A sparrow safari to Dutch Fork Wetlands, Dawes Arboretum

A wonderful mixed-emergent marsh restoration, known as the Dutch Fork Wetlands. It's part of Dawes Arboretum, a sprawling 2,000-acre palette of wildly diverse flora. Part of the arboretum is formal plantings comprised of numerous ornamental plants, many from distant lands. But a bigger part of the property is native plants in more or less natural landscapes, and arboretum staff work hard to properly manage the indigenous assets.

I was over at Dawes about a week ago for a meeting, and arrived early - the crack of dawn to be precise. Mid-October is peak for migrant sparrows, and I figured the Dutch Fork Wetlands and its associated meadows would produce lots of the little brown jobs. I was not disappointed.

A juvenile white-crowned sparrow surveys his temporary domain from a sapling. I saw many of these big sparrows, and several were singing their haunting minor-keyed whistles. White-crowns are strictly migrants here. They breed in the FAR north; the sub-tundra taiga and on north into the true tundra, and in the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains in the west.

Many field sparrows were present. This species is quite the contrast to the previous one in terms of bulk. A good measure of "bulkiness" in a bird is weight. The white-crowned sparrow weighs about 30 grams. A well-fed field sparrow, about 13 grams. Only the chipping and clay-colored sparrows are ever so slightly smaller.

This field sparrow is perched on a cup-plant, Silphium perfoliatum. Most of the sparrows present this day were smitten with this robust native member of the sunflower family. I quickly learned to spot the cup-plant colonies from afar, creep up, and be rewarded with gangs of sparrows stripping the fruit.

As is to be expected nearly anywhere in Ohio, song sparrows were frequent. Given the numbers that I saw, I suspect local breeders were augmented by migrants.

Beginning birders often lament the alleged difficulty of sparrow identification. But there aren't that many - 15 commonly occurring Ohio species - and most are quite distinctive. As with learning to identify any group of organisms, become very familiar with the common species such as this song sparrow, then the others will start to stand out as different.

We have three North American species of sparrows in the genus Melospiza, and I saw them all this day. The aforementioned song sparrow is one, and so is this swamp sparrow, distinctive in its chestnut hues. It's well-named - swamp sparrows are very much birds of wetland habitats. This one perches on a senescent snarl of soft-stemmed bulrush, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani. I probably saw or heard several dozen in the Dutch Fork Wetlands. Prior to the arboretum's wetland restoration work, there were probably none.

This normally shy skulker was the best of the Melospiza sparrows, if one feels obligated to rank such things. It is a Lincoln's sparrow, named for 21 year old Thomas Lincoln, who accompanied John James Audubon on his 1833 expedition to Labrador. Young Lincoln bagged the first specimen of this sparrow, and Audubon named it for him.

I see plenty of breeding Lincoln's sparrows every year on their breeding grounds in northern Michigan and usually elsewhere in the North Country. There, they come out of their shell and often sing their beautiful melodies from open perches. I have never heard one sing down here in migration, and they typically sneak about furtively in dense tangles of vegetation near the ground.

Thus, I was pleased to hear the call notes of several Lincoln's sparrows soon after arriving, and found about ten of them in all. This one - and several of the others - were feasting on cup-plant seeds.

In total, I located nine species of sparrows on this day (others included chipping sparrow, eastern towhee, Savannah sparrow, and white-throated sparrow). Missed were my hoped for primary targets, the Le Conte's and Nelson's sparrows. Dutch Fork Wetlands in fall should be a great place to turn up one or both of these rarish wetland species.

Of course, not all was sparrows on this foray, and this nosy marsh wren amused me for several minutes. I was standing quietly and somewhat concealed, when the wren burst from a snarl of cattails and curiously investigated me from all angles. Marsh wrens are quite photogenic, if you are lucky enough to have clear shots at them.

Finally, it was time to head for my meeting, but this birdiferous sapling held me up briefly. For some reason, about every songbird in the Indian grass meadow wanted to use it as a lookout. In its branches, and I'm sure I'm forgetting one or a few species, were eastern bluebird, American goldfinch, house finch, palm warbler, and song, swamp, Savannah, Lincoln’s, and white-crowned sparrows, most of them simultaneously (sorry for the poor iPhone photo - I was over-lensed in terms of capturing the entire tree with a real camera).

Macrophotography at Dawes Arboretum

Looking stunning against the pure blue sky of a fall Ohio day is this purple swamp aster, Symphyotrichum puniceum. There are over 35 native aster species in the state, and they all make for great photo subjects.

