Mark Cassino Photography - Mark's Blog

I live in the city, and though I feed the birds the most frequent visitors are house sparrows, the occasional house finch or gold finch, plus a few local cardinals, jays, grackles, and starlings. A few years ago a white crowned sparrow made the scene for a while. It was a purely migratory visitor – southern Michigan lays between its summer range to the north and winter range to the south. But for a few years the white crowned appeared at the feeders, usually around Easter.

In the last few years I’ve heard the melodic song of a white throated sparrow for a few weeks each spring. Similar to the white crowned, it is a purely migratory visitor. Late this afternoon I heard the distinctive song of the white throated sparrow for the first time this season, and slipped out to try to grab a quick shot of it.

This image is the result of that effort – not bad but not very good. It’s a major crop out of the frame, and was shot hand-held using a long lens ( a sure way to get a less than tack sharp image.)

But the photo gives hope of a possibly more successful shot if the bird should decide to hang around for a while. So it’s time to dust off the big glass (it really has been too long) and get ready to try for a nice portrait of this migratory visitor!

Image details: shot with Pentax *ist-D, Tokina ATX 400mm f 5.6 @ f8, AF360FGZ flash for fill.

 I first blogged about spring wildflowers on April 7. At that time the forest floor was covered in leaves. Wild garlic had begun to appear, and the first few Hepatica were just starting to bloom.

I saw one or two bloodroot buds, just starting to open, and trout lily leaves were just coming out.  And here it is – April 20, not even two weeks later, and the face of the earth has changed. Gone are the hepatica, both blue and white. Gone too are the bloodroot, though their leaves have grown to be the size of a child’s hand. The last flowering trout lilies can be found only in low cool areas, soon to depart. Now the forest floor is all a riot of Spring Beauty, False Rue Anemone, and Trillium. Marsh marigold have emerged in the wetlands. And already the signs of the season’s end are at hand – a few faded trillium, and the emergence of Blue Eyed Mary, one of the later bloomingwoodland wildflowers.  

So it goes... M trip to the woods yesterday was again productive, although the current crop of flowers lack the diversity of the earlier species. While blue hepatica seems to manifest itself in all sorts of shades, shapes, and even numbers of petals; flowers like trillium, spring beauty, and blue eyed Mary are more alike than different. So while good shots are still possible, the degree of variation is limited. Last year, I missed most of the spring wildflower season. Dawdle a week or two, and it’s mostly gone. I’m glad that I was able to get out this year, and experience nature’s fast dance of early spring. A few more trips are in store for sure, and a quick hop an hour north, and there are places where the cycle is just starting, even as it closes out in other woods are this time. 

Technical details: all shots taken with Pentax *ist-D, SMC A* 200mm f4 macro.