An Abundance of Asters
There is a poem for this.
It is the season of the Aster in
southern Maine. We must have
a half dozen species in flower
just now, everywhere from road-
side to deep woods. Of course
it begins with the big showy
New England Aster…purple petals
radiating from a bright yellow center,
but we also have the Tall White Aster,
which is (you guessed it) tall and white
with those same yellow centers,
and the then the spidery petaled
Large Leafed Wood Aster, the tiny
flowered White Wood Aster, and
the low growing Blue Wood Aster,
very like the white, but colored
like the New England. And then
we have at least two species of
Goldenrod, the Seaside and the
Zigzag (and yes that is its name),
So an abundance of Asters here
in southern Maine, getting on for
late September, to keep us company
as the leaves turn red and we slip,
as gracefully as we can, into fall.
Sony Rx10iv and Sony HX90V. Various focal lengths. Program with my standard wildlife modifications, and the HX90V shots in intelligent auto. Processed in Apple Photos.
Bee in Asters
White Wood Aster, Kennebunk Barrens Nature Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — September in southern Maine is certainly the season for Asters. There are at least 6 different Aster species in bloom right now…and they are all over, in every kind of habitat. These are, I am pretty sure, White Wood Asters from the Kennebunk Plains, and what looks to be a Honey Bee. You can see that the Bee is harvesting pollen and is already heavy laden just by looking at those bright yellow leggings. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Apple Photos.
New England Aster
New England Aster, Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine — Sometimes things just work out…right place, right time, and ready…and you bring back a satisfying image from one of your photoprowls. This is pretty simple, just the single flower head in Maine September afternoon light, against a dark background…but the effect, at least to my eye, is memorable. Sony Rx10iv at 513mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Wild forest chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee, Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA — Okay so it is really only a standard Black-capped Chickadee, but it is not one of the tame chickadees that come to our feeder a hundred times a day. On the other hand, it paid no more attention to me there taking it’s photo out in the middle of the woods at Laudholm Farms than one of our yard birds would have, so maybe “wild” is a word that just can not be applied to any chickadee. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
A bit of Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — from my latest session in the chair blind by the feeders under the pines. Nuthatches are always such determined looking birds. This one is a bit fluffed in the chilly September weather we are having. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Broad-winged Hawk #2
Broad-winged Hawk, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — This handsome bird deserves a second look…this time the classic profile portrait. I tood the story two days ago, but it is most likely a juvenile on its first trip south from the breeding grounds. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Chickadee again
Black-capped Chickadee, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Somedays this time of year there are only Chickadees at the feeders…other days we have Titmice, Nuthatches, and Chipping Sparrows…and the Downy Woodpeckers are always around. Of course, when there are only chickadees it is only a matter of patience before one will do something interesting enough for a photograph. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Broad-winged Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I need to remember it is hawk migration time here in Southern Maine. This hawk came up off the roadside as I rode up on it on my eBike, with something largish in its talons, and I tracked it in flight (not easy, or perhaps even safe, to do while riding a bike) until it landed in a tree overhanging the road ahead of me. I carefully parked my bike before I could actually see the spot where it landed, got my camera out and walked ahead, peering up into the branches. And there it was. Now that I have the photos for reference, I can see that the prey was a snake of some kind. Red-tailed is the default hawk in Southern Maine, but I am pretty sure (and both of my ai photo recognition programs agree) that this an immature Broad-winged Hawk…which makes it a migrant passing through. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
One more mushroom
Mushrooms will happen! It is amazing (to me) how powerful they are…pushing up through a layer of matted leaves…and not just a little pointy thing like a plant shoot…no, a whole platter lifting a big chunk of the forest floor. 🙂 At Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Wells Maine. Sony Rx10iv at about 290mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
More mushrooms…
One of the things I like about mushrooms is the variety of shapes and colors and forms. This cluster of small mushrooms, probably in a symbiotic relationship with the tree, is a case in point. Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Headquarters trail, Wells, Maine. Sony Rx10iv at 211mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.