Willet; Kennebunk, Maine, USA, July 2026 — Several pairs of Willets are nesting in the marshes behind the dunes at our local beach. Yesterday they were in full protection mode, acting as though there were chicks already, though I could not see any chicks. Hopefully, they are well hidden in the deep marsh grasses. I was nowhere near either adult, but they were certainly on high alert and even took to the air in an attempt to intimidate me. With some success, I might add. They are a lot bigger and way less agile than Least Terns, but thankfully, they appear to know the limits of their own turn ratio and keep a good distance. A close encounter would not be comfortable for either of us. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at about 600 to 900mm effective field of view crops. Program with flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Great Egret: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, July 2026 — as I mentioned, I saw the first “flock” of mixed waders this past week in the marshes along the river, two Great Egrets among them. I watched this one fish along the edge of one of the pools in the marshes for a half hour. It was taking something bigger than the marsh shrimp they usually take in these pools, but mostly it was just looking. 🙂 Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at about 800mm equivalent field of view crop. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. -.3EV to preserve the highlights. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.

Piping Plover Chicks: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, July 2026 — I had not seen the Piping Plover chicks since they were 2 days old. I found them again the other day—or to be more precise—they found me. The parents were doing their chicks on a loose thing, thought there were no chicks in sight, so I sat down on my folding stool and waited. Sure enough, the first one, and then the other came down across the protected area at the top of the dune and out onto the beach. I sat and watched and snapped while they made their way to the tide-line for a snack, and then, eventually, headed back into the protected area. At two weeks old, they have grown considerably, but they are still mostly fluff on long legs. As you see they are beginning to stretch their wings. Their eyes are fully open now, though, which makes them marginally easier to focus on. 🙂 Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at between 600 and 800mm equivalent field of view crops. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Great Blue Heron (Great and Snowy Egret): Kennebunk, Maine, USA. July 2026 — I have gotten out early the past few days to stay ahead of the heat and air quality warnings. I found my first “pod” of waders along the marsh trail. I have seen solitary birds for the past month or more, but this was the first gathering in the same feeding pool of any number of birds. There were, when I first saw them, 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Great Egrets, and numerous Snowy Egrets. Not a big group by Florida standards, but nice to see in southern Maine. I pulled out my folding stool and sat at the edge of the marsh and watched them feed and interact for a half hour. This is, of course, a photo of the Great Blue Heron, but I could not resist leaving the Great Egret and Snowy Egret in there for company 🙂 Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at about 600mm equivalent field of view crop. Program with birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Piping Plover: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2026 — Here are a few shots from the last days of June which show some unusual (to me at least) plover behavior. These two adults were guarding two two-week-old chicks, and they had discovered that a perch up on a driftwood snag right at the edge of the protected area of dunes made an ideal vantage point. The chicks were spending most of their time high on the dune, inside the roped-off area, but they would occasionally venture out to the tide line for a snack. I perched myself on my little folding stool and watched. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at around 450 to 800mm field of view crops. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Pileated Woodpecker: Benton, Maine, USA, July 2026 — I went for a walk on the old rail bed parallel to the river while visiting up-Maine. I was coming back when a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers took off from ground level and soared out into the forest between the trail and the river. I always forget just how big they are until they fly, and these two flew all around me, back and forth across the trail a dozen feet above me, while I worked at getting photos of them when they perched. The forest was dense, and clear shots were hard to come by, but I got a few images I can live with. Pileated, by the way, means “capped”. 🙂 Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 contemporary at around 8-900mm equivalent field of view crop. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Common Yellowthroat: Benton, Maine, USA, July 2026 — Carol and I went visiting up-Maine yesterday—at least the down edge of up-Maine. A long-time friend was visiting from California. In the fields belonging to her son, I found two pairs of Common Yellowthroats interacting close to each other. According to Gemini, this is still likely a courting couple, and that is certainly what it looked like. Interestingly, it was the female singing and the male that was pursuing. Sony A6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at about an 800mm equivalent field of view crop. Program with birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.

Calico Pennant Dragonfly: Kennebunk Plains Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2026 — When I last went out to the Kennebunk Plains, it was looking very dry. Yesterday, it looked much healthier. And there were dragonflies by the pond. This is one of my favorite dragons—though I persist in thinking it is misnamed. It is the Calico Pennant. Calico, I assume, in reference to the printed cotton cloth, and pennant from its habit of landing on tall stalky things and swinging in the wind like a flag. Clearly, though, they missed an opportunity with the red hearts and the general festive redness. Valentine’s Pennant would be so easy. Whatever, I am always delighted to find them, quite early in the dragon season. Sony a6700. Signs 16-300 Contemporary at about 600mm equivalent field of view crop. Program with insect modifications. Processed in Photomator.

One of my favorite vistas along the Bridle Trail in Kennebunk, this swampy meadow always draws my eye and my camera. I am still seeing what the new Viltrox 14mm f/4 lens on the Sony a7CR can do. This is promising. You can blow this up as large as you like and not lose detail. And yet, at whatever size you view it, it captures the soft light of day that started socked in with fog and the gentle way the sun is advancing across the meadow toward us. I like it. Sony a7CR. Viltrox 14mm f/4. Auto with Landscape mode selection. Processed in Photomator.

Blue Toadflax: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2026 — One of the more delicate of Maine wildflowers, favoring sandy soils and roadsides, the Blue Toadflax gets its name from the shape of the tiny flowers—which to some suggest toads—and the shape of the leaves, which resemble true flax. I try to photograph it almost every year, but since the tall, thin stalks catch every hit of breeze, it is not easy. I found these at the road’s edge in the wind shadow of the dense brush at the edge of a marshy area and waited out the breeze. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at 99mm equivalent field of view. Mounted on my tiny carbon fiber tripod. Aperture with macro modifications. f/18 @ 1/30th @ ISO 640 (I only selected the aperture for depth of field; the camera did the rest.) Processed in Photomator.