Cedar Waxwing among the Apple Blossoms
Cedar Waxwing: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — There is almost always a crowd of photographers under the apple tree that blooms in May along the Magee Marsh Boardwalk. There are often birds among the blossoms, and it makes a very attractive setting. I have photographed a dozen species of warblers there, as well as Baltimore Oriole and, of course, Cedar Waxwing. The Cedar Waxwings eat the apple flowers, and there can be many in the tree at once when they come through. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f5.6 @ 1/1000th, minus .7 EV. Difficult lighting.
Prothonotary: I spy a spider!
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — All the warblers at Magee during the Biggest Week in American Birding are busy hunting and gleaning, but none more obviously than the Prothonotary. I caught this one picking spiders out of webs right by the boardwalk, paying no attention to me only a few feet away. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th.
Maine Great Egret
Great Egret: Parson’s Beach, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2022 — We have both Great and Snowy Egrets, pretty much all summer, in small numbers in the marshes behind the dunes along the coast. Nothing like the flocks, and multiple flocks, you see in Florida, or even Texas, and the individual birds stay pretty much far out in the marsh, so I don’t get very many photo ops. This one flew into a tidal pool behind the dunes fairly close to the beach access road while I happened to be there on my eTrike. A nice looking bird! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed (and enlarged) in Pixelmator Photo. Finished in Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f5 @ 1/1000th. .
Prothonotary: prodigious singer
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio. USA, May 2022 — The Prothonotary Warbler is a prodigious singer, as anyone who lives in their nesting territory can testify. And, at least at Magee during the Biggest Week in American Birding, they often sing right in your face! They are not shy about it at all! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Wild Iris at the Pond
I photograph this scene almost every year…some years I have been traveling and missed Iris season altogether, and some years I just get the timing off, but most years I manage at least one stop by the little pond along Rt. 9 between the end of Brown Street and the Wells Town line, while the Iris is in bloom. Some years I hit it on a sunny day with amazing clouds behind the trees. Some years, like this one, the sky is mostly overcast and the light subdued. It is always beautiful. iPhone SE with Sirui 18mm equivalent lens. Processed in Apple Photos.
Magnolia Warbler in Ohio
Magnolia Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — though I have been sharing some local Odonata and wildlife, I am only half way through the photos I took in Ohio in May during the Biggest Week in American Birding…and some of the remainder simply MUST be shared ( 🙂 ) This is one more of the thousands of Magnolia Warblers who begged to have their photo taken during the week I was there. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Beaver!
Beaver: Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — While looking for early dragonflies and damsels at Day Brook Pond, I was delighted to see this Beaver beavering along across the pond, drawing a long wake. I am pretty sure Day Brook Pond has a man-made dam these days, but it was clearly originally a beaver pond and the beavers are still there and still active. You can see their work around the edges somewhere most springs. This one was in a rush to get up into the little inlet half way up the pond. He disappeared behind the near foliage just after I took this shot. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed and enlarged in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Cardinal!
Northern Cardinal: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2022 — Our neighborhood Cardinal came to visit the other morning, before the sun was really up, but he stayed on the deck rail long enough for me to run to get the camera. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/400th. (So, not much light at all to work with.)
Frosted Whiteface
Frosted Whiteface: Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2022 — Besides the Damsels from yesterday, a few early Dragons were out at Day Brook Pond. Lancet Clubtails of course, which seem to be the earliest Odo to emerge in Southern Maine (I saw my first the 3rd week in May), but they are now joined by both Chalk-fronted Corporals and Frosted Whitefaces (pictured here in both rear and front view). I even found a just emerged teneral Skimmer…probably a Slaty Skimmer but it was too early to tell for sure. The Frosted Whiteface is so tiny, it makes the Corporals look big! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed (and enlarged) in Pixomator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th and 1/500th.
Pond Damselflies of early June
Pond Damselflies at Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains in early June. Day Brook Pond is one of two ponds on Nature Conservancy and Maine Wildlife Management areas at the Kennebunk Plains (often referred to locally as the “blueberry plains”. It is a remnant sand plain habitat, home to several endangered plant species, one endangered reptile, and a few bird species at the limits of their range in New England. The pond itself is one of the cleanest and healthiest in southern Maine, and home to a wide variety of Odonata…many of which are just emerging now. What we have here is probably a Hagin’s Bluet, followed by two Northern Bluets, two Eastern Forktails, and two pairs of mating Aurora Damsels. All with the Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed (and enlarged) in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos.