Wood Lily!
I rode my ebike out to the Kennebunk Plains yesterday looking for dragonflies, and was surprised to find the the Wood Lilies in full bloom. This feels early for Wood Lily. I think of them in full bloom in mid to late July…but there they were. Much of the area where they grow was included in the prescribed burn of last September, and it looks like we will not have lilies this year in those areas, but along the edge in the deeper brush that did not burn, they are tall already. The light was lovely yesterday afternoon and showed the lilies to best advantage. Sony Rx10iv at 480mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Ebony Jewelwing
Ebony Jewelwing, Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine — As it happens I am better acquainted with ebony, the wood, than most. I apprenticed for six months with a violin bow maker, and spent most of my time making “frogs”…the part of the bow at the end where you grip that holds the hair and moves to adjust the tension of the bow. The frog is made of ebony. So when I tell you that the wings of the Ebony Jewelwing have a texture very close to real ebony, you can believe me. Both have the subtle “grain” of just lighter streaks…which is hard to capture in a photo. It took some fancy luminance masking in Polarr to bring up the texture in the wings in this photo, without throwing the rest of the exposure all out of wack. No credit to me. Polarr makes it easy. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Simple Gifts: Song Sparrow
I was hunting for dragonflies at Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport, Maine, when this Song Sparrow popped up beside me, just above eye-level and practically within arms reach. It proceeded to chitter at me. It did not burst into full song…but it definitely wanted my attention, so I gave it. We had a little face off over the next few moments. It changed perches but still seemed to regard me with some interest. Not sure what was going on there, but it was interesting. I am not about to ignore simple gifts…and this song sparrow so close was just that! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Spangled Skimmer: Forth of July Dragonfly
Spangled Skimmer, Forever Wild Preserve, Kennebunk, Maine — I like dragonflies (you might have noticed). They are amazing creatures from a creative design and mechanics point of view, and often aesthetically amazing as well. This skimmer is nothing special to look at while perched, but in flight, those white spots on the wings make a dance like a child swinging a sparkler on the Forth of July. A thing of beauty. And fitting for the day. 🙂 This is not your usual id portrait shot, but I find the pose interesting and the details of face and the plant as well. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Six-spotted Tiger Beetle
Of all the insects in the world, I like the green, shiny ones the best! There, I have said it. It makes no sense, but I can not deny it. I like green shiny insects! I found these Six-spotted Tiger Beetles hunting on the rocks along the trail at the Forever Wild Preserve in Kennebunk, Maine, while I was out hunting for dragonflies myself. (We shared a hunter’s moment. 🙂 ) From an insect’s point of view, these are indeed tigers, with fearsome jaws. They prey on any other insect they can catch. I read on wiki that even their larva pop up out of the ground like jack-in-the-boxes to capture passing prey. Fierce indeed. And so pretty, so shiny, so green! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. (Note that one of these has only 4 spots…but that is, again, according to wiki, not all that uncommon.)
Another immigrant: Essex Skipper
Essex Skipper (European Skipper), Forever Wild Preserve, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I am apparently more of a chauvinist than I am aware of…whenever I look up a species that I have photographed and find that it is a non-native species, I am slightly disappointed. This is such a case. I photographed this little skipper on the trail at the Forever Wild Preserve, and had to look it up. It is, according to the Leps artificial intelligence engine, and subsequent research, the Essex Skipper. The Essex Skipper, sometimes called the European Skipper here, was accidentally introduced in Ontario, Canada in 1910, and is now the most common skipper in New England. I have to remind myself that I am a child of immigrants myself before I am ready to make room for the Essex Sipper in the American pantheon…but then I guess that is just human nature. All God’s creatures, great and small. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Wild Rose with Snout Beatles
The wild roses are in bloom at Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve) just down the road from us…well, actually, they are in bloom all though southern Maine right now…but I photographed this one at Laudholm Farms. It has some pesky visitors, known to gardeners (and everyone else) as the Red-snout Beatles. They are not welcome in most people’s gardens, as they damage the plants, but I guess, out here in nature, they are to be expected where the flowers are in bloom. Sony Rx10iv at 512mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Little Green Metallic Bee on Owl Clover
The Green Metallic Bee clan is among my favorite set of insects. They are mostly tiny. If you know Owl Clover you know that the blossoms are themselves quite small, so you can get a sense of just how small the bee is. I am always delighted to find one. I only found my first one a few years ago, quite by chance, right in our front yard working the flowers. I never “expect” to see them, and certainly did not expect one when I bent down to photograph the Owl Clover. I did a brief search, by the way, on why Owl Clover is called Owl Clover. The consensus seems to be that no one knows. ? Some say the flower heads might look like little owls with the individual blossoms making “owl ears”…but no one seems to be particularly convinced by that solution…and I certainly am not. It shall remain a mystery. Of course there is no doubt about why the Green Metallic Bee is called the Green Metallic Bee. 🙂 Like the Owl Clover, there are many species of Green Metallic Bee…not all of them tiny. I won’t even attempt to hazard a guess as to which one this is, though I am pretty sure it is the only species I have ever seen here in Southern Maine. Sony Rx10iv at about 90mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Grass Pink Orchids
Grass Pink Orchids come in many different shades and there is even a rare White Grass Pink Orchid, which is its own species. The last flower in this series might be one…but it could be just a unusually pale Grass Pink. It certainly stood out among all the pinker Grass Pinks in the tiny remnant bog at Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve), in Wells, Maine. The boardwalk through the bog is my go-to place for at least two bog orchids…the Grass Pink and the Rose Pogonia …though it was apparently too dry this spring for the Pagonias. Sony Rx10iv at various focal lengths from 600mm to about 80mm using Sony’s full time macro. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications (which I also use for macro). Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Hey Bobolink!
Bobolink, Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve), Wells, Maine, USA — It is that time of year again. The Bobolinks at Laudholm Farms are nesting, and males are defending territory. This male has an established territory right next to one of the trails and the folks at Laudholm have staked it off. He finds the stakes make great perched for his territorial display. I find that they make great spots for him to pose for his photo. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.