Snowberry Clearwing Moth
Snowberry Clearwing Moth, Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy. Kennebunk, Maine. — We had biking weather (above 60 degrees) over the weekend and I went out to the Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy. It has been the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area for several years, owned by the Nature Conservancy and managed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, but evidently the Nature Conservancy has taken back the management duties this year, or so the new signs and gates would indicate. It is one of the few places where I often see Clearwing Moths. Last year I photographed the Hummingbird Clearwing on the Plains, and this weekend this Snowberry Clearwing was flying inches over the ground. At first I took it for one of those big ground bees, wood bees, bumble bees we get in spring but when I looked closer the clearwings were obvious. It appeared to laying eggs on the short stubble left form last September’s prescribed burn. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Nuthatch‘s grappling hooks
White-breasted Nuthatch, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — The Nuthatches are always fun to watch. They are very active birds and highly acrobatic. In this series you can see the “grappling hook” toes that allow them to scamper around on the bark of trees. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Trout Lily
There is a poem that goes with this:
I went out for Trout Lily today.
Lily season in the Maine woods,
and I was inspired by photos
posted by other stay-at-home
friend photographers around
the country. I braved the Black
Flies (that’s me risking, truth to
be told, a severe allergic reaction),
pedaled almost 10 miles to the
trail head in Emmon’s Preserve,
hiked in and there they were,
right where I expected them…
clusters of bright yellow flowers,
nodding, showing the red-orange
on the backs of their petals, over
dark green brown-dappled leaves.
Perfection. I took, as you might
expect, a lot of photos, and made
it down to the river to check the falls,
then walked back to the bike and
peddled the 10 miles home.
That’s it. Trout Lily mission
accomplished for 2020, despite
the pandemic’s best efforts.
There have been a few years where I missed the Trout Lilies altogether, because they always bloom so much earlier than I expect. I was happy to be prompted by friends in Concord, New Hampshire, inland and slightly south of us, where the lilies were in bloom a week ago, and by photos from other parts of the country. And, as a bonus, we had temps in the 60s and on and off sun yesterday. Perfect to get out on the ebike. Sony Rx10iv at 24mm equivalent. HDR mode. Nominal exposure ISO 100 @ 1/250th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Mourning Doves spend a lot of time feeding on the ground, and most of my photos are of doves on the ground. This one came a perched nicely in front of the blind up just above eye-level. I like the tones in this photo. The dove looks like it might be cast in brass, while the feather detail against the smooth bokeh of the tree in the background adds a dimension to the photo. Right time, right place, and ready! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Ma Cardinal takes a seed.
Northern Cardinal (female), Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I mentioned the skulking habits of our neighborhood Cardinals yesterday when posting a photo of the male. This is his mate working the ground under the feeders yesterday. She perches only a moment on her way in and way out, but spends the rest of her time on the ground in the leaf litter. A beautiful bird but a photographic challenge. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Cardinal
Northern Cardinal, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — When the Cardinals come to our yard them seem to like to skulk around in the underbrush under the pines by my photo blind. They only perch high for seconds coming and going and I have yet to see them sing from our yard, though I can hear them singing from the yards and woods around us. The male will use one of the feeders and has made several attempts to figure out how to get to the bird bath for a drink…so far without success. Still, I am always happy to see them. Who wouldn’t be? Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Goldfinch in song
American Goldfinch, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I find these photos particularly amusing because of the contrast of how hard the Goldfinch tries to sing, and how tiny the actual sound is. I published this little poem a few days ago, but it bears repeating here. 🙂
The Goldfinch sings such a wispy tune,
a whisper song, an absent-minded twitter
totally without conviction. It takes a flock
of them to make much noise, and then
it has all the coherence of a string ensemble
behind a closed door tuning. I want to say,
“hey, Goldfinches, you can do better!” but
then, considering the numbers coming to our
feeders, their song, no matter how deficiently
soft and un-melodic to my untrained ear, must
be perfectly sufficient to Goldfinch needs.
Got to give them points for effort as well. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Brown Creeper
Brown Creeper, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I am seeing a lot of Brown Creepers this spring. I saw one in early March at Roger’s Pond Park (when the park was still open, pre-pandemic closures), and I have seen them in April in the forest on both sides of lower Brown Street on my neighborhood walks. Yesterday, to my surprise and delight, one came and worked the Pines right in front of my photo blind. Still not as close as I would like and no easier to catch as it moved rapidly up the tree trunks, but as close as I have ever seen one (not counting the window stunned creeper we found on the deck one morning last year). Great little bird. I have lots of photos of their near relatives, probably a dozen different species, from Central and South American rain and cloud forests…but they are much bigger birds and easier to see, since the move in mixed feeding flocks with the bright and vocal tanagers. Our creeper is solitary and mostly silent. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Cropped considerably. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Worm-eating Pine Warbler
Pine Warbler, Kennebunk Maine, USA — Pine Warblers have a reputation, among the wood warblers of North America, of being one of the few who will come to feeders…specifically to suet. The Pines we are hosting this spring also seem to be quite fond of dried mealworms. They pick at the broken bits in the feeder, but they will take a whole mealworm away to work on it in private, as this one is in the process of doing. Taken from my backyard photo blind feeder station. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent (cropped to 1680mm equivalent). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Male and female bluebirds
Eastern Bluebird, Kennebunk, Maine, USA. — My backyard photo blind provides a great opportunity to observe and photograph the common birds of my neighborhood. Here are the male and female of one of the pairs of Eastern Bluebirds that frequent the mealworm feeders in our yard. The two photos were taken moments apart at the same feeding station, so the light is uniform, and you can really see and appreciate the plumage differences. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. (880mm cropped). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.