Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — Our Bluebirds are certainly winter hardy…they have been with us for the past 7 or 8 years, and the adults have seen their share of snow…but that does not mean they are happy about it! (Of course, that is purely a projection. I actually have no idea how they feel about snow, or if they “feel” anything at all about snow.) Still, it is hard not to read some comment on snow into these selected Bluebird portraits. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. (And not through double-glazed glass doors for a change…I was actually out in the frigid temps waiting on the birds yesterday. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.

Hairy Woodpecker and Carolina Wren: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — Temperatures in the single digits all day and 16 inches of new snow on the ground make for lots of activity at the feeders. And a bit of unusual activity. Neither of these birds is frequent at the mealworms (though the wren loves to pick up the crumbs under the feeder), and to have both at the feeder at the same time is very rare. I took lots of photos, in an attempt to catch both birds in attractive poses in a single frame, but most of the time one or the other had its beak buried in the mealworm port. This is, in the end, two shots composited in Pixomatic. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and Pixomatic.

Red-bellied Woodpecker: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — The neighborhood Red-bellied Woodpecker has been coming to our suet feeder much more often this year than in years past, especially this winter. However, the suet feeder is way over on the far corner of the deck, in a position where I have to shoot through the glass at an oblique angle, which “softens” the image more than shooting straight through the double-glazed deck doors. So I am happy that the Red-bellied has discovered the mealworm feeder we keep full for the bluebirds and now, on occasion, comes over right in front of the doors so that I can shoot straight through the glass. (It does not take much to make me happy 🙂 Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Looking out across the frozen marsh, over the river to the sea (and into the sun). We are expecting up to 20 inches of snow on this landscape by tomorrow night as the storm passes over and stalls along the coast. We are two miles inland, so we will see what that amounts to in our yard. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 24mm equivalent field of view. Auto Landscape Mode. Processed in Photomator. 2 images stitched together in Bimostitch for the panoramic effect.

Immature Bald Eagle: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — I took a photoprowl down along the path through the marsh beside the river. It is deep January now, so there was not much happening other than a large flock of Canada Geese and some ducks, but just as I turned back to the car, a raptor came sailing in over the marsh, low. My immediate impression was Northern Harrier. I lost it as it flew low against the trees out near the road, but then picked up what I thought was the same bird in the air coming back. Now I was doubting myself though. It no longer looked like a Harrier, though it was behaving like one…flying low and buzzing the ducks. Eventually it soared right over me. By then, of course, I was under the pines that line the trail just before it reaches the road again, but I managed a few shots as it passed through openings in the canopy. Definitely not a Harrier. I was eager to get home and look at the images more closely to see what I had seen. This image is, unmistakably, an immature Bald Eagle (first year according to Gemini AI), but I did also get one shot of the Northern Harrier (against the light and only just good enough to make out what the bird is), so I did indeed see two different raptors behaving like a Harrier. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view (cropped to something like 800mm). Program with my action modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Horned Grebe: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — I went down to the local beach access where it crosses a tidal creek to see if there were any ducks (eiders, buffleheads, mergansers, golden-eyes) or loons or grebes. It was, as I remember it, a good spot for all three, but the numbers seem (to me) to have fallen off in recent years. I did find a couple of Horned Grebes feeding fairly near the bridge. Sony a7RC. Tamron 150-500 at 500mm on a tripod (cropped to at least 800mm equivalent field of view). Processed in Photomator.

Red-breasted Nuthatch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — We get White-breasted Nuthatches every day, many times a day…but their close cousins, the Red-breasted, only visit our deck much more rarely. Some months we do not see them at all. So when they do show up I am always happy to see them. All is right with the world once more! Silly, I know, to hang so much on one little bird…but there you have it! They are little too, even compared to the White-breasted, which is in no way big. Yesterday was a particularly cold, but bright, January day, but I have not been able to figure out any pattern to when the Red-breasted Nuthatch will show itself. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view (cropped to something like 600mm). Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.

Carolina Wren: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — After a fresh snowfall (maybe 6 inches total), the Carolina Wren showed up with the early birds, looking for mealworm crumbs the Bluebirds dropped under the feeder, in the snow shadow of the lower deck rail. I had my a7RC with the Tamron 150-500 out on a tripod in front of the deck doors because the birds were so active and was able to catch several shots of the wren at work in the snow and around the feeder. It was way too cold to have the deck doors open, so these are through two sheets of glass. The sun was behind heavy clouds. At 500mm, cropped to around 800mm equivalent field of view. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.

What is it about a snowy woods? Woods to me always have a holy feel…add a shroud of snow over every twig and bough and branch and the wood resounds with subtle praise…a chorus that cannot help but stir the heart. Or maybe that is just me? Catching that feeling in a photograph is not easy. I have tried repeatedly and will probably go on trying every time we have a clinging snow, and as long as I can get out into the woods to wonder at it. This image is 5 wide-angle frames (24mm equivalent field of view, Sony a6700 and Sigma 16-300), processed in Photomator and stacked in Bimostitch to form a vertical panorama. It is a vertical slice about 70 degrees wide and about 150 degrees tall, out of our approximately 180-degree total field of view. Like all panoramas, it bends reality and challenges the mind a bit…but then that is what any cathedral is actually designed to do. It is part of what produces the sense of awe. For best effect, view it on a screen that shows the whole image, so that you do not have to scroll. 🙂

Eastern Bluebird in crabapple/chokecherry: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — more shots of the Bluebird with the red berries…this time an attempt to suggest the active nature of the encounter. The berries were evidently reluctant to let go, but the bluebird was determined. I have not been able to determine if this particular winter berry tree is crabapple or chokecherry, or some ornamental. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in FrameMagic.