Posts in Category: wildlife
Eagle for the 4th. Happy Independence Day!
I had a lot of fun photographing the Eagles on the Mousam River at Roger’s Pond this winter. For 6 weeks or so three were regular there everyday. In March I did not see them so much, and in April and May I traveled much of the time and lost track of them. A fellow photographer told me they were still around in early June, but I had not seen one since early March. Until yesterday. I was at the pond hunting dragonflies and the crows across the Mousam were making a real racket. I checked the trees casually, knowing the racket could mean a hawk, or even an Eagle, but I did not see the Eagle until it flew. It landed a hundred yards or more down river, but still just within reach of my 600mm lens (pumped up to 1200mm digitally).
So I have to wonder, did the Eagle show up for the 4th of July festivities here in Kennebunk, returning just in time from wanderings further inland and further north? Or has it been causing the Mousam river out of my sight since March? Either way, it certainly adds to my celebration of our Independence to have the National bird resident here in town. We will be doing the traditional cook-out thing with the grandparents, but all the time in the back of my mind I will know that there is a Bald Eagle on the Mousam near Roger’s Pond! 🙂
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 1200mm equivalent (2x digital extender). Shutter preferred @ 1/640th. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Racket-tailed Emerald
Now here is a creature for you. Talk about wildlife! This is wild. Or that is what I think. 🙂
I have only ever seen the Racket-tailed Emerald in one small pool on the land-ward side of the Kennebunk Bridle Path, maybe a mile inland from the mouth of Mousam River, but I see at least a few there every June/July. They are pretty steady fliers, constantly patrolling the pool, but they do occasionally perch. Last Saturday was a good day to catch one perched.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Shutter preferred. 1/640th @ ISO 800 @ f7.1. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet. Cropped for scale.
Female Widow Skimmer
It is Widow Skimmer season out by Old Falls on the Mousam. The females are always first, and when they emerge they are very present, especially here in the brush above the stream.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 1200mm equivalent (600 optical plus digital tel-extenter). Shutter preferred @ 1/640th. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
And as a health update: I survived my first ever night in the hospital (lifer!) and am now waiting for today’s tests. How civilized that hospitals today have wifi for their guests!
Smileworthy!
I am not sure why, and I am not sure I can even figure out why…but this image makes me smile. It just does. It ought to have one of those clever, inspirational, aspirational slogans on the bottom and be sold as a poster. I can see it on a dorm room wall. “Take the higher view.” or “Things always look better from the top.” or “Stand on a Buttercup and the whole world similes with you.” Or something like that. If you have a better idea, let me know.
So I just looked to see if this bug happens to be in Kenn Kaufman’s excellent Field Guide to the Nature of New England, my go to reference for a quick ID, and unless I am much mistaken, this little bug is actually a Firefly! And now I am really smiling! Firefly on a Buttercup in the afternoon sun…what could be better than that!
The image is from a late afternoon Sunday dragonfly prowl at the meadows at Emmons Preserve. I found few dragonflies (though one new one for me), but this image makes the whole trip worthwhile. Again, I don’t know why, but it does!
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Song Sparrow Grub
If my hunts for dragonflies do nothing else, but they get me out in the field more often…and, as I have said before, the secret to nature photography is simple: be there, be aware, and be ready. I saw this Song Sparrow digging grubs from an old rotting post in the marsh, and watched as it flew to the branch of a tree literally right above my head. A bit if maneuvering to find a clear line of sight, and there was the image. I shot off a burst as the bird was moving, and selected this as the best.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Shutter preferred @ 1/640th. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Painted Skimmer
Among the early season dragonflies, the Painted Skimmer is certainly a standout. It is big, for one thing, probably the biggest dragon in flight in mid-June in Southern Maine (excepting the few Green Darners I have seen so far…and this year at least as we are late with all the Onadata). The males, in particular, flash with orange fire as they fly over the marsh, and up close both males and females are a feast of pattern with their wing-spots and colored veins. I saw a few in flight on Sunday when I went dragon-prowling down by the mouth of the Mousam River in the marsh pools, but none perched close enough for a good photograph. I went back yesterday afternoon, specifically to see if I could do better, and was blessed to find one male and one female perched in easy reach of my lens. The male is on top here, and is the much oranger of the two.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Shutter preferred at 1/640th. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet. Assembled in Pixlr Express.
Red Squirrels in Love
It is rare, these days, to see a Red Squirrel in Southern Maine. They are here, of course, as they always have been, but their bolder, more adaptable, Grey cousins certainly dominate the landscape. The Reds have retreated. Or so it seems. Being highly territorial, with one female per territory, and heavily dependent on conifer cone seeds, in a mixed landscape like Southern Maine, they have always been restricted to appropriate habitat. Maybe I just don’t get to where they are very often. At any rate, I was surprised to see not one, but two, Red Squirrels along the Kennebunk Bridle Trail when I was last there looking for dragonflies. And, even more surprised to see them mating…right there in the trail…out in plain sight…and totally oblivious to my intrusion. In fact, they were so busy that I eventually walked to within 10 feet of them, taking photos all the way. I have lots of stills and two snippets of video. I finally had to walk by them to get home, and I was within 4 feet of them before they bolted. Since female Red Squirrels are promiscuous, and generally have a dozen partners in pursuit, this gentleman squirrel was making the most of having her all to himself.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Aurora Damsel (on Buttercup)
It is always exciting for me to find a new bug…especially one as beautiful as this Aurora Damsel. It is a member of the Pond Damsel family, along with Bluets, Dancers, and Forktails, but in this pose (typical) it looks more like a spreadwing because of the way it holds its wings. It’s markings are so unique though, that, once identified for the first time, it is hard to mistake it for anything else. It is simply one of those bonuses of photographing nature that it landed on the buttercup, and stayed long enough for me to capture it. 🙂
(The red dots on the back of its head are reflections of the sun, not part of its pattern.)
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 1200mm equivalent (600 optical plus 2x digital extender). Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Reed Warbler
European Warblers are difficult birds for any American to identify. Nothing like our colorful birds of the same name (and, in fact, from a totally different genus). European warbers are all small, mostly brown, black, and white, and relatively elusive. Take this one for instance. I think it is a Reed Warbler…it is, after all, singing in the reeds…but it might be a displaced Marsh Warbler, or even a Savi’s Warbler. I do not have enough experience with European Warblers to say for sure…but I am going with Reed as the most likely. 🙂
It was taken in the Reed beds right in Neusiedl am See, within sight of our hotel, during the ZEISS VICTORY SF Experience Event.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 1200mm equivalent (600 optical plus digital tel-extenter). Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Fritillery in Flight
This is one of those chance shots that just happens when photographing butterflies. I could not have planned it. If this were taken in the US, this would be a Great Spangled Fritillery. This however was taken in a small Park in the Seewinkel region of Austria in a tub of cultivated flowers. It might be a Queen of Spain Fritillery. Those who know better, please correct me.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Shutter preferred. Processed in Snapseed and Photo Editor by dev.macgyver on my tablet.