Posts in Category: wildlife
Fresh Frog!
American Bullfrog: Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Preserve, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I always have to look up the difference between the Bull and Green Frog, as we have both here, often in the same pond. This one is a Bullfrog since it lacks the dorsal ridges of the Green. I could not resist taking the photo as it sat so nicely on the bit of sand right at my feet at the edge of the pond. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ 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 🙂
Praying Mantis
Praying Mantis (European Mantis): Kennebunk Plains Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I have not seen a Praying Mantis in several years. I see them so infrequently these days that I remember every encounter. Of course the one I saw a few years ago was the first one I had seen since I was a boy playing the fields of upstate New York on the Vermont border, so I am thinking either they are fairly rare (not likely) or I am just not looking at the right time. 🙂 This week when I went out to the Kennebunk Plains I saw at least 4, maybe 5, Praying Mantises, all in a little square of low vegetation about 20 feet on a side in the middle of the plains with no particular distinguishing features. Maybe there were other clusters like it…but I did not find any. Strange. It was quite windy and the Mantises were up on waving grass stalks hunting so my photos are not portrait quality, but still, it was fun to see them. I am happy not to be a honey bee when these are around. (I am happy not to be a honey bee most of the time, but I certainly would not want to fall prey to a Praying Mantis.) I am not certain these are European Mantis, but that is most common species in Maine. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640 and 1/500th.
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.