Field Notes Update

Lots of Lovely Lady’s Slippers /  by Todd Henson

A pink lady’s slipper, also sometimes called a moccasin flower

One of the joys of photographing nature is stumbling upon species in the wild for perhaps the first time. And when it comes to flowers that can be all the more special as some are only there for a very short period of time once a year. This year I was fortunate to be hiking with my father who has a keen eye and noticed several pink lady’s slippers right beside the trail hiding along the forest floor. And as is often the case, once we’d noticed one we began finding more. They were very difficult to photograph as most were in challenging locations and often mixed in with other more distracting plants or forest floor debris. But I had such a great time attempting to create some nice photographs with what nature presented us.

Lady’s slipper quartet

Lone lady’s slipper

There are several variety of lady’s slippers, also sometimes called moccasin flowers, one of the more common being pink lady’s slippers. All of the photos in this post are of pink lady’s slippers. They are a fairly large flower compared to most wildflowers in the area. And as you may tell from the look of them, they are of the orchid family. From what I’ve read it appears they flower between May and July, and all of these were found within the first two weeks of May (2021).

Pink lady’s slipper profile

Profile of a pink lady’s slipper

Fascinatingly, it can take years for a plant to mature from a seed. And, I suppose, that being the case it shouldn’t be too surprising that plants can live for over twenty years, though I am impressed by that. Being orchids, they are rather needy plants, requiring a particular soil fungus to grow. The lady’s slipper and the fungus have a symbiotic relationship, each benefiting from the other. They requires bees for pollination and, again, being an orchid, they have a rather complex method of attracting and being pollinated by the bees, which must enter the flower from one direction and exit from another where they will deposit any pollen they’re already carrying from other plants and pick up any from this one. Apparently they can sometimes perish inside the flower if they’re unable to find their way to the exit, though I hope this is uncommon.

Lady’s slipper sextet (in the shade)

Lady’s slipper sextet (in the sun)

Each individual flower doesn’t last all that long, though I don’t know for certain their typical life span. Flowers that were fully in bloom one weekend were either withered and brown or already fallen to the forest floor by the following weekend. But there were also new flowers found. Perhaps we’ll be fortune and find more of these now that we know what to look for. Or perhaps we won’t and this will have been the blooming period of this area. Only time will tell, but I look forward to finding out.

The latter days of the lady’s slippers

Aging gracefully

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief glimpse at this lovely wild orchid, the pink lady’s slipper. Click on any of the images for a larger view.

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A Long-tailed Duck Scratching That Itch /  by Todd Henson

Scratch that itch! Notice its bluish feet.

Back in 2019 I was fortunate to witness a duck just a tad off course during its Spring migration. A long-tailed duck showed up at the beautiful Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, a location I wish I was able to get to more often, and we just happened to be there to see it. So I went back the next day with my longest lens and spent the entire day happily photographing this duck as it swam around the same little pond, diving down for food every so often.

Notice its foot again, draped over its back

In going through the photographs I noticed a number of them where the duck is scratching an itch, or in some cases likely just preening, and I think each photograph is interesting for the different positions and looks of the duck. In some you can’t see its long tail at all, in others its very visible. And some show its fascinating bluish webbed feet, which are most often hidden below the surface.

Another view with its leg stretched across its back

The long-tailed duck with head down, preening.

I hope you enjoy this look back at this beautiful bird, one I’ll never forget.

To see more of this beautiful duck take a loot at:

Oh, yeah, right there! Notice the long tail.

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A Wren and the Guard Rail /  by Todd Henson

A Carolina wren sitting atop a guard rail post.

Today I wanted to share an interesting and humorous little bit of behavior my father and I observed from a Carolina wren while we were hiking the trails of a local state park. We had just exited the woods and the trail then paralleled the entrance road, the two being separated by a guard rail to protect any hikers.

As I exited the woods I noticed a small wren sitting atop one of the guard rail posts, its tail tilted upward in that characteristic wren fashion, with their fast little movements. My father and I stopped and I attempted to capture a few photographs. The light wasn’t ideal and I didn’t have as long a lens as I’d have liked for this subject, but I still wanted to capture any images I could. I love wrens and sometimes they do interesting things. This one didn’t disappoint.

The Carolina wren hopped to the guard rail facing us.

I wouldn’t say the wren was overly afraid of us, but at the same time it obviously wanted a little more space, so it hopped onto the guard rail facing us and then quickly hopped down into the bottom hollow of the inside of the guard rail, watching us the entire time. When it moved into the hollow between the guard rail and the post I quickly moved a little closer. Doing this I could get closer without it seeing me move. Sometimes this lets you get closer to a subject. It’s similar to waiting until a diving duck dives under water before moving closer to the pond. Only move when the wildlife doesn’t see you.

Hopping along the bottom hollow of the guard rail the Carolina wren tilts its head back watching us.

When it popped back out into the open, still in the bottom hollow of the guard rail, it paused and looked our way. It hopped on to the next guard rail post and went through that little gap. Once again, I moved to keep up with it, but only moving while it was hidden behind the post.

After emerging from the other side of the guard rail post the Carolina wren once again looks our way.

I captured one final image of it pausing before entering the next hollow. After it emerged from the other side it flew up into the nearby trees where it met up with what appeared to be two or three more Carolina wrens.

A final photo of the Carolina wren pausing before hopping into the hollow between rail and post.

Watching it hop along that guard rail hollow, and moving between guard rail and post, was such an interesting behavior and one we thoroughly enjoyed watching. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little retelling of the experience.

Have you seen similar behavior from wrens or other birds?

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