Piping Plover chick: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — I have been seeing photos of this piping plover chick since it hatched a week ago, but not seen it myself until Monday. They blend in so well with the sand, and it is, after all, only one tiny puff of feathers and toothpick legs. It is so small and so fuzzy, that the camera still will not focus on it even at a week old. It is pretty much independent now. The parents have even given up trying to keep it corralled to the safe zone behind the nesting area ropes. It is running all over the beach. Which is probably why I finally saw it. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent (and heavily cropped at that). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Least Tern: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — I am still very much “practicing” to be a Tern photographer…at least a terns-in-flight photographer. They are way faster and more agile than either I or my camera. Still persistence sometimes almost pays off. 🙂 This is almost a satisfying shot. Almost, if I don’t look too close. I will try a slightly faster shutter speed next time out. I remind myself it is not about perfection. It is only about catching a hint of the grace and beauty of the living tern. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Piping Plover: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — There are probably more Piping Plover pairs on our local beach than I have seen. They tend to be illusive and blend in well with the environment. Which is a good thing, all things considered. It is how they have survived this long, though as the density of humans, and their dogs and litter, has increased along the coast-line, survival has become harder. Which is why they are now protected, and why the upper edgers of the beach, above high tide line and up against the beach rose, where they nest, is roped off on most beaches in Southern Maine right now. I ask, as always, that you give them space. This is a long telephoto shot, and cropped to fill the frame. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Black-bellied Plover: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — I think this might be the first full breeding plumage Black-bellied Plover I have ever seen. I was drawn down to the tide-line on our local beach by what turned out to be a group of Bonaparte’s Gulls, but while there found a small group (6 individuals) of Black-bellied Plovers in the surf, all except this one still in their Grey Plover stage, or just beginning to molt into breeding. This one certainly stood out! In Europe they are called Grey Plover because they are seen mostly in non-breeding (winter) plumage. In North America they are called Black-bellied because we see them molting into breeding with at least the black on the belly developing, and, further north, in their full black and white plumage. This one is clearly getting an early start. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm (and cropped). Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Song Sparrow: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, May 2025 — It is all about the song! This avid singer was posted up on a no parking sign, singing the new day when got to our local beach. I just stepped off the trike and shot. You could even say the song lifted my camera and pressed the shutter. Just glad to be there. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed (and cropped a bit) in Photomator.