Costa Rica! 1st morning Resplendent Quetzal
Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — The Resplendent Quetzal is a difficult bird to photograph well. It is not secretive. They are easy to find in the Savegre River Valley in the Talamanca Mountains and in other highland areas of Central America. You just have to know which Wild Avacado trees are in fruit on any given day, and go, really early in the morning, well before breakfast, and stand, often in what passes for bitter cold in the tropics, in the pretty much dark before sunrise, and wait for them to come in, take a fruit, and go to a perch to sit a while and digest. The wind is always blowing the long covert feathers around, and there is never enough light for the camera, so you are using much higher ISO than any sane photographer likes, and there is often a misty rain falling. Did I mention that you generally have to climb a very steep hill at 8000 feet to get to the spot in the first place. And stand. And wait. But when the Quetzals come! Well it is all worth it…so worth it that generally I talk the guide and the group to going back the next pre-dawn to do it all over again. Part of it is that, even after 10 or more trips to San Geraldo de Dota, which amounts to 20 or more morning Quetzal waits, I still don’t have my definitive Quetzal shot. I have lots of good shots, but no great ones. It is just difficult to do photographic justice, under the typical conditions, to the resplendence of the Resplendent Quetzal. Some morning one will hang around until after sunrise, or we will happen on one in full daylight…but until then I will continue to amass pretty-good Quetzal shots from before breakfast on the cold side of a mountain in the mist. Woe is me! No really, I am already making plans for my next trip to San Geraldo de Dota in 2025. These two shots are from the first morning in December of 2023, my last visit of that trip. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. (With in this light amounted to ISO 25600, higher than I would have liked, at 1/200th, which is lower than I would have liked.) Woe. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Always on his toes
Red-bellied Woodpecker: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are around our yard much more often this spring than in past years or past seasons. I am pretty sure they have established a primary territory just across the road from us in a little patch of forest. I hear them calling from there a lot. That is okay by me. I enjoy every encounter. This one came back to the old pines three times while I sat out in my camp chair waiting for birds, and just this once came down low enough for some good photos. And great afternoon light too. It was super active of course, as they always are, and I like the tiptoe pose here as it moved rapidly up the branch…but then Red-bellieds are always on their toes. OM System OM-1MKii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Ibis on the hunt
Glossy Ibis: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — It is rare to see any wading bird that is not on the hunt. They don’t get much rest. This Glossy Ibis was having some success in one of the little ponds along Blackpoint Drive. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Costa Rica: Northern Visitors (snowbirds)
Baltimore Oriole and Tennessee Warbler: Feathers Garden, Savegre Mountain Hotel and Spa, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Costa Rica gets it share of North American snowbirds, birds that winter over in Costa Rica and breed in North America. Two of the most visible at most elevations are the Baltimore Oriole and the Tennessee Warbler. In fact I have seen more Tennessee Warblers in Costa Rica than I have in North America. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! My eclipse photos :)
Dark-eyed Junco, American Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Eastern Bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — We were just outside the path of totality here on the southern Maine coast…95% and I did not invest in the filters needed to view or photograph the eclipse itself, nor was I compelled to drive inland an hour and half to get to full totality. I figured Facebook would be flooded with eclipse photos this morning, and I was right. I did go out to the backyard during what passed for totality here to photograph some birds in the strange afternoon twilight. It never got dark, even at 95% total…it was just more like the light was softened and diminished…indeed like an early twilight but with the sun still high in the sky. The birds did not seem to notice. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Crows
American Crow: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — It might be just my imagination, or my age related memory changes, but I don’t ever remember seeing so many crows in York County as there are this year. At least not in our neighborhood. There is something in the yard kitty-corner to us that has been attracting them over the past few days, and they are in the trees around us much of the day. And you cannot step outside without hearing them calling. While they are common and abundant, and not pretty by most any standard, I actually enjoy Crows. I always think they have a sense of humor and play (I might say mischief) that is uncommon among birds. They always appear to laughing at each other, and at me. With the tree branches still bare it is a good time to photograph them too. None of these were super close, but close enough for decent photos. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! More Egrets Posturing
Great Egret: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, January 2024 — With Snowy Egrets it is all about dancing on water. With Great Egrets it is all about the spread wings. Or at least it was on this day at Merritt Island. And I had lots to choose from. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at from 246 to 420mm equivalents. Program mode with my birds in flight and action modifications. -0.3EV Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Wet Bluebird
Eastern bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The tail end of the April Nor’easter brought a pretty constant cold drizzle all day yesterday, but that does not fully account for how wet this Bluebird is. I suspect it was bathing somewhere. I can only hope it found some warmer water. It also appears to have been half blow-dried, but that might just have been the fitful wind and its own attempts at preening. I would, of course, have preferred not to have the foreground branch, but does not quite spoil the shots for me and perhaps adds context to the distinctive attitude of the bird. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! White-throated Mountain Gem
White-throated Mountain Gem: Feathers Garden, Savegre Mountain Hotel and Spa, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There are three Mountain-gems in Costa Rica. The females of the White-throated (common at higher elevations) and the Purple-throated (more common at foothill and mid elevations) are almost identical, with rufous breasts, green upper side, and a bold white eye-stripe, but the males are distinctive, one with a white gorget and the other, as you might guess, with a purple gorget. Both male and female White-bellied Mountain-gem would not be confused with the other two. They are all smallish hummingbirds with active, feisty personalities, and though always smaller in number, they keep up with the Lesser Violet-ears and Talamanca where they occur together. This is the White-throated Mountain-gem, both male and female, from two consecutive days at Feathers Garden at Savegre Hotel. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Crocus
Our Crocus only got to bloom for two days before being buried in the April Nor’easter’s six inches of snow and ice. We will see if there is anything left by the time the snow melts. I doubt it. These are all hand-held focus stacks with the OM System OM-1 and the M. Zuiko 12-45 f4 zoom at 90mm equivalent. The last 2 closer shots also use the built in digital tel-converter for an equivalent focal length of 180mm and a 1:1 image ratio. Processed in Photomator.