Posts in Category: p&s 4 wildlife
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing, Quest Ponds, Kennebunk Maine
There is some kind of small Dancer Damselfly emerging right now at our local ponds. They come up from the water’s edge in a visible tide, two or three in sight at any moment, and going on for hours. And where they are emerging, there are Cedar Waxwings. The birds gather around the pond, generally a dozen or more, and swoop in after the dancers as they fly. I wrote a poem about it. For the poem’s sake I named the dancer, but I am not at all sure I am right.
There was a gang of Cedar Waxwings,
silent but deadly, at the little drainage
pond by the medical center parking
lot, picking off newly emerged Dusky
Dancer Damselflies on their maiden
flights…swooping, like the guided
missiles that they are, across the pond,
taking the Damsels on the wing…
It was awesome, totally awe inspiring,
to watch them. Such precision. Such
grace. (Of course I will admit maybe
not so much fun if you happen to be
an unsuspecting Dusky Dancer.)
Faceoff: Brown Violet-ear Hummingbirds
Brown Violet-ear Hummingbirds, Rio Santiago Resort, Hondruas
I have mentioned before that the Brown Violet-ear Hummingbirds were so dominent on this trip to Honduras (the Point and Shoot Nature Photographer adventure at the Lodge at Pico Bonito) that they suppressed the numbers of other species that we saw. They also got in each others’ way a lot 🙂 We saw a lot of confrontations between hummers competing for the same feeders and the same space. The Brown Violet-ear is not a flashy bird by hummingbird standards, but it makes up for it in attitude!
Sony RX10iii at 530mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 640 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Brown Violet Ear Hummingbird
Brown Violet-ear Hummingbird, Rio Santiago Resort, Honduras
The dominant Hummingbird species on our visit to Rio Santiago Resort in the North Coastal mountains of Honduras, by a ratio of 25 to 1, was the Brown Violet-ear. Rio Santiago Resort is actually a small lodge with a few cabins that is justly renowned for the numbers of hummingbirds and the numbers of hummingbird species that work feeders, too many to count, that they maintain. There were certainly hundreds, maybe thousands, of BVEs working the feeders at the lodge. For that reason, we saw far fewer species at the feeders than we expected. Even the most aggressive species, like the Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, were kept at bay by the sheer numbers of BVEs. This shot, which actually shows the “violet ears”, was taken in the deep shade of the thatched roof over the open air restaurant/bar at the lodge. The roof is lined with maybe 50 feeders, and there are always a hundred or more hummers buzzing overhead while you eat. It is hard to imagine the density of hummers. I was able to stand at at less than 3 feet from the wire supporting the feeders and frame as many BVEs as I wanted. It was dark under there, and this shot was taken at a very high ISO…but it is exactly the kind of shot the Sony JPEG engine does best with, even at such an elivated ISO. Lots of fine detail and a blank background. Sony’s noise reduction routines work very well here.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 6400 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Kinkajou!
Kinkajou. The Lodge at Pico Bonito, Honduras
We took a night hike at the Lodge at Pico Bonito, looking for Owls, reptiles, Red-eyed Tree Frogs, and whatever we might find. We heard the Vermiculated Screech Owl, and Mottled Owl, but could not see either of them. The Red-eyed Tree Frogs were great, and we found no snakes 🙂 What we did find was a Kinkajou, high in the canopy, taking as much interest in us as we were in him. Our guide, Elemer, first heard something moving high in the trees while we were looking at moths on the moth sheet near the edge of the forest on our way to the Tower and frog pond but could not see it. Then as we walked through the rainforest up to the tower in the dark, he must have heard it overhead (Elmer hears everything), and we got our lights on it. It had apparently heard us and come over to check us out. With the lights on it for focus, I popped up my flash and tried a few shots, which came out surprisingly well considering it was totally dark under the canopy. The eyes, of course, reflected back the flash. This is a collage of two shots…not two Kinkajous 🙂
The Kinkajou is a member of the same family as Raccoons and Cotis. It is not scarce within Central and South America, but is rarely seen as it is strictly nocturnal. There is evidently a trade in Kinkajous as pets (though why anyone would want a nocturnal animal as a pet is question I can’t answer) and for meat and leather (they evidently make wallets and saddles out of it). Honduras, in particular, strictly regulates any trade in Kinkajous.
Sony RX10iii at about 330mm equivalent field of view. Flash at ISO 3200. Processed in Lightroom (including red-eye removal).
Calico Pennant Posing
Calico Pennant, Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, W. Kennebunk Maine
There are still lots of Calico Pennants emerging every day at Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, though they must disperse widely, since I only ever see a few adult males at the pond at any given time. This beautiful specimen landed right at my feet, on a stalk a foot tall, so I only had to bend over a bit for this shot. They really should have named this dragon the Valentines Pennant.
Sony RX10iii at 840mm equivalent field of view (600mm plus in-camera crop to 10mp). 1/640th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Another Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Sargentville Maine
Are you tired of Swallowtails yet? I have never seen as many Eastern Tiger Swallowtails as there were flying on the Blue Hill peninsula on the Maine coast this past weekend. In fact, in four days I saw way more Swallowtails than I have seen in the total of my life up to that point. They were crossing the roads, hovering over fields, among the trees of the forest, on the rocky beaches…everywhere. If you sat still anywhere outside for more than 5 minutes you were almost guaranteed to see one float by. They were particularly fond of a patch of Lupine and Wallflower growing in corner of the yard where my daughter’s wedding was held. I saw as many as a dozen at once working the patch, and there were at least a couple every time I chanced by. Since they were actively feeding among the Wallflower, they were relatively easy to photograph…and I brought back a lot of Swallowtail pics. 🙂
Sony RX10iii at 840mm equivalent (600mm with an in-camera crop to 10mp for the extra reach). 1/800th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Back view: Tiger Swallowtail in Wallflower
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Sargentville Maine
I shared a front view of Tiger Swallowtails in the Wallflower at the house where Emily got married for the Generous Eye yesterday. This is the back view. 🙂 It is a beautiful butterfly either way you look at it.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Spangled Skimmer
Spangled Skimmer, Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Wildlife Management Area, W. Kennebunk Maine
This is another of my favorite dragonflies: Spangled Skimmer from Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area in West Kennebunk Maine. It is not much to look at perched, as pictured here, but in flight those bright white pterostimga (spots) on the wings catch the light and make a complex flashing pattern all around the bug. It is something to see!
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Calico Pennant
Calico Pennant, Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, W. Kennebunk Maine
I posted a shot of another Calico Pennant from Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area with yesterday’s Day Poem, but the bug deserves another shot…or two. I am sure I will photograph many more before the season is over. They are a beautiful dragonfly.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom. This is a full frame, uncropped shot at 600mm. This camera is so much fun!
Ebony Jewelwing in the shade
Ebony Jewelwing, Emmon’s Preserve, Kennbunkport ME
It is an odd year (so far) for Jewelwings at Emmon’s Preserve along the Batson River. I only found one River Jewelwing when they should have been out, and now the Ebony Jewelwings are way early…but I have yet to find one by the little falls in the river where they usually congregate. So far I have only seen them deep in the woods. In fact, I walked a loop of trail I had not been planning on to find this one…a loop that runs through the forest far from the steam. There was only intermittent sun anyway, and under the big pines there was none…so this is what an Ebony Jewelwing looks like in the shade. Without direct sun, you don’t see the brilliant emerald green metallic sheen of the thorax and abdomen. There is a hint here, but mostly you see the basic blue.
Sony RX10iii at 1100mm equivalent field of view (in-camera crop to 5mp). 1/250th @ ISO 500 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.