05 November 2001

Shades of Red

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan (UP) is one of America’s great wild areas. Wild as opposed to wilderness, for the UP is a naturalized, rather than natural forest. The forests there were leveled during the Big Cut of the late 1800s, and what now passes as wilderness actually is a product of the hand of man rather than God. Forestry in the United States learned its licks in the UP, and now we all benefit from those early efforts to restore the forests lost in madness and greed.

Early this fall I spent nearly two weeks exploring the UP. Fermata is developing a nature tourism strategy for the Les Cheneaux, a series of glacial islands bordering Lake Huron immediately northeast of Mackinac. The communities of Cedarville and Hessel serve as gateways to the Les Cheneaux, and have banded together with The Nature Conservancy’s Center for Compatible Economic Development (CCED) to develop a program for promoting the natural riches of the region. Cedarville and Hessel are also at the juncture of three Great Lakes: Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Where better to learn the Great Lakes than the Les Cheneaux?

Late one evening, while drifting through Seney National Wildlife Refuge, I noticed immense clouds of dragonflies hovering over the marshes. Darners, skimmers of various stripes, and red meadowhawks dominated these gatherings, and I chose to spend the remainder of the evening sorting through the masses. Soon it became clear that rather than one red meadowhawk there were several species present in the Seney National Wildlife Refuge wetlands.

Eventually I identified and photographed five species of red meadowhawks in and around Les Cheneuax, most virtually indistinguishable from another. Even experienced wildlife viewers might have overlooked this impressive diversity. So how closely do we really look at nature when in the outdoors?

The Empidonax flycatchers, beach tiger beetles, and red meadowhawks (genus Sympetrum) are examples of groups of species that are virtually impossible to separate in the field. Eastern Willow and Alder flycatchers can only be separated by song. Many of the odonates (such as the bluets) can only be identified through in-hand inspection of their sex parts. Yet many of these parallel species can be separated if one looks closely enough.

One aspect of becoming an accomplished wildlife viewer is learning how to look. Although these five Sympetrums are indeed red, there are key field marks that do help in their identification (such as the leg color of the Yellow-legged Meadowhawk). There is also GISS (General Impression, Shape, and Size). GISS (pronounced JIZZ) relates to how any organism presents itself in space and time. One red meadowhawk may perch with its abdomen elevated, while another may remain in the tops of shrubs and small trees with its tail parallel to the ground. Placed together I noticed that these meadowhawks differed in their intensity and shade of coloration. GISS only becomes apparent with experience, and the UP offered me the chance to study these five species of red meadowhawks in conjunction.

The challenge in viewing nature is in becoming completely immersed in the outdoors, to subordinate your own being to the world that surrounds you. No sound, no smell, and no movement is too small or insignificant to be noticed. Nature is not always obvious or in your face. The test is in allowing nature to show her subtlety and nuance as expressed in shades of red.

Trip du Jour: November 5, 2001
Shades of Red
by Ted Lee Eubanks Jr.

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