Goldfinch: Another bird at the feeder blind
American Goldfinch, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — The water feeder did not see much use during the spring but I had only just refilled it when this American Goldfinch came in for a drink. Perhaps it will be more popular here in late summer. I am impressed with the uniform color on this bird…when I closed the feeding station by the blind, in late June, the Goldfinches were still splotchy with new feathers coming in, though it was full breeding season. Now they are solid yellow. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Great Spangled Fritillary
Great Spangled Fritillary, Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine — Here is a creature to inspire dreams…in this photo it looks like a fantastically winged horse…actually the Great Spangled Fritillary (great name!) is one of the larger butterflies in New England and always a treat to see. There don’t seem to be as many this year, even at Emmon’s Preserve where they are generally common in August. There also does not seem to be as much Joe Pie Weed…which seems to be a favored feeding plant for the Fritillaries. I found this plant and butterfly in the ditch along the hay field just as you emerge from the woods at Emmon’s. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Birds at the blind again
I resolved to fill the feeders under the pines this week, set up the water feature, and get the chair-blind out again and see what I could see. Of course the first birds active at the feeders were the Chickadees. They have not been coming to the porch feeders, which are out in full sun, as often as the summer wears on, but they were all over the feeders in shade. And you can never have too many chickadee photos…right? Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Jewelweed
It is Jewelweed season in Southern Maine. I found these growing along the Eastern Trail in Arundel yesterday, but there is generally a bunch of them in the ditch along Brown Street, just down from my house. I have not looked the past few days. Jewelweed is called “touch-me-not”…not because it is toxic to the skin, but because it has exploding seed-pods…in fact it is used in a soothing salve for skin irritations, including poison ivy. It is a member of the Impatience’s family, as you might guess from the shape of the flower. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm (tel-macro). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Pink Water Lily
Besides being Eastern Amberwing season at Roger’s Pond Park here in Kennebunk, Maine (see yesterday’s post), it is also Water Lily season. The pond has both white and pink lilies. This is an HDR shot, processed in Polarr and Apple Photos for the best balance of light and shadow. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Nominal exposure ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th. -1EV. (I say nominal since the camera took three exposures and combined them into this one HDR.)
Eastern Amberwing
My only reliable spot for Eastern Amberwings is Roger’s Pond along the Mousam River here in Kennebunk, Maine. I am sure they are elsewhere in the area but I have never found them. This seems to be the season for them in Southern Maine. This week the ones close to shore where I could photograph them were all males…vigorously defending territory from each other and attempting to avoid the larger dragons, Widow and Twelve-spotted Skimmers, on patrol. It is not an easy life when you are among the smallest of dragonflies 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Something different…
This is a different kind of photo than I normally post…or take for that matter, but I could not resist this purple pepper from our garden. We have a very short growing season here on Brown Street, due to the effects of the tide coming up the river on our micro-climate, but we did manage to grow this somewhat magnificent pepper this year. Carol brought it in when it began to pull the pepper plant over. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at about 80mm equivalent. HDR mode. Nominal exposure: ISO 2500 @ f8 @ 1/30th. -1 EV to hold the highlights as much as possible. Program shift for maximum depth of field. Hand held.
Abstact in marsh grass
This is a somewhat awkward season in Southern Maine for photography…and, as it happens, I am rarely in Maine in August. The bird life is kind of quiet, dragonflies and not in flight as much, and we often have blue sky days…not my favorite for landscapes. I generally attend the Tucson Birding Festival the first part of the month and for the past two years have been in Africa late in the month. This year, of course, I am home. 🙂 So, here is a somewhat random abstract shot from along the Bridle Path in Kennebunk. I love what the water and wind does with the salt grass, and what the weather and the years have done to the posts. Sony Rx10iv at about 170mm equivalent. HDR mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Bee Fly
This is, according to iNaturalist’s iSeek, another Bee Fly, the second species I have found on the Kennebunk Plains. The Bee Flies are not called “bee flies” because they look like bees…though they do a bit…but because they are bee parasites, laying their eggs in ground bee nests where the larva eat, first the food the bees have stored, and then the bee larva when they hatch. Unsavory 🙂 Still it is an interesting creature. This one is quite a bit bigger than the white-furred one I found previously, and has more patten on the wings. There are many species of Bee Flies, and iSeek and its AI engine could come no closer. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Coy
I enjoy the symmetry and the flow of the pattern on this resting chipmunk’s back. And the rich browns in contrast to the blue green and grey wood. And I suppose the contrast in textures, wood and fur. And that’s it. That is all there is to this photo. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. Taken at Laudholm Farms in Wells, Maine.