Posts in Category: birds
Frumpy Field Sparrow
Field Sparrow: Kennebunk Plains Preserve, Kennebunk, Maine, USA. — I went for a photoprowl on my eTrike yesterday, since my stock of photos or my Pic for today posts was running low, and had no more than parked the trike at the Kennebunk Plains, than this Field Sparrow hopped up to see what I was doing. It posed long enough for me to get a few portrait shots. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. In order to fill the frame at the distance, I relied on some extra processing. Processed as I normally would in Polarr for highlights and shadows, sharpness, etc. and then run through Pixelmator Pro Photo’s Machine Learning Maximum Resolution, and recropped for scale. The two shot were assembled in FrameMagic to give you a both sides view. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th.
Downy at the sunflower seeds…
Downy Woodpecker: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — until this year, I had not noticed the Downy Woodpeckers at the feeders, other than the suet feeders, enough to realize that they are regular seed eaters. When I mentioned that discovery this spring, others assured me that “their downies” ate seed all the time, so I guess it was just me (or possibly “my downies”). It is still a treat to see them at the sunflowers. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent in only fair light. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Chickadee in low light
Black-capped Chickadee: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — While photographing the Red-breasted Nuthatch the other morning early, I could not resist this Chickadee using the same feeder. Nothing so bold as a chickadee. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe: Wells Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA — The Phoebes are faithful in Southern Maine. They arrive early in spring, and leave late in fall, and they are abundant and very present most places you might go all summer. There are certainly numbers of them along the lower trails at Laudholm Farms. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr, Pixelmator Pro Photo (ML Super Resolution) and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th.
Red-breasted Nuthatch visit
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — The Red-breasted Nuthatches come rarely enough to our feeders that I count each visit as something special…even when they come, as this one did, well past the hour for decent photography. It is getting dark early these late September days. A shot like this strains the abilities of the Sony Rx10iv. 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 5000 @ f4 @ 1/500th. I am eagerly awaiting Topaz DeNoise for the iPad…but they are taking their own sweet time with it. 🙂
Bluebird in training…
Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — A few days ago I featured a fledgling from the first brood of Eastern Bluebirds from this season in our neighborhood…this is a fledgling from the second brood. All the young birds seem to be spending their time together as fall comes on, and I have not seen the adults (to notice) in a week or so. Maybe the youngsters have claimed our yard and feeders as a hangout…or maybe the adults are just foraging further afield. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
A work in progress…
Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — This is one of this year’s fledglings, maybe from the first brood considering the amount of color it has already, and the lack of speckling, but it still retains that “unfinished” look. A work in progress. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 1250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
The “crook in my neck” bird :)
White-breasted Nuthatch, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — It seems like it has been a while since I posted a nice close up shot of a bird from our feeding station. All the birds were very active ahead of storms coming in on a cold front yesterday so I spent some time in the open deck door watching and photographing. The White-breasted Nuthatch gets itself in some amazing poses as it picks jump seeds at the feeder. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th. (and not bad for a high ISO shot 🙂
Great Egret hunting
Great Egret: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA — This is Maine and the Egrets are never as close as I would like, but we do get Great Egrets in good numbers during the extended migration in late summer and early fall. There were two hunting in the tidal marsh beyond the viewing platform in the Maple Swamp. The Sony Rx10iv will take a good crop when the birds are too far away, and this shot had some help from Pixomatic Photo Pro’s Machine Learning Max Resolution…but the main limiting factor with birds across a marsh at any distance, no matter how long your lens or big your sensor, is heat wave interference, and you can see some softening this shot. Still, and elegant bird, even in hunting mode. Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr, Pixomatic Photo Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 @ 1/1000th. -1/3 EV.
Cormorant attitude!
Double Crested Cormorant: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA — I went to Laudholm Farms specifically to fill my photo buffer. When you post a image every day, you have to think about keeping ahead of the calendar 🙂 I found this handsome (and doesn’t he just know it) fellow on the boat dock at the overlook on the Little River. At least I think it is a “he”. I see what might be the beginnings of crests happening above the eyes. We rarely to never see them in breeding plumage here in southern Maine. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.