In early May, I enjoyed my first visit to Magee Marsh in NW Ohio. A few caveats: I am only a year into bird photography, am not a pro (just a hack 40+ year amateur), and my skills pale vs the amazing work I’ve seen on this forum (you people are my superstars!). I visited the marsh 3 times around a work commitment (once mid-morning and twice during afternoons) – so missed the best early am and evening times. With all that, here are my observations:
Thank you for reading, and for your patience with my ‘beginner’s lessons’, most of which are probably obvious to seasoned bird photographers. It was an amazing first encounter with May migration at Magee. If you have additional thoughts, counterpoints, or other insights, I’m eager to hear them. I’m already looking forward to May 2025!
- Magee’s boardwalk is not the only area to visit, but to me was the best. Lots of quick and easy access to habitat, vs other trails in the area. For efficient getting around, it works.
- Mosquitoes and other insect pests were non-existent when I went. Not sure if this was a time of day or year thing, but the usual plague of marsh photography was totally absent.
- Crowds were there…but for the most part, they were quiet, friendly and eager to offer advice and encouragement (plus warbler identification) to this newbie. I was not stressed by them, despite the occasional gaggle of birders/photographers around a ‘hotspot’.
- As a seasoned wildlife person would expect, it was more productive to scout an opportunity and stay with it, than hop from location to location.
- I took a Z8 and used three Nikon lenses: 70-200mm f/2.8, 400mm f/4.5 and 600mm f/6.3. A few smaller focal length ones I brought never left the bag.
- MFD turned out to be tops in my lens choice decision tree. For example, one warbler plopped down on a branch just 5 feet from me and preened for minutes! I fortunately was able to capture it with a 70-200 just in time. For other shots, 600 was perfect. My 3 lens MFD’s were 3, 8 and 12 feet. The distance to a given bird at any given moment made any lens choice either brilliant or stupid – there was just no one ‘perfect’ lens for Magee.
- The brush was in most cases close to the boardwalk, and in most areas, thick. In my view, an 800mm lens would have been a poor choice, as birds needing that reach were usually so obscured by brush they were not viable subjects. 600mm was as much reach as seemed practical on the boardwalk. Most of the time, 400 was the useful max.
- Timing was everything. I quickly learned warblers won’t stay still for an instant and hopped around every 5 to 10 seconds. ANY skill gaps in knowing your autofocus system will cause lost shots. Pre-focusing on a distance where you guess the warbler will land next was helpful in nailing autofocus before it moved on. This, for me, makes warbler photography the most challenging of all my photo adventures, and I found it addicting.
- The many dozens of warbler species at Magee during migration made for another fun element, a “how many can I collect” vibe. In addition of course to trying to land best-possible images. I ended up photographing 14 warbler species, 21 other bird species, and assorted snakes and turtles, all in 3 sessions covering under 15 hours total (at non-ideal times).
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Thank you for reading, and for your patience with my ‘beginner’s lessons’, most of which are probably obvious to seasoned bird photographers. It was an amazing first encounter with May migration at Magee. If you have additional thoughts, counterpoints, or other insights, I’m eager to hear them. I’m already looking forward to May 2025!
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