Red is back again
Red Squirrel: Kennbunk, Maine, USA — We had a Red Squirrel visiting yesterday…probably the same one that visited a month ago…but it is really hard to tell. This time I decided not to be satisfied with photos through the thermal glass deck door. I opened the door gently and, when the squirrel did not take much notice, I stepped out on the deck. For the next half hour I watched and photographed as the squirrel continued to explore and enjoy the feeding station. As I noted in the last Red Squirrel post, he (or she) can get into all the feeders…even squeezing through the outer cage around our double cage suet feeder. Once inside it climbs up on top of the inner cage where the suet is and eats its full…if indeed it understands the concept of “full”. I suspect it would eat the whole block. If I went right over to the cage while it was in it…it would scamper out…but it did not leave the deck. This is a bold Red Squirrel indeed. It would sit on the rail, staring at me, and chattering, laying its claim to the deck and all the feeders. It came back several times during the morning, but I did not see it after that, and it has not appeared this morning yet, so I suspect it has moved on to another yard, or returned to its own territory in whichever of the surrounding stands of trees it calls home. And to be honest, while I enjoy its visits, I would not want a family of them making a home in the yard. They get into everything. It was another “dark” day yesterday…very like the last visit…with heavy overcast and some mist in the air, but being able to photograph without the glass between us made for much more satisfying shots. Sony Rx10iv. This particular shot at 380mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 1600 @ 1/500th @ f4.
Green Darner, close-up
Green Darner: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Two more shots of the Green Darner pair that I found at the Southern Maine Health Care drainage ponds here in Kennebunk. They were very busy ovipositing on a floating reed, and I was able to extend the zoom on my Nikon B700 to the full reach of its enhanced digital zoom at 2880mm equivalent, for these telephoto macro shots of the two heads. Shutter preferred program mode at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Green Darners!
Green Darner: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I go years between photos of a Green Darner…they just about never perch while I am around…but this is my second one for this year. I found a male settled out on the shore at the Sanford Lagoons last month, and this mating and ovipositing pair at the Southern Maine Medical Center drainage ponds this past weekend. There was a little window through the foreground reeds that opened and closed with the breeze. Nikon B700 at 917mm equivalent (they were close enough to overfill the frame at full zoom). Shutter program at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Green Heron
Green Heron: Quest Ponds at Southern Maine Medical Center, Kennebunk. Maine, USA — I stopped by the drainage ponds at SMMC here in Kennebunk to check for new dragonflies, and to see if there were any spreadwings. Spreadwings have been noticeably absent so far this season. While there I was surprised when this Green Heron took off from under the reeds and landed on the lone rock in the pond. It sat there for long enough for a series of photos and then took off, likely for one of the other ponds around the edge of the parking lot or for the marshy area between lots. It is the first time I have see a Green Heron at these ponds, but it is first time in several years. It was overcast so not enough light to bring out the green highlights in the wings, but still a handsome bird. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter program at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
White (or Cherry)-faced Meadowhawk
White- or Cherry-faced Meadowhawk, Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA — Meadowhawk season is coming on here in Southern Maine. This is what might best be called a “light-faced meadowhawk”…in Maine it is most likely a White-faced or a Cherry-faced, but it could also be a Ruby Meadowhawk. Authorities say only microscopic examination of the reproductive parts can reliably distinguish these species…and there is some debate as to whether they are indeed separate species. DNA work is inconclusive at best…with the variations being very small and annoyingly inconsistent. Whatever. As a “light-faced meadowhawk” it is a striking creature. I expect to see increasing numbers of them from now right into autumn. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter program at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Large Lace Border Moth
Large Lace Border Moth: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — When I got back from my trike ride the other day, this lovely little moth was waiting for me in the ground cover along the foundation of our home. It was settled there, and I was able to put the camera in Macro mode and take this full frame close up at about 108mm equivalent. I did not know what the moth was, so I used the AI identification feature of my FieldGuides Leps app. I was not at all surprised at the name…it is what I would called this moth if I had the naming to do 🙂 Though it is the “large” lace border moth, it is only about an inch wing tip to wing tip. Nikon B700 as above. Shutter program with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
More Wood Lilies
Wood Lily: Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — A few more Wood Lilies before the season is over. Again, from the Kennebunk Plains. I did not find any deep red ones yet this year, but this gives a little bit of a sense of the variations on the theme. Nikon B700 at various focal lengths to fill the frame. 3 Macro and one telephoto macro. Shutter program with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Sometimes it is not only about the dragonfly…
Slaty Skimmer: Alwive Pond, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I think most dragonflies are beautiful…in a steampunk kind of way…but sometimes dragonfly photography is not all about the dragonfly. This Slaty Skimmer kept perching on the pickerel weed which makes a dense mat in the waters along the shore of Alwive Pond in Kennebunk Maine, and I could not resist taking way too many photos, trying to capture the contrast, both in color and structure, between the dragon and the delicate flowers…it was only in processing that I discovered the beauty of the background…which really “makes” the shot. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Feed me! Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Not a great photo technically, as it was early and overcast. Both I and the camera would have liked more light, but I could not resist trying to capture a little of the interaction between our fledgling bluebirds and the diligent male who is trying to keep them happy and growing. They sit near the mealworm feeder and he ferries mealworms over to them. He is working as hard as he can, but the fledglings are certainly impatient. Every parent can identify! 🙂 Nikon B700 at 460mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Wood Lily time again
Wood Lily, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I went out to the Kennebunk Plains planning to hike into Cold Brook Pond on the back side of the plains were the land falls away to the Mousam River. Cold Brook Pond is old earth dam, long ago broken, and now maintained only by a family of beavers, so the level varies year to year depending on how active the beavers have been. It can be a good spot for dragonflies that I do not normally see at Day Brook pond on the other side of the plains. Not yesterday. Evidently our cold/wet snap has suppressed the dragonfly flight for the moment, at both ponds. There were, however Wood Lilies on the plain. I was surprised. This is at least a week early for the Wood Lily bloom, and, in fact, it looks like I almost missed it. Many of the flowers were gone by their best and some were dropping petals…but that could have to do with three days of cold rain as well. And perhaps what I am seeing is a “forced” bloom brought on by the 4 days mid-90s weather we had just before the cold snap. ?? Maybe the full boom is still to come in the next weeks. At any rate, I am always delighted to rediscover the Wood Lilys. I know of only a few reliable spots for them, and the Kennebunk Plains has the largest and most accessible concentration. They come in every shade of orange…from pale to almost red…and the amount of yellow at the center also varies. The boom is brief but big and bright! Nikon B700 at about 200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.