Maine! Pale Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — This seems really early for Great Blue Heron in York County, but according the information on-line, it is really not. They do sometime arrive in the state in mid-march. And the Great Blues hung on along the coast well into the winter this year…in fact, I am not sure some of them ever left Maine. All they need is ice-free water to hunt, and we had that most of the season. This one was along a little stretch of path that rarely fails to turn up at least one interesting bird. After the herons I photographed in Florida in January, this bird looks very pale to me…kind of washed out…but maybe it is just the March Maine sunshine. OM System OM-1Mkii with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Just Robins
American Robin: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — The American Robin does not get the photographic attention it deserves because it is so common. They are here in York County year around and underfoot all summer in our yards. It really is a beautiful bird though. OM System OM-1Mkii with 100-400IS zoom. Program mode with my custom birds modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Close up Scrub Jay
Florida Scrub Jay: Helen and Alan Cruickshank Sanctuary, Rockledge, Florida, USA, January 2024 — Even closer. I squatted down to get closer to eye-level. The Florida Scrub Jays at the Cruickshank Sanctuary have absolutely no fear of humans…and I am pretty sure that is not a good thing, except for photographers. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 400mm equivalent (close close). Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Titmouse Song
Tufted Titmouse: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — There is perhaps no birds song or call that is a carrying, one might even say, piercing as the Tufted Titmouse in the spring. Common in both yard and forest they certainly make their presence known in season. I caught this one in full voice and you can see the effort going into the call. They are quick and agile and not easy to catch in a photo, at least around our yard. OM System OM-1Mkii with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Emerald
Northern Emerald Toucanet: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — We had seen Emerald Toucanet at Soda y Mirador Cincinola on the way to the Sarapiqui Valley, but it is always nice to see them again in the high valley of the Savegre at Miriam’s and Batsu Gardens…both good spots for this attractive but aggressive egg predator. It is sometimes called the Blue-throated Emerald Toucanet, for obvious reasons. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 552mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Song Sparrows
Song Sparrow: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — We had a somewhat spring like day yesterday and I got out for a short walk in an area I don’t visit often. I found at least 3 mixed flocks of Juncos and Song Sparrows feeding avidly in the short grasses and low bushes. OM System OM-1Mkii with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Scrub Jays Underfoot
Florida Scrub Jay: Helen and Alan Cruickshank Sanctuary, Rockledge, Florida, January 2024 — When I did find the Florida Scrub Jays at the Sanctuary, they were, of course, right underfoot. Curious and gregarious, they come out to meet you from the brush, and I had them looking for bugs in the grass right at my feet. And yes, they do occasionally land on folks’ heads…they have landed on mine during previous visits…but they did not this year. Maybe the covid years and broken that habit. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Not at home, at all.
House Finch: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — The House Finch only reached Maine in the early 1970s…it was originally a bird of the Southwest, but has slowly but surely extended its range to cover most of the US (with a strange gap in the center of the continent). Our habit of feeding birds has probably encouraged that extension, as it is among the most common feeder birds wherever it lives. I still can’t convince myself it is at home here though, though it was in Maine well before I got here. OM System OM-1Mkii with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Big foot!
Large-footed Finch: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Take a look at those feet! The Large-footed Finch is aptly named (though it is not a finch at all…but a large sparrow) and a speciality of the Talamanca mountains of southern Costa Rica and Northwest Panama. Miriam’s is low for this bird. It is more commonly seen in the area on Cerro de la Muerte another 2000 feet almost straight up from Miriam’s. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 614 and 552mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Ready or not, here I come!
Eastern Bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — Our Bluebirds are with us pretty much year round now, with the exception of a brief period when they go further afield just after the second brood of the summer fledges. It is still fun to sit out in my ghillie poncho and camp chair and watch them under the pines. This one seemed to be ready to fly straight at me. OM System OM-1Mkii with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.