Great Blue Heron: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2026 — This Great Blue Heron has been hanging out by the bridge over the river for several days now. It likes the high tides we have been having, which flood the whole marsh. I rolled up on my e-Trike, a recumbent, and did not even get out of the seat. Just rolled closer and closer. He never did flush, but then I never got that close—he was well out in the marsh. Sony RX10 V at 600mm equivalent (800mm crop). My custom Birds and Wildlife shooting mode. Processed in Photomator.

House Wren: Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, August 2026 — Carolina Wrens have completely displaced House Wrens in our neighborhood, so I was happy to see this healthy specimen at Laudholm Farms the other day, popping in and out of an old rock wall. They are such perky birds—wrens of all kinds, but in our area, House Wrens in particular. Sony RX10 V at 600mm equivalent (probably cropped to nearer 800mm). My custom Birds and Wildlife shooting mode. Processed in Photomator.

Immature or Female American Redstart — it is actually quite rare for me to see an American Redstart in Maine. They are among the most common birds when I visit Magee Marsh in Ohio during migration. They are, by all accounts, common breeders in southern Maine, but somehow I just do not see many. Yesterday in the deep forest at Wells Estuarine Research Center at Laudholm Farms, I came on a mixed feeding flock of warblers, finches, chickadees, woodpeckers, and one lone Cardinal, all moving through the understory from ground level to something like 20 feet up in the lower canopy. I was not sure what I was photographing here until the bird flashed its bright tail. Unmistakable! Sony RX10 V at 600mm equivalent, cropped to maybe 800mm field of view. My custom Birds and Wildlife shooting mode. Processed in Photomator.

Eastern Jack-o-Lantern doing what jack-o-lanterns do. Emmons’ Preserve, Kennebunkport Land Trust, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA, August 2026. I cannot remember ever seeing such a spread of big, eye-catching mushrooms. I looked them up and, despite looking good enough to eat, they are poisonous. Sony RX10 V at about 58 and 37mm equivalent for the close-ups—24mm for the wide shot. All with my custom Macro Shooting mode. f/8. Close-ups from my tiny carbon-fiber tripod.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2026 — This is why it is called a Ruby-throat. In the late afternoon of an August day in Southern Maine, that gorget really lights up. Sony RX10 V at 600mm (cropped to maybe 700mm equivalent field of view). Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

More pictures of nothing in particular and everything in general. The tension between the particular and the infinite is always intriguing to observe. Both expansive and intimate. Sony RX10 V at 24mm equivalent field of view. My custom extended range Landscape Mode. Processed for HDR effect in Photomator.

I am pretty sure this mostly obscured bird is a Prairie Warbler, seen in the forest patch at the head of Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2026. Not a great photo 🙂 But interesting to me in that I should not have gotten the photo at all. Too far, too deep in the dense undergrowth, too soon gone, etc. Still, you have to try. Sony RX10 V at 600mm equivalent, cropped to at least 1200mm equivalent. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Calico Skimmer and Green Darner: Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, West Kennebunk, Maine, August 2026 — I expected to find the Calico Skimmers at Day Brook Pond. They come early and stay late, and while I generally see a few Green Darners, they never pose for me. This one was well out in the plains away from the water, patrolling over a stand of Northern Blazing Star, and took a break from the intense August sun in the deep shade of a pine tree right at eye-level. It even waited for me to work my way close enough for photos. Sony RX10 V at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Eastern Bluebird. Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2026 — When it comes time to test a new camera or lens, our resident Bluebirds are always ready to cooperate. If I sit in the open deck door and wait, they will come for mealworms and sit on the perches I have provided long enough for even comparison shots. Sony RX10 V at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my developing custom bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator with my developing preset for this camera. 🙂 Everything is still in development, but I am happy so far.

Transverse Banded Drone Fly: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2026 — A member of the Hover Fly family on a sunflower at Roger’s Pond Park along the Mousam River here in Kennebunk. They have planted a nice patch of native plants, and it is always full of various kinds of bees and related species. This specimen, with its bold yellow and brown abdomen, certainly was begging for a photo. Sony RX10 V at 600mm equivalent (cropped to maybe 800mm equivalent field of view). Bird and wildlife modifications to Program. Processed in Photomator.