Posts in Category: birds
Maine! Great Egret at the chowder
Great Egret: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — I found this Great Egret on a Sunday morning along the Bridle Path, in the pools closest to the path to begin with. I can’t say it was hunting…since it took a shore shrimp or mumminchog every few moments…so more feeding than hunting. The water along the edge of the pools must have been full of whatever it was catching. Like a good seafood chowder, minus the potatoes and onions. 🙂 The Egret slowly worked its way back further in the pools and I remembered to take the environmental shot only when it was well out from the path. Landscape with the OM Systems OMD EM5Mkiii with 12-45mm zoom at 24mm equivalent. Egret with the OM-1 and ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. In camera HDR Scene Mode for the landscape. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications for the Egret. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. Assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Tufted Titmouse from the back deck
Tufted Titmouse: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — One of the regular year-around visitors to our back deck feeding station is the Tufted Titmouse, caught here against the changing foliage of our maples. 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 2500 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! Last of the Mousam rapids Heron
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — I think this is the last shot from my session with the Great Blue Heron in the Mousam river rapids that I will share for now. Fishing the rapids is a delicate balancing act, as many a fly-fisher who works this stretch of stream, can attest. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 472mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 5000 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! Cold water
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Whoo! That’s cold! The Great Blue Heron in the Mousam River rapids gets in deeper than expected and seems to find the water cold. This is a bird shiver if I ever saw one…and…got to keep those wings dry! OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 372mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 5000 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th. I had not realized until posting these photos how much I used the zoom to frame different shots. One of the reasons I don’t use fixed focal length lenses more. 🙂
Maine! Heron in the rapids
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — And here is the Heron in mid-stride as it worked its way up the rapids in search of prey. It was taking, as I have mentioned, some kind of small crustacean off the river bed. I suppose it would not have been adverse to a fish if it happened on one. 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm zoom at 538mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 6400 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! Show me those wings!
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Still with the hunting Heron on the Mousam River…I processed and kept just under 50 of the 732 images I took of this bird…so if I share a few of them this week, cut me some slack 🙂 This one shows not only the magnificent wings but some interesting dynamics in the back feathers as the Heron spreads. I assume those back feathers are rooted in the skin above the back muscles that power the wings. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 698mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 5000 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! Heron strike…
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Along the Mousam River rapids here in town…more shots of the hunting Heron. This time a sequence of an unsuccessful strike. As I watched the Heron was averaging about 1 in 5, and the crayfish or whatever it was taking were not large. Heron hunting is lots of work. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 488mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 6400 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! Great Blue hunting
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — I found this Great Blue Heron hunting the first rapids past the high tide line on the Mousam River. We spent a good hour together as we moved up-stream slowly, he taking some kind of crustacean from the river-bed, and me taking photos. Way too many photos…though I doubt he would say the same of crustaceans. This shot has a little of everything. Action, detail, dark water, fall foliage. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.
Maine! Great Great Egret
Great Egret: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — The flood-tide had the egrets feeding in different spots in the marsh than usual…some closer than usual…though these were taken with the 2x digital tele-extender on the OM Systems OM-1 with the 100-400mm zoom so at 1600mm equivalent and cropped slightly to fill the frame. 🙂 Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro. -0.7EV.
Maine! Great flood-tide birds
Great Blue Heron and Great Egret: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — we had a flood-tide this week…maybe the second highest I have seen along this coast…the road to our local beach was only about 6 inches above high water (I saw it over the road once), and the birds took advantage of the newly flooded marsh to hunt for treats. Both the Great Blue Heron and the Great Egret were working within 30 yards of the road…the Egret closer than the Heron. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.