Eastern Kingbird, Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area

There are generally a few Eastern Kingbirds nesting around Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area in West Kennebunk, Maine. This year is no exception. I heard their chatter before I saw them. They hunt bugs over the pond. I was hunting dragonflies myself when this one landed in the pine above me. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 160. Processed in Polarr.

Asian Lily, Sweet William, Foxglove, Lamb’s Ear

Just a few flowers from around the yard. It is that time of year in southern Maine. We don’t have the mass display of other yards, but we do have a variety. The Foxglove and Lamb’s Ear are volunteers…self seeded from year to year…always coming up somewhere new. 🙂 I love having such beauty in our yard. Sony RX10iv in Program Mode. Various focal lengths and exposures. In-camera HDR. Processed in Polarr and assembled in FrameMagic.

Canada Geese with goslings, Branch Brook, Kennebunk Maine

I was out on my eBike last week, crossing Branch Brook on Rt. 9, when a large group of Canada Geese goslings caught my eye. I had to stop and take a few pics. 🙂 The goslings are pretty big, and, while it is not unheard of to see them in a group this size, I have not seen a group like this for quite some time. I suspect it is a nursery group, the hatch of 4 females, but it might be just unusually large broods of two pairs. There were two adult geese with them, though only three show in the photo. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 160. Processed in Polarr.

Asian Multi-colored Ladybird, Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine

This Ladybug caught my eye on my last photoprowl to Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve). How could it not? Especially ensconced on the bright green leaf. It was blowing around in the wind, so I had to resort to tracking auto focus to get a sharp shot, and even then I only really got one out of a burst of a dozen or more. A little research this morning reminded me that individual species of Ladybugs most often are named “Ladybird”…this is, I think, the Multi-colored Asian Ladybird…invasive in most parts of North America, and worldwide. It is one of the few Ladybirds with more than 7 spots. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with tracking auto focus. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

Wine-throated Hummingbird, La Tigra National Park, Honduras

I am working on my article on the Birds Honduras trip to the highlands of Honduras, so I am looking back through the images. I posted a single shot of the Wine-throated Hummingbird Alex Alvarado found for me in La Tigra National Park above Tegucigalpa. It really deserves more! I told the story briefly of following Alex as he bushwhacked off the trail to a precarious vantage on this bird as it fed and returned to one of several perches in front of us. We were literally balanced on fallen trees covered with vines and buried in reeds, and the way in was beset with thorny plants and stuff in the undergrowth that I do not want to think about. Worth it though. One of the most amazing hummers I have ever seen. Tiny! We were maybe 30 feet from its perches and this is the best I could do at 600mm…and heavily cropped at that. Sony RX10iv. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 125. Processed in Polarr and assembled in FrameMagic.

Tom Turkey, Laudholm Farms, Wells Maine

I have known for a while that this Tom Turkey must exist. I have see his harem out and about at Laudholm Farms, and in the yards near the entrance, but this is the first time I have seen him…at least in several years. He is a magnificent specimen, and never more magnificent than when on full display as in these shots. He was guarding his harem as they fed…keeping the tail spread and the full fluff on. What can I say? A sight to be seen! Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 500. Processed in Polarr.

Blue Flag Iris, Blue Eyed Grass, Rose Pagonia Orchid, Wild Rose, Sheep Laurel, Nightshade, Owl Clover, Cinquefoil, Milkweed.

On my recent photoprowl to Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve) Rose Pagonia was not the only wildflower blooming (see last Sunday’s The Generous Eye post). This is a panel of 9 of the wildflowers of Laudholm Farms in June. Left to right and down: Blue Flag Iris, Blue Eyed Grass, Rose Pagonia Orchid, Wild Rose, Sheep Laurel, Nightshade, Owl Clover, Tall Cinquefoil, and Milkweed. All were taken with the Sony RX10iv and all at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr and assembled in FrameMagic. Ah to be in Maine in June.

Calico Pennant, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Area, W. Kennebunk Maine

This shot is from my photoprowl and dragonfly hunt to Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area last week. One of the earliest dragonflies to fly in Southern Maine, and certainly the most colorful early dragon…the Calico Pennant. I have suggested before that it really should be renamed the Valentine Skimmer because of the hearts on its abdomen and hindwings. No one in the powers that rule the Odonatal world listens to me though 🙂 You only have to see one perched, twisting in the wind, to know why it is a “pennant”. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode with Program Shift for greater depth of field. 1/160th @ f7.1 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

Cinquefoil with Green Bee, Laudholm Farms, Wells Maine

I was photographing the Cinquefoil in the butterfly meadow at Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve) in Wells, Maine, when I spotted this Green Metallic Bee on one. I thought it flew before I could get focused and press the shutter. In fact I spent several moments trying, unsuccessfully, to find where the bee went for another try. When I looked at the pics at home, I did manage to catch this one shot of the bee departing. I like Green Metallic Bees…all of the metallic bees in fact. I rarely see them because they are so very small, but I delight in every one I do see. This shot, with the beautiful Cinquefoil, is even more special. 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 590mm. Program mode with Program Shift for greater depth of field. 1/1000th @ f8 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

Cedar Waxwing, Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine.

While out looking for orchids in the bog at Laudholm Farms (Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve), I came up on a small flock of Cedar Waxwings that flew ahead of me down either side of the trail and perched for a few photos. It was midday and the light was harsh, but it does bring out every pin-feather of the breast. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/800th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr. View large for the feather detail. 🙂