Northern Cardinal: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — Back to back yard birds of Southern Maine. I took a walk yesterday, trying to build some stamina after my pacemaker events, and, of course, to see if I could find the winter flock of Robins and Cedar Waxwings…I still do not know where they are…but I did find two male cardinals skulking through the dense brush in a bit of wetland between our street and a newish development. I have seen Cardinals there several times now, so I am always looking. They were, however, playing very hard to get…staying deep in the brush, beyond ideal photographic distance, and heavily obscured, so I really had to work to find even a marginal clear line of sight. It might have been frustrating, but I enjoyed the challenge and came back with a handful of images I would be willing to share. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Forster’s Tern: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville, Florida, January 2025 — The fishing was good along one stretch of the canal next to Blackpoint Drive on the day, almost exactly a year ago now, that I visited. I was wondering where the concentration of waders was, but as I came around a bend, there they were…a mixed flock of mostly white birds. And lots of terns in the air. This is the Forster’s Tern in its non-breeding plumage. Kiting terns are among the easiest and hardest of birds to catch in flight. They stand in the air on outstretched wings, but when they move, they are very fast. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program with action and flight modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Roseate Spoonbill: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville, Florida, USA — Still revisiting photos from my January 2025 trip to Space Coast Florida. The spoonbills like to stand in the shadow of the mangroves along the channels that line the road at Blackpoint. The birds are in full afternoon sun, and the mangroves are in such deep shade that they go completely black if the bird is exposed correctly…incidentally producing a very striking effect. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Tricolored Heron: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville, Florida, USA — Back in Florida, last January again, for the Space Coast Birding Festival, and out along Blackpoint Wildlife Drive where the Tricolored Heron’s dance on the water against the afternoon light. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent field of view. Birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Limpkin: Orlando Wetlands Scenic Park, Christmas, Florida, January 2025 — Continuing my break from backyard birds, we drop back almost a year to my last trip to the Space Coast Birding Festival in Florida. I spent a couple of mornings leading Point and Shoot Nature Photography workshops at Orlando Wetlands, and on both mornings had Limpkin encounters. Limpkins are highly specialized, Apple Snail-eating birds, with a consequently very restricted range. If you are going to be on the Space Coast this January and your time overlaps with the festival, you might want to join me on one of my workshops. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program with birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Talamanca Hummingbird: Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica, March 2025 — Taking a break from our southern Maine backyard birds for a few days (unless something spectacular appears outside my window). This is one of my favorite hummingbirds from one of my favorite places to photograph hummingbirds. The Talamanca Hummingbird is the largest in Costa Rica and one of the largest in the world. It used to be the Magnificent Hummingbird until they decided that the birds of the mountains of Central America and the Mountains of Mexico and the Southwest US were distinct species and needed separate names. (Our Magnificent is now the Rivoli’s Hummingbird…but that won’t last long as they are doing away with all “honorific names”.) At any rate, whatever they call it, this is a large, bright, often aggressive, hummer of the highlands, with vivid colors from its gorget to its cap to its breast and flanks. Magnificent was a fully appropriate name. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, December 2025 — Still working with December’s photos, this is from the Christmas Eve snowstorm. Showing lots of blue against the snow. We are so blessed to have our family of neighborhood bluebirds to brighten our winter (and summer) days. For some reason, they just project a lot of birdality…full of character and visible intent. It does not hurt that they are good-sized and colorful. Always fun to watch. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Carolina Wren: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, December 2025 — Since I was in the hospital on the 1st of January, I am still working off the photos from December. I rarely see this Carolina Wren in the sunshine, as I am not generally near the back deck feeders after breakfast, but I caught it one day last week when coming out to get my lunch…just as it was getting its. Note the ruffled-up feathers above the right leg (left in the photo). This bird has had that feather issue since it was a fledgling. It only adds to the uniqueness of the bird. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Red-bellied Woodpecker: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, December (barely) 2025 — The Red-bellied Woodpecker comes to our suet feeder a few times a day…which is in the far corner of the deck at a bad angle for photography through the double-glazed deck doors…but occasionally these days it comes to the sunflowers or mealworms, both of which are closer and at a better angle through the glass. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. And, for those who do not already go, I go for a pacemaker revision and upgrade today. If you are a praying person, I would appreciate your prayers; if not, spare me a good thought. Thank you.

I started photographing “ice bells” many years ago now, and I go out looking for them along the river here in Kennebunk on single-digit mornings. It used to be easier to find them, before someone cut all the willow wands overhanging the Mousam at Roger’s Pond Park back to accommodate the fly-fisherman. I do not know who thought that was a good idea, but they obviously did not share my love of ice bells. Still, there are a few. The Mousam there is ideal for their formation as the water level varies continuously on the tide, and yet the water is fresh enough (not salty) to freeze smoothly. There is also enough splash from the rapids to reach up several inches on the willow wands that remain. And so you get ice bells. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. My Macro settings (Aperture preferred. f10 @ 1/125th). Processed in Photomator.