Posts in Category: yard
Hard not to love a chickadee :)
Black-capped Chickadee: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — The title says it all. It is indeed hard not to love a chickadee. They are so sprightly, and so bold. When all the other birds are being shy they are right there wherever you are, in close…often within your space. I have had them land on the feeder while I was filling it…and of course there are a gazillion photos of them sitting on people’s hands. And they have so much attitude! These shots are from a few moments before I headed out for a rainy day walk yesterday, when I pulled up a chair and sat in the open door leading out to our deck and the feeding station. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 2500 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.
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.
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 🙂
September rose…
We have these two small rose bushes out front, which I think I bought at Walmart several years ago. They have bloomed every year in the spring, and this year, for some reason, they are blooming again in September. This is a shot after rain overnight on a bud just opening. Not dew on roses, but rain on roses. September roses. iPhone SE with Moment thin case and Sirui 10x macro lens. Apple Camera app with Smart HDR engaged. Processed in Apple Photos.
Parking lot birding. American Robin in Santa Fe
American Robin, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA — Needs must. After breakfast at our hotel in Santa Fe I had a poke around the parking lots of the adjacent buildings to see what I could find for today. I saw a couple of uncooperative butterflies and this Robin singing in the top of a tree. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.