf, the chase was on. I estimated that about two dozen hummingbirds were present, and skirmishes were frequent. In fact, one of the "problems" with trying to shoot these birds in such a hummingbird-rich environment is the likelihood of your subject suddenly getting run off by another bird. That happened to me multiple times today.

There are lush stands of Obedient-plant in this meadow, and that's the plant that I really wanted to photograph a hummingbird visiting. The hummers really go for the stuff, and I saw several birds visiting flowers, but never when I was in a position to make a shot. I even staked out plants that were beautifully situated for photos, for quite a while, but of course no birds visited during those times.

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird prepares to tap nectar from a truly elegant native thistle, Swamp Thistle (Cirsium muticum). Overall, this is not a common Ohio plant, as it is not only an obligate of wetlands (we have managed to destroy over 90% of those in the Buckeye State), but it favors high-quality wetlands such as this fen. The large purple flower heads are held five or six feet in the air, and act as beacons to the nectar-hungry hummers.

As an aside, native thistles are extraordinarily attractive visually, and to pollinators. Because of their often-thorny armature, thistles apparently have been largely shunned by the nursery trade. That, and unwarranted guilt by association with nasty nonnatives such as Canada and Bull thistles. Swamp Thistle would be the one to peddle. It is very light on prickles, and in my view, the showiest of our five native species.

Unlike the preceding plants, this one is abundant and widespread: Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). It occurs statewide, in every county, and is a fixture along waterways and wet areas. Jewelweed loves springy places, and the verges of the fen meadow have robust colonies. It was this plant that the hummingbirds most coveted, and every patch was diligently guarded.

PHOTO NOTE: I made this image with my 800mm lens. I'm a big fan of using telephotos for plants, and the bigger the lens, the better. Look how it just crushed the bokeh into a beautiful creamy brown blur. I shot this photo wide open, at f/5.6. How I wish a hummingbird would have visited when I was set up like this, but alas, none did even though I stayed there for some time.

A young male (judging by that red gorget feather) guards his patch of jewelweed. This section of the boardwalk had numerous jewelweed patches, and all of them were under guard by different hummingbirds. Kind of like gang members protecting their turf.

Another young male (I think) approaches some jewelweed flowers. Sometimes I could see four or five birds hitting jewelweed from one spot.

This plant is sold by some native plant nurseries, and if you get it going in the yard, I guarantee that any hummingbird in the neighborhood will be over for a visit. It is an annual, but self-seeds prolifically (the seeds taste like walnuts) and as long as it doesn't get crowded out, it should perpetuate itself. There is another native Impatiens, the Pale Jewelweed (I. pallida) with light yellow flowers. Hummingbirds also visit that, but it doesn't seem to be quite the hit that Spotted Jewelweed is.

A visit to a fen

Ohio Goldenrod, Solidago ohioensis, brightens a largely senescent prairie fen on an early October day. The goldenrod is well named. It was discovered and described to science from a prairie near Dayton in the 1830's.

The photo above is perfectly level, I can assure you. Pressurized artesian ground water provides hydrology for this place, and the main meadow is somewhat dome-shaped, thus the sloping meadow.

PHOTO TIP: Many cameras have a built-in level, and this tool is useful in framing landscape compositions shot from a tripod. That's how I know the above image is level. I use mine all the time. With Canon cameras, just tap your "info" button until the level appears on the camera's back screen (usually two taps). A horizontal line will appear across the screen. When it's red, the image is not level. Just adjust the camera until the line turns green, and you're level.

A photographer friend and I visited this fen in northern Ross County, Ohio, last Sunday. On this day, rain strongly threatened, and cut the trip short. It's a bit of a bushwhack to get back in there, and I didn't want to get caught in a deluge with my equipment. Nevertheless, there was still time for an hour or two of fen exploration, and even on this late date, there was much to see.

The main quarry was botanical in nature; the gorgeous (Small) Fringed Gentian, Gentianopsis virgata. I add the "small" parenthetically as there is another species, G. crinita, which is very similar and apparently is "greater" in some way.

This fen, although only encompassing an acre or two of open meadow, is loaded with gentians. Hundreds of plants to be sure. The thing about fringed gentians is that the flowers are photosensitive, so if you visit them on a heavily overcast day as we did, the flowers will not be fully expanded. When they are, the petals expand and splay their tattered, fringed lobes outward. A quite stunning effect, but even when the flowers remain tightly enrolled on a cloudy day, they still look good. See above.

PHOTO TIP II: Flowers can be tough to photograph well, for a number of reasons. A common difficulty is that they're often amongst lots of botanical clutter - grasses, sedges, other plants. That's certainly the case with these gentians. I carry about a dozen pieces of thick card stock (about 8.5 x 11) in my backpack, and each is a different color. By holding one behind my subject, I can dramatically alter the background (bokeh) and temporarily hide the clutter from view. In this case, a slightly off-white color created, to me, a very pleasing backdrop, giving the image the look of a watercolor painting.

Perhaps best of all was this beautiful little Eastern Gartersnake, encountered while basking in the boughs of a spicebush. It was a bit cool, and the snake was not particularly active. Its slothfulness allowed me to sidle in front of it, then drop to the ground to get on its level. The animal met my gaze head on, occasionally flicking its tongue. I was using gentle fill flash from a Canon Speedlite, and the angle I was at did not illuminate the snake's left side. But I rather like the effect. F/16 provided enough depth of field to show the snake's sinuous body extending back into the shrub. After a handful of shots by its admirers, the serpent darted away.