Maine spring edition: What color is a bluebird?
Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, May 2022 — As I sit in my backyard photo blind I can see this male Eastern Bluebird busy feeding chicks in the next box two yards over, going back and forth between our yard and theirs. They have nested in the little box on that fence since we first began seeing them in the neighborhood 4 or 5 years ago. We now have them coming for meal-worms at our feeders year around. This one posed under the pines in the late day horizontal sun for a great look at the actual color of a male at his brightest. 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.
Pieces of a Barbet
Red-headed Barbet: Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica, December 2021 — Though I have seen the Red-headed Barbet in the foothills on the Caribbean side, that was several years ago now, and we have not found another…until this last trip in December when we had glimpses of this female at Alexander Skutch’s home in the foothills of the Pacific slope. Glimpses in heavy foliage. Still a great bird. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 640 and 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Maine spring edition: Pine Warbler
Pine Warbler: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, May 2020 —
4/3
When Pine Warblers are the only
warblers you have to work with,
as it is here in Southern Maine
around about the first of May,
then you’d better believe we work
those Pine Warblers for all their worth.
It is true. Pine Warblers are our only warblers here in southern Maine in early spring…still waiting on even the Yellow-rumps to show. But we do get to really appreciate the Pines as a result. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent from my backyard photo blind. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/800th. Gotta love that late-day horizontal light.
Pic for today: 4th and 5th Manakins
Blue-crowned and White-ruffed Manakins: Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica, December 2021 — As well as an amazing number of Parrot species, between the two trips last December we had 5 of the 8 possible Manakins possible in Costa Rica. Numbers four and five were at the home of Alexander Skutch. Both were too far and very uncooperative as far as photos went, but I managed these (with the help of considerable enlargement in post-processing). The Blue-crowned Manakin is restricted to the lowlands and foothills of the south Pacific slope, and the White-ruffed is restricted to the foothills of both the Pacific and Caribbean slopes. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Blue-crowned ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th, White-ruffed ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Maine spring edition: American Kestrel
American Kestrel: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells, Maine, USA, April 2022 — It was too cool to ride my trike the other day, despite being a lovely sunny spring day, so I took a walk at Laudholm Farms to see how spring was getting on there. This Kestrel was working the forest edge along the southern boundary of the farm, where it butts up against a chunk of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge land. It would not give me any better view than this, but I will take what is on offer and be happy. 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.
Green Honeycreeper
Green Honeycreeper: Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica, December 2021 — We left Las Cruces Biological Research Station and headed up toward our high elevation stop at San Gerardo de Dota in the Savegre Valley, with packed lunches which we intended to eat at the home of Alexander Skutch, perhaps the best known ornithologist of his time due to his many books on birds and tropical ecology. Skutch was among the first to closely relate birds to the habitat they frequented, and to study the effect that even minor changes in habitat have on the birds. After his death, his home in Costa Rica was preserved as a avian sanctuary and a memorial to his life and work. This Green Honeycreeper was there to greet us in the extensive natural gardens. This is, despite not looking much like one, a tanager…honeycreepers are a small sub-division of the colorful tropical tanagers specialized for fruit eating. It is the female that is actually green, while the male, as you see, is more turquoise, but so distinctive as to be unmistakable. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Maine spring edition: Immature Red-tailed Hawk??
Immature Red-tailed Hawk (I think): Arundel, Maine, USA, April 2022 — I think! This is one of those birds, or one of those birding situations, where I can not be 100% confident of my naming. I saw it fly over the road while out on my eTrike. My first impression was just a raptor with big wide wings…and then when I got off to the side of the road and got my camera out…all it would give me is this back view…and the angle of the shot, and the way the bird was perched, makes it hard to judge the body proportions and especially the length of the tail. For what it is worth, the several photo based AI birding assistants I have access to give Red-tailed Hawk about a 70% chance of being right. And Red-tailed Hawk is certainly the most likely as we have more of them than any other hawk…which is probably why I wanted it to be something else…something more exciting. Still, any perched hawk is a good bird. 🙂 And I did do my due-diligence…checked every field guide I own…and studied several of the photos I took. I have blurry shot of the underside of one wing which mostly supports Red-tailed, but that is as good as I can say. Anyone who know better, feel free to correct me. Always willing to be corrected. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed and enlarged in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Buff-throated Saltator
Buff-throated Saltator: Las Cruces Biological Research Station (OTS), San Vito, Costa Rica, December 2021 — The Buff-throated Saltator is one of the most common birds around feeding stations in Costa Rica, on both the Caribbean and Pacific slopes…from the lowlands well up into the foothills…so not so exciting to see it at Las Cruces, but still a good bird 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 591mm equivalent. Program mode with wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 2500 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Maine spring edition: Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, April 2022 — Of course we have had Downy Woodpeckers all winter, coming to the suet and sunflower seeds on the deck…but there is nothing like a shot that was not taken through thermal-pane double glazing 🙂 From my back-yard photo blind in late afternoon light, with the sun just about on the horizon behind me. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th.
Fiery-billed Aracari: my best side?
Fiery-billed Aracari: Las Cruces Biological Research Station (OTS), San Vito, Costa Rica — Another visit from the Fiery-billed Aracaris. This bird seemed to want to show us every side. Aracaris are active birds…never still…always hopping around on the branch. And they are very focused…intent on food mostly…but also very aware of the other birds of the flock. Sony Rx10iv at 595mm equivalent. Program mode with wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixomator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 2000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.