I led a macrophotography workshop at Dawes Arboretum last Saturday, September 14. The 15 spots filled quickly, and we had a great time exploring the grounds of this state treasure. Following a presentation about various macrophotography techniques in Dawes' "Red Barn", all we had to do was step outside the building to immerse ourselves in a macro wonderland. All of the subjects shared here were taken within sight of the barn.

If you've not been to Dawes Arboretum, I'd recommend a visit. The grounds encompass about 2,000 acres, and about half of the property contains more formal plantings and gardens, while the remainder is natural landscapes. The place is a gold mine for photographers, and I believe we will repeat this workshop next fall.

A bit of nocturnal scouting the night before yielded some excellent larvae, such as this Pandorus sphinx moth caterpillar, Eumorpha pandorus. As is often the case, the boldly spotted cat was found on straggly Virginia creeper plants at the base of a tree. I temporarily detained this cat and a Luna moth caterpillar, and shared the tubular livestock with everyone on Saturday. Many images were made, and the cats were later released where they were found.

OMG! This is a Holy Grail of spiders and only the second one that I've seen. It is a toad-like bolas spider, Mastophora phrynosoma, and we found this one low in the boughs of a sugar maple. There was an enormous hatch of bronzed cutworm moths, and they were resting on tree foliage everywhere. I think that's what the victim here is. Bolas spiders are incredible, producing pseudo-pheromones to lure male moths into their sphere. Gullible moths are then snared and reeled in with the equivalent of an arachnid fishing line. You can see more photos and read about these amazing spiders RIGHT HERE. Unfortunately, I could not capture this one for the group to see/photograph the following day. To do so would have messed up her operation, and besides to really see the magic of a bolas spider, one must see them on their terms after nightfall, when they are hunting.

Everyone could and did see and image this spider, one of many of its kind that we saw. It's a banded garden spider, Argiope trifasciata,  and this was a particularly compelling composition for us. The huge female lays in wait in her web, while two males attend her, at a safe distance. The disparity in size between the sexes is stunning. The males' comparative puniness makes mating a risky business. If he makes a misstep, she's liable to seize, kill, and eat him. I don't know what happened to the male at right center. He's missing four legs, but is still hanging in there.

Everyone was pleased to see and photograph this golden tortoise beetle, Charidotella sexpunctata. A specialist of plants in the morning-glory family, the "gold bug" is an amazing creature. When stimulated, it can change color by forcing liquid through tiny grooves in its opaque shell. Beetles will shift to reddish or orange hues, often while mating. As a point of trivia, the longest recorded copulation in this species was 583 minutes.

A showy little short-winged meadow katydid, Conocephalus brevipennis, patrols the flora like a six-legged wandering minstrel. This is a male, and he sings with his wings, rubbing them together to create a song that attracts females. Meadow katydids are near their peak right now, and their sputtering trills are a big part of the insect soundscape.

I have long wanted this shot, and got it during the workshop. A spring peeper, Pseudacris crucifer, basks in a pool created by the fused leaves of cup plant, Silphium perfoliatum. The basket-like basal portions of the plant's lower leaves hold water, and I figured someday I'll find a frog in one of these. Well, that didn't happen at the workshop, so we placed this peeper - which Becky Donaldson found nearby - into the cup plant. The frog seemed happy in his moist environment on this hot day, and so were my fellow photographers. It was a great way to conclude the workshop.

My thanks to Greg Payton of Dawes Arboretum for conceiving this workshop, and inviting me to participate. Also to Becky Donaldson, the naturalist at Mentor Marsh (see this RECENT ARTICLE) who was hugely helpful in finding subjects and sharing her vast knowledge of critters great and small.

Macrophotography Workshop! Dawes Arboretum, September 14

A blue dasher dragonfly in its entirety may not really qualify as "macro" material, but its eyes do.

I'm giving a workshop focusing on macrophotography on Saturday, September 14, at the fabulous Dawes Arboretum near Newark. It'll start at 9 am at the Red Barn with a PowerPoint program on the nuances of imaging small things. The lushly illustrated talk will discuss equipment such as lenses, extension tubes and flash, camera settings, composition, etc. Also plenty of tips for finding COOL SUBJECTS.

The Red Barn is conveniently located in the midst of a diversity of wonderful habitat, so all we need do is walk outside the doors to quickly locate our own COOL SUBJECTS. The sprawling grounds of the Dawes Arboretum are always a treat to explore, and we'll have a blast doing just that. We'll end the day around 3 pm.

Cost is a mere $30.00. I hope you can make it. Registration is required, and to do so click RIGHT HERE.

A tiny zabulon skipper glares at the cameraman from atop the bud of a swamp thistle.

Native plants, animals thrive at Dawes Arboretum

An ancient tractor overlooks a wintry landscape at Dawes Arboretum/Jim McCormac

Columbus Dispatch

December 30, 2018

NATURE

Jim McCormac

Native plants, animals thrive at Dawes Arboretum

The night of April 18, 1775, was pivotal to America’s independence. That evening, three horsemen rode a breakneck mission to alert colonial minutemen of the approach of British troops. William Dawes was one of these riders, along with Samuel Prescott. Their roles were overshadowed historically by the third rider, Paul Revere.

Forewarned, Americans were ready, and open battle erupted the following day. The brutal American Revolutionary War eventually claimed the lives of perhaps 70,000 patriots but ultimately won America its emancipation from Great Britain.

One of Dawes’ great grandsons was Rufus Dawes, who became a Civil War hero and Ohio Congressman. Noble blood spawns great men, and one of Rufus’ sons was Beman Gates Dawes, born in 1870 in Marietta.

Beman went on to become a leading industrialist and two-term Ohio congressman. Eventually putting down roots in Central Ohio, in 1917 Dawes and his wife Bertie purchased a 140-acre farm just south of Newark which they branded “Daweswood.”

The farm served the Dawes’ interest in horticulture, and they began acquiring and growing plants from far and wide. In 1929 they created a foundation to oversee the farm’s transformation into an official arboretum, and Dawes Arboretum was born.

Today, the arboretum has mushroomed to nearly 2,000 acres, and hosts 270,000 visitors annually. They come to see a botanical wonderland filled with some 17,000 specimen plants.

While ornamental gardens and stunning horticultural specimens are part of Dawes’ allure, the conservation of native flora is a major part of the mission. Much of the property is wild woodlands, meadows and wetlands populated with indigenous plants.

The emphasis on conservation of native landscapes has created a de facto wildlife refuge. Well over 500 species of native plants enrich the grounds – nearly one-third of the state’s total flora. Native plants are the building blocks that grow animals, and to date, 203 bird species have been documented – nearly half of all species ever seen in Ohio.

Thirty-seven mammals have been recorded, 15 reptile species and 23 amphibians, 44 kinds of dragonflies, and staggering numbers of butterflies and moths.

I made a visit to Dawes Arboretum last week, and their world class holly garden was my destination. At this season, the hollies are bedecked with showy scarlet drupes, which are irresistible to fruit-eating birds. The eastern bluebird in the accompanying photo and scores of his comrades were plundering these hollies.

Birders have long been drawn to Dawes. Some major rarities have surfaced here, including a black-throated gray warbler found by Scott Albaugh on April 17, 2002. It was one of few Ohio records. More recently, a Harris’s sparrow was found. This species has the distinction of being one of three species that breed only in Canada, and it’s an unusual stray this far to the east.

More important than avian vagrants are local nesters, and Dawes supports dozens of breeding birds. Crow-sized pileated woodpeckers are common, as are barred owls, red-tailed hawks, and numerous songbirds. The restored Dutch Fork wetlands have hosted nesting sora and Virginia rails. Birds are always a conspicuous part of the Dawes landscape.

Dawes Arboretum is one of the most important biological hotspots in Central Ohio, and it’s a beautiful place that’s steeped in history. For more information, visit: https://dawesarb.org/

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.

Northern cardinal, eating holly berries

A bright male northern cardinal, its plumage rivaling that of the colorful winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) drupes that it sits among. As stated in the previous post, the holly garden at Dawes Arboretum can be a fantastic place to drum up showy bird images.

Eastern bluebird, eating holly berries

A male eastern bluebird plunders the fruit of an American holly, Ilex opaca, in the ornamental holly garden at Dawes Arboretum. The numerous hollies are richly fruited, and frugivorous (fruit-eating)birds flock to them in winter. This is a wonderful place to try for showy bird images.

The light was not pleasing on this day - leaden skies and low light - forcing me to shoot wide open and with a slower shutter speed that I would have preferred. Thus there were some misses, but this one was a keeper. Canon 5D IV and Canon 500mm f/4 II with 1.4x III teleconverter (=700mm), at f/5.6, ISO 500, 1/500, +0.3 exposure compensation. Single focus point, striking on bird's head, and as always with bird photography, back-button focus.

If you would like an opportunity-rich, easy and fun immersion into bird photography, consider joining Debbie DiCarlo and I on THIS PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP in sunny warm Florida, February 18-23, 2019.