Posts in Category: p&s 4 wildlife
Downy Woodpecker on the thistle sock
Downy Woodpecker, Kennebunk Maine
I am on my way to Florida today, traveling most of the day, so this is an image from last week.
I am not sure if the Downy Woodpecker ever actually takes seed from the Thistle Sock, but it hangs there often, using it as a intermediate perch on its way to the bottom of the suet cage, where it hangs upside down and pecks at the suet blocks inside. From my post at the far corner of the deck outside the glass doors from the kitchen, there is a narrow window between the apple branch perches, so the image is cropped accordingly. There was a little nub of branch sticking out from foreground perch and almost toching the woodpeckers head (not in reality, but in perspective), which I was able to remove in TouchRetouch after processing the image in Polarr.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 200 @ f4. Processed as above.
Titmouse at the feeder
Tufted Titmouse, Kennebunk Maine
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 200 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Cherry Chickadee. Happy Sunday!
Black-capped Chickadee, Kennebunk Maine
Just yesterday I posted about the acrobatic Chickadees at the feeder, and yesterday they were back, along with Titmice, Goldfinches, Nuthatches, Juncos, and Bluebirds, to continue their show around the back deck feeders. There is nothing more cheerful than a Chickadee. They are bold enough so my presence on the deck while they are feeding does not disturb them and it certainly seems as though nothing can get them down. Always busy. Always active and alert. Always poised and confident. Always, to all appearances, cheerful.
With all that is going on in the world right now, I feed the need to channel the chickadee’s cheerfulness. In fact, I woke this morning full of hope…full of good cheer. I don’t know exactly why, but I am certainly thankful. My Day Poem yesterday was about the Woman’s March protests that took place all across the country, and, while I do not agree with some of the things espoused (Choice is much too complex and troubling an issue to put up on a placard), I did and do appreciate the energy…the “pro” in protest, and the testimony to good will and generosity that the movement exemplifies.
If I were to make a protest sign it would be something like this.
I choose life
(and life for all that lives)
I choose hope
(hope that carries us all toward good)
I choose joy
(in service to my fellows and all that lives)
I choose love
While that might be a bit heavy, philosophically, for a chickadee to carry, it is what I imagine the chickadee’s sign might also say. It is a cheerful message. Poised and confident. It is a “pro” message, not an anti message, and is, therefore, right in the spirit of true protest.
I woke with that sign, if not in my hand, at least in my heart and mind. I woke to the realization that no one can take my faith in life, my hope, my joy, or my love. They are my creator’s gift to me, knit into my bones, renewed by faith in Jesus Christ. And I woke to realize that, no matter what they had on their signs, there are a whole lot of other people in this country and this world who share that generosity of spirit (whether they share my faith or not) and that generosity can not, and will not, be put down. My hope for the next four years is that the movement that embraces Bernie Sanders Revolution, Occupy, the Woman’s March, the Obama legacy, and so much more, will find a clear voice…a pro voice, never an anti voice…that affirms life, hope, joy, and love. If that comes to pass, then what people will remember about the next four years is not Trump and his silver spoon henchmen, but the way people of good will rose up to take our country, and our lives, back.
And it begins with the cheerfulness of the Chickadee. Happy Sunday!
Chickadee, ventral view
Black-capped Chickadee, Kennebunk Maine
Chickadees are acrobatic birds and I love watching them flit and hop and climb around the feeders on the back deck. They get into the most amazing poses. Occasionally I even try to catch them with the camera. More occcasionally I actually catch them. ๐
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 200 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Downy in the snow…
Downy Woodpecker, Kennebunk Maine
Heavy, wet, clingy snow through the day and night on Wednesday piled up on branches and the back deck feeding station to provide some unique photo-ops. The Downy Woodpecker was not much inconvenienced since it spends much of its time feeding on the bottom side of branches anyway. ๐
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/400th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed and cropped for scale in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch, Kennebunk Maine
Another shot from the back deck feeding station, this time from the rail of the deck. White-breasted Nuthatch. This is pretty much a “bird-in-the-hand” view. I especially like the feet for some reason. ๐
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 125 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Winter Finch…
American Goldfinch, Kennebunk Maine
I am having a lot of fun with the back deck feeding station this winter. There have even been a few days when the birds were active and the light was good for photography. This is one of the American Goldfinches that was flocking with the Bluebirds the other day. This is just about an ideal shot. Close in, with an interesting background, and great light for feather detail. No credit to me, other than the foresight to bold the apple branches to the deck around the feeders. ๐
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/320th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Bluebirds in the yard!
Eastern Bluebird on our back deck feeder station, Kennebunk Maine
We have lived here in Kennebunk, in this house, for over 20 years, and yesterday we had a new yard bird. That is always exciting. A small feeding flock that included at least 4 Eastern Bluebirds came to the back deck feeding station. Bluebirds are primarily insect eaters, so they don’t generally visit feeders (unless you have live mealworms out), but they were with a group of American Goldfinches, and Bluebirds have been known to supplement their diet with sunflower kernels (and fruits and berries). I suspect the Bluebirds were foraging on the fully opened and half eaten sunflower seeds the Goldfinches were dropping. A few did come up to deck level and perch on the railings and on the apple branches bolted to the deck for perches around the feeding station. I stepped out on the back deck with my camera and stood quietly until both Goldfinches and Bluebirds got comfortable enough with me there to perch 8 feet away. It was a cold, clear, winter day and the light was great. It does not get any better than that!
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 160 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. I edged as far out on the deck as I dared but I was still shooting under a branch that came up and to the right over the Bluebird’s head. I removed it with TouchRetouch, also on my iPad Pro. If you want to explore the feather detail you can look at this image, and