Groundhog in a tree
Groundhog (Woodchuck): Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — Not something you see every day, but I have now seen this twice this spring…once in Ohio at Magee Marsh, and now here along the Bridle Path near Route 9. I actually probably walked right by this Woodchuck in the tree, just above eye-level, right beside the path, because I was too busy looking for possible hawks higher in the trees, At any rate I would have missed it if the couple behind me had not chased me down in the parking lot as I was readying my trike to ride home, to ask it was possible they had actually seen a “beaver” in a tree. They had a phone photo and I did not have the heart to tell them it did not look exactly like a beaver to me, but I was truly thankful for the alert, and took my camera back to see if it would still be there. Google AI provided the information that tree climbing is at least a well known habit of Groundhogs, along with some speculation as to why they might do it. Predator avoidance, tender spring leaves and fruit later in the season, but the one I like best is “just for fun”…or to get a better look at their territory. This Woodchuck was not at all disturbed by my attention, and was still comfortable there in the little fork in the branches when I decided I already had way too many exposures and went back to my tike and home. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at various focal lengths for framing. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Black-bellied Plover
Black-bellied Plover: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — I think this might be the first full breeding plumage Black-bellied Plover I have ever seen. I was drawn down to the tide-line on our local beach by what turned out to be a group of Bonaparte’s Gulls, but while there found a small group (6 individuals) of Black-bellied Plovers in the surf, all except this one still in their Grey Plover stage, or just beginning to molt into breeding. This one certainly stood out! In Europe they are called Grey Plover because they are seen mostly in non-breeding (winter) plumage. In North America they are called Black-bellied because we see them molting into breeding with at least the black on the belly developing, and, further north, in their full black and white plumage. This one is clearly getting an early start. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm (and cropped). Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Nashville
Nashville Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — Not a super rare bird, but one that passes through Magee in smaller numbers than some…the Nashville Warbler is one of those that tends to stay deep in the foliage. Always a challenge. I always wonder what exactly they are seeing when them make eye-contact, especially since I have a great big lens in front of my face? Maybe only their own reflection. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Crested Owl
Crested Owl: Gualpies, Costa Rica, May 2025 — A highlight of any visit with Cope is a prowl around the local forest in search of day-roosting owls. Cope generally knows where the Spectacled Owls are, and some years, he has a line on the Crested. This year a Crested Owl is roosting at the edge of the pasture at his parent’s farm. Easy. Though still a challenge to photograph in the darkness under the banana leaves. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. The image, in order to show detail in the owl, is much lighter overall than it was to the naked eye. It really was dark in there. 🙂
Happy Sunday!
Prothonotary! Something to cheer your Sunday. Prothonotary Warbler, Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in VDIT. Original improvisation on the Tranquility Harp by Gabriel Harps.
Bluebead Lily, Painted Trillium
Bluebead Lily, Painted Trillium: Rachel Carson NWR Headland Trail, Wells, Maine, May 2025 — Two more wildflowers from Rachel Carson. Bluebead Lily is still abundant and common in the Maine woods, and seems to be spreading at Rachel Carson, but, at least in my experience, Trillium is becoming hard to find. It was never, while I have lived here, abundant, but I can only find two individual plants where there used to 20 or more, and one patch along the Headland Trail that I used to enjoy seeing every year, has completely disappeared. Maybe there are places in Southern Maine where they are still common, but if so I don’t know about them. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 172mm equivalent (lily) and 202mm (trillium). Tripod mounted. Aperture Preferred Program with my macro modifications. Processed in Photomator.
All about the song
Song Sparrow: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, May 2025 — It is all about the song! This avid singer was posted up on a no parking sign, singing the new day when got to our local beach. I just stepped off the trike and shot. You could even say the song lifted my camera and pressed the shutter. Just glad to be there. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed (and cropped a bit) in Photomator.
Canada Mayflower
Canada Mayflower: Wonderbrook Preserve (Kennebunk Land Trust), Kennebunk, Maine, May 2025 — The forest at Wonderbrook Preserve is carpeted with Canada Mayflower…as thick and as lush as I have ever seen. Mayflower is not as flashy as Pink Lady Slipper, which is also in boom right now, but in its own quiet way it celebrates the coming of the warmth, the bursting out of life. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 127mm (insert) and 75mm. Aperture Preferred Program with my macro modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in Pixomatic.
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2024 — I borrowed a Sony FE 100-400 GM lens from Sony for a few hours. They were the lead sponsor of the Biggest Week in American Birding this year, after several years of giving the festival a miss. I am hoping their sponsorship and presence signals that they are taking the birding and wildlife market more seriously these days. The 100-400 is a great lens, but my short experience with it only reinforced my growing conviction that, given reasonably well performing equipment, it is more about what the birds and wildlife are doing than what you have in your hands. This would have been a great shot with almost any camera and lens because the bird was just so close and so cooperative. 🙂 Sony a6700. Sony FE 100-400 GM. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
A bunch of Lady Slippers
Lady Slipper Orchids: Rachel Carson NWR Headquarter’s trail, Wells, Maine, May 2025 — A bunch or a cluster of Lady Slippers from Rachel Carson. Several of the historical patches of Lady Slippers along the headland trail have disappeared over the years, but this stand seems to still be doing well. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 102mm equivalent. Aperture mode with my macro modifications. f16 @ 1/30th. Processed in Photomator.