Mallard Duck: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, February 2026 — As I have mentioned before, the river here in town is frozen higher up than I have seen it in years. There is certainly open water nearer the ocean (a few miles to the southeast), but below the dam in town, the river is almost completely frozen right through the rapids to the foot of the dam. It will be below zero the next few mornings, and I expect it will freeze over completely. That leaves our local population of Mallards without access to open water, and they have taken to spending their days on the ice (they may move downriver when the open water completely disappears, of course). They are feeding on something at or just below the surface of the ice and snow mix. I asked Gemini AI what it might be, and she said probably trapped plant matter (seeds mostly) that came down with the snow, or maybe small snails or crustaceans caught at the surface by the freeze. Or they might be eating snow for the moisture (but that seems unlikely while there is any open water left…unless of course they like the taste of snow). Sony a7CR. Tamron 150-500 at 500mm. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.

Black-capped Chickadee: Kennebunk, Maine, February 2026 — On one of my photoprowls last week, with the temperatures still in the low teens, but the sun shining, I checked the little patch of overgrown wetland down the street. Nothing at all. I have seen cardinals there, and hawks on occasion, and juncos in winter…woodpeckers…finches…but on this visit, nada. Until I remembered to phish. “Phishing“ for those who do not know is making excited bird chatter sounds with your mouth…trying to imitate the sounds of a group of birds “mobbing” an intruder. And then “mobbing” is a bird behavior where a group of small birds will gather around an intruder and basically all yell “we see you” at the top of their voices, until the intruder decides to leave just to shut them up. When I phished, several chickadees appeared as though by magic. Not there, and then just there, right in front of me. And while we have chickadees at the feeder every day, many times a day (maybe even these same chickadees), seeing them at the feeder and seeing them in brushy wetland is somehow different. Or so it seems to me. I am not sure what it has in its beak…a tiny bit of bark or a tiny bug. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Rock Dove: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, February 2026 — I was down along the river behind the dunes looking for whatever might be out on a cold February day when these two flashy, fair-sized birds flew across my view and circled in to land right by the path from parking to the beach. I was excited until I saw them take their first steps on land. That pigeon strut is unmistakable. Still, the Rock Dove in all its variations is a handsome bird, and these two seemed to be more handsome than usual. So much so that I kept trying to convince myself that they were something more special than pigeons. As it turns out, both birds are very close in plumage to the actual ancestral population of wild Rock Doves, in the cliffs of Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia. Probably throwbacks, in a relatively small local population without a lot of genetic variation. Still Rock Doves though. Sony a7CR. Tamron 150-500 at 750mm equivalent field of view (APS-C crop). Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Northern Cardinal: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, February 2026 — We don’t often get a visit from the royalty of our neighborhood birds: the Cardinals. There are at least a few pairs within walking distance of the house, but I only see them in our yard once a month or so. I have seen them in other yards on walkabouts, but I have no idea where they actually nest: where is the palace? The male appeared on the deck rail yesterday, and I ran for the camera, but he was gone by the time I got back. But I was in time for the female. I only got these two shots before she followed the male over toward the yards along the railroad track. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in FrameMagic.

Tufted Titmouse: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — Another shot from the steps up to the back deck and our feeding station on a frigid January day. The Titmouse does not often get up on the mealworm feeder, but needs must when it is this cold. Our titmice are perky, attractive without being remarkable, birds, and we are always happy to share our mealworms with them. (The bluebirds might be less happy, but the titmice are rarely there at the same time as the bluebirds. 🙂 Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — I snuck up the stairs to the back deck one cold day and stood in the shadow of the house, hoping to photograph some of our feeder birds without the double-glazed glass deck door between me and them. Our bluebirds, nuthatches, titmice, chickadees, and woodpeckers (both hairy and downy) are used to me enough now so if I stand relatively still they will still come to the feeders. The angle is not great, but I stand any further forward they startle. I caught this interaction between two bluebirds. As always it is very difficult not to read emotions into the postures of the bluebirds…or to put it another way, it seems to always be easy to write captions for bluebird photos. 🙂 I am sure you can come up with some great ones for this interaction. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view (cropped to something short of 600mm fov). Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assemble in FrameMagic.

Common Merganser: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — As I mentioned, the river is frozen right up past the rapids this winter. It was still in single digits when I took this photo of the female merganser hauled out on the ice for a rest. Most winters we get mostly females along the upper river. Sony a7CR. Tamron 150-500 at 500mm equivalent (cropped some). Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Mallard Duck: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — For the first time in maybe 5 years, the Mousam River is frozen almost all the way up to the dam in Kennebunk. Even the rapids below the dam are closing up. The Mallards are concentrated in the open water between ice flows, where the rapid water is moving too fast for ice to form. I caught this female just as she lifted off to move from one open area to another. By accident, the camera was set to ISO 12,800 (there is a button on the back I have to be careful of, especially in two layers of gloves), so it is at 1/8000 second, and she is frozen (no pun intended) in mid-air above the frozen river. Perhaps, in fact, she is moving to say ahead of being frozen herself. Sony a7CR. Tamron 150-500 at 500mm field of view (cropped to something like 750mm). Program with an accidentally high ISO and my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Downstream from the dam in Kennebunk, Maine, at 5° above zero. Crossing the bridge in the car, I saw that the supercooled mist from the dam had decorated every branch and twig along the river with a delicate coating of rime. I parked at the Chamber of Commerce and walked back across the bridge for a few photos. Then I continued on to the pond to look for eagles (without success). The sun came out while I was there. By the time I got back to the bridge, the rime was completely gone, even though it was still only 8°. Delicate indeed. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 66mm equivalent field of view. Auto (Landscape Scene Mode). Processed in Photomator.

Red-shouldered Hawk: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — No, this is not any kind of winter hawk in southern Maine. It should not be here, and it should not be here in the middle of a cold snap…when it is 5 degrees above zero (and colder when the sun is not up). And yet, here it is, sitting out in the sun above a little frozen cattail pond near the river. I saw it first from the river side and photographed it with its back to me, and then drove around to the sunny side for this view. It did not seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere, even in the frigid temperatures. You just never know what the birds will get up to. (And that is part of the fun of birding.) Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view (cropped to about 900mm). Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.