Maine! Pine at last
Pine Warbler: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — I am skipping over lots of good photos and good birds to being you this breaking news bird from the backyard. We have been seeing the Pine Warbler for a few days now, but these are the first photos of this year. It came to deck early in the morning, but then I did not see it all day long (and I looked). It only returned to the yard as the light was failing and as we were sitting down to dinner. I went out and stood on the deck and it continued to come in for mealworms and to pose nicely in the branches above. It was not much bothered byu me, but after enough shots I went back in so it could feel totally save about stealing our mealworms. One of my favorite warblers, and not just because it is generally the first one in the yard in the spring, and one of the few we actually get in the yard at any time. 🙂 OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and Apple Photos.
Costa Rica! Another okay Quetzal
Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — We talked our guide into taking 2 of us back for another dawn with the Quetzals. We sat on the bus waiting to see if the rain would stop, and when it got to drizzle I said now or never, and we made the hike down to the stream and then back up the other side to the shelf where the Quetzals come, when they come. It turned out to be another good morning for Quetzals. Never enough light, but we make do with what we have. If I go again this year, I have some new techniques I want to try to see if I can do better. (But I know better is really about more light from closer…and that is unlikely to happen at least at this spot.) OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100-400IS at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Are you looking at me!
Red-tailed Hawk: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — Another from the series of shots of the Red-tailed Hawk circling me the other day. He was definitely aware of me as much as I was aware of him. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and Photo Quality.
Florida! Reddish lunge
Reddish Egret: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — Back to the hunting Reddish Egrets and some of the amazing postures they presume. There were two here interacting…they looked to be squabbling over territory but it might have been mating behavior, I don’t know enough to know. Lots of chasing and lunging and all kinds of wing action. But definitely some hunting going on too, with the umbrella wings. Lots of fun to watch, and to try to photograph. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at
Maine! Red-tail close overhead
Red-tailed Hawk: York County, Maine, USA — I have seen this Red-tailed Hawk in our neighborhood three times now, enough to think it might have a nest somewhere close-by. On Google Earth our neighborhood looks like pretty much unbroken forest so it could be anywhere. This hawk was circling close overhead, and apparently circling me, so I got good looks at it…but only saw the mouse when processing the photos. I don’t know what its interest in me was. It already had its breakfast. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and Photo quality.
Costa Rica! Violetear acrobatics
Lesser Violetear Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — a few more shots from the flower set-up at Batsu Gardens, on the mountain- side high above Savegre Mountain Hotel and Spa. On the day we visited, in the misty rain, it was mostly Talamancas and Lesser Violetears. The Lesser Violetear is probably the most common hummingbird in Costa Rica at all elevations up to Cloud Forest. They are super active and aggressive defenders of nectar sources. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 570mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! More of that bluebird attitude
Eastern Bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The male Bluebirds are getting bright and a bit feisty as breeding season starts here in Southern Maine. They are a bird that always shows a lot of attitude. This one is pretty obviously full of itself and all puffed up. OM Systems OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Rosey preening in the early light
Roseate Spoonbill: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — Sometimes it is just (mostly) about color and light. Unless you know you might not even recognize one of these shots as a Roseate Spoonbill for sure. The second shot is more obvious but it is still really more about what the early morning backlight does to the feathers and to the colors, than it is about the bird. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800 and 454mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds in fight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Song Sparrow Season
Song Sparrow: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — When the Song Sparrows return to the back side of dunes at our local beach it is a sure sign of the advancing spring. You hear their songs as soon as you get out of the car and they are not hard to track down for a portrait. This one popped up and sang right beside me as I was watching one further off the other direction. Nice bird. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Talamanca in the rain
Talamanca Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Batsu Gardens, high on the mountain-side above Savegre Mountain Hotel and Spa in San Geraldo de Dota, was specifically designed for bird photography. There are two permanent metal roofed awnings for shelter from the rain when it comes…one primarily purposed for Hummingbird photography and one facing the moss covered structure against the backdrop of the mountains across the valley designed for the fruit and seed eaters. Generally Felipe Chacon, grandson of the original settlers in the Savegre Valley, and the garden’s creator, picks you up at the Hotel in a 4 wheel drive van for the sharp climb to the gardens, and then sets out an array of fresh flowers from the gardens to attract hummingbirds against a backdrop of the slope behind. You can have a cup of coffee or use the clean and pleasant rest rooms close by while you wait. He also puts out fresh fruit in front of the other pavilion, so you have your choice. There will always be hummingbird action near both awnings. We drew a partially rainy day with not the best light, but it is still possible to photograph the hummers without flash. This the Talamanca coming in to the set-up flowers in the rain. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 506mm equivalent (the hummingbirds are close!). Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. In the low light I was shooting at ISO 25600 to 32000 to get a shutter speed of 1/1600. I would, of course, have preferred a lower ISO and even higher shutter speed but we work with what we are given. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.