Sanderlings: York County, Maine, USA, September 2023 — Still showing off the shots from the beach as Hurricane Lee went by off-shore, These are Sanderlings bathing and preening…taking a break from their frantic feeding. Ever active at the height of the storm. OM Systems OM1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro. ISO 200 @ f63 @ 1/640th.

Semi-palmated Plover: York County, Maine, USA, September 2023 — As Hurricane Lee passed by, the migrant shorebirds congregated on our local beaches…mostly Sanderlings, but there are still a few Semi-palmated Plovers coming through. This handsome bird was feeding above the tide-line. OM Systems OM1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 400 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.

Sanderlings: York County, Maine, USA — As Hurricane Lee passed by off-shore, we had our first real inundation of Sanderlings on our local beaches, likely forced in trying to get around the storm. If you look at a distribution map you will see that they breed at the very north fringes to the continent. Their winter range starts just south of us on the east coast, and we do see them into winter, but mostly we just get them as they pass through. They were feeding furiously and very hard to catch in the frame. Another tidbit gleaned in this morning’s research is that the name comes from “sand plowman”…makes sense 🙂 OM Systems OM1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro. Mostly ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th and 1/800th.

Baird’s Sandpiper: York County, Maine, USA, September 2023 — Though they are classified as rare on the east coast and in Maine, I am pretty sure this is a Baird’s Sandpiper…a lone bird feeding quite far from all the Semi-palmated Sandpipers and Plovers, in the dry sand above the surf line. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro. ISO 200 @ f7.1 @ 1/1000th.

Semi-palmated Plovers: York County, Maine, USA, September 2023 — Semi-palmated Plovers have a lot of attitude and they were showing several varieties last week on our local beach as they waited for hurricane Lee to pass by. Maybe it was the weather? OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro. ISO 200 @ f8 @ 1/1000th.

Semi-palmated Sandpipers: York County, Maine, USA — Just before Lee arrived off-shore, the birds came into our beaches to get away from the storm and they were most confiding. They were not actively feeding…just waiting and happy to have their photos taken while they waited. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modificaitons. Processed in Pixomator Pro. ISO 200 @ f7.1 @ 1/1000th.

Semi-palmated Plover: York County, Maine, USA — The Semi-palms are already headed south from their breeding grounds in the far arctic, and stopping to feed on our beaches here in York County. Always a cheerful sight. This one is at the edge of a tidal creek. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.

Piping Plover: York County, Maine, USA, June 2023 — These are 3-4 week old chicks from our local beach, again, taken from a good distance with my 800mm equivalent lens and cropped for scale. Though they are feeding on their own, and have been for a couple of weeks, they are still calling mom to come attend to them. Often the female has left the chicks to their own devices by now, so she may or may not come running. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f8 @ 1/1250th.