Maine! Way Vagrant Gallinule
Purple Gallinule: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — So this is strange, but not as strange as I first thought. I have seen Purple Gallinules in full adult plumage in Florida and in Central America where they live in the marshes with lots of floating vegetation…those long toes support them as they walk around hunting on lily pads and other floating vegetation…though I have seen them with chicks in flooded fields in Costa Rica. They range from southern Florida all down through Central American and the whole Amazon Basin in South America. Turns out they are a bird that is often seen well outside its range. There have been over 30 sightings in Maine over the past 30 years…the most recent, before this year, was two separate birds in 2021. This year there have been two sightings in Maine…some speculate it is the same bird, seen on consecutive days in Greenville and here in York County…200 miles apart. The York County bird is being seen in a populated area, basically in a grassy plot at the edge of a village park with a lily pond. Some speculate that these Purple Gallinules found far from their range are not lost…that they are in fact, just looking for more food than they were finding at home. Maine is, however, a long way to go for a few grubs and seeds from a village lawn. Takes all kinds. Even among Gallinules. At least some Gallinules in Maine in the past have not survived, and if this one is going to head south, and make it back to safe winter range, it is about time it gets started. At the moment it appears healthy enough, and if it is the same bird seen in Greenville, it is certainly capible of long distance flight. This is juvenile bird, with just a hint of the bright purples and iridescent greens of its adult plumage. The odd shield on its forehead and bill will turn bright red as it ages, if it ages. Rescue attempts for vagrant birds do not have a high success rate, and I am happy to say I don’t have to make that decision. I generally don’t chase vagrant birds, but this one is a pleasant Sunday morning’s walk from my home, and my wife gave me a lift part way. No excuses. If you go try to find it, and it is still there, please give it all the space it wants, all the space it needs. This far from home it does not need any extra stress in its life. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent (and cropped). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.
Maine! Laudholm Farms Panos
I got out to Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve) in Wells, Maine on our last sunny day (only sunny day last week) to record the last of the fall foliage before it is all on the ground. My new landscape and macro camera does not have in-camera “sweep panorama mode”…the first camera I have owned in years that is without it, so these panoramas are done the old fashioned way…4 HDR shots for the first, and 3 for the second, processed and then stitched together into a full resolution panorama in a program on my Mac called, strangely enough, Panorama Stitcher. It is fully automated and does an excellent job. All I have to do after the stitch is to crop and fill the edges to make a rectangle. One view is at the corner of the “front drive” at north end of the parking lot and the woodlot and fields there, and the other is from the little rise going in toward the beach, just before you enter the brushy edge of the old orchard, looking back at the neighboring farm and the Laudholm buildings themselves. These will benefit from a full screen view. 🙂 OM Systems OMD EM5Mkiii with 12-45mm zoom at 24mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.
Maine! Great Blue in the sun
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — I photographed this Great Blue Heron, hunting the rapids on the Mousam River, a few weeks ago and posted lots of images already. That was a rainy, overcast day. I went back recently on a sunny day, to check for Eagles again, and that same GBH was still there, perched on the snag where I first saw it, taking in the sun and preening. I kind of hoped it would get down in the water and hunt some more so I could get some action shots, and I waited around for quite a while, but my patience has limits and generally I am the kind of photographer who takes the photo ops as they come. These sunny shots of various Herony poses will have to do. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 320 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! National reptile awareness day
I did not start the day today knowing that it is National Reptile Awareness Day so I missed the opportunity to post this week’s reptile encounter as my pic for today. Now that I know, better late than never 🙂 Though we have lots of reptiles in southern Maine, I can go weeks without encountering one, so it is kind of special that this smallish garter snake crossed the path ahead of me at Laudholm Farms this week and stayed at the side of the path long enough for some photos.. That is pretty rare in itself. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at various focal lengths for framing. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modificaions. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! October Woodland Path
Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve), Wells, Maine, USA, October 2023 — There is nothing quite like a mixed forest in Southern Maine in October. This is a trail at Laudholm Farms, down along the border with the on section of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. Glorious light and glorious fall color. OM Systems OMD EM5Mkiii with 12-45mm zoom at 24mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. -.3EV. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos.
Maine! Birds of the Bridle Path
Savanah Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Crow, Eastern Bluebird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Song Sparrow: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — I am falling behind on posting my October photos. Just too many good photo ops here in Southern Maine this year. These are birds from two walks on the Bridle Path. And these are only the ones close enough for a good photo. 🙂 I put the Yellow-rump in twice so you can see the rump and how plain the fall bird is if you do not see the rump. All shots with the OM Systems OM-1 and the ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Laudholm Autumn
Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Some days you just have to get out with your camera. Those clouds will be rain today. OM Systems OMD EM5Mkiii with 12-45mm zoom at 24mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.
Maine! Tom in the awkward season
Wild Turkey: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — I came up on a flock of Wild Turkeys beside the road early one morning…a mixed flock for a change, one big Tom and several hens and well grown poults…so a harem. Tom turkeys are strange looking at the best of times, but here in the awkward season they look especially alien. These shots were all from the windows of the car, first on one side of the road and then the other. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at various focal lengths for framing, 200-800mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Pine jealousy
If the pines are jealous of the maple’s fall finery, they can take pride in supporting the fiery climbing vine. This is Virginia Creeper, sometimes know as Woodvine…as it is one of the few climbing vines that turns red in the fall. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 554mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 500 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! Stalking the wild mumminchog
Great Egret: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Certainly stalking mumminchog, and maybe grasshoppers too, in the marsh along the Bridle Path. The Great Egret manages to make even is stalk look elegant and graceful. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/800th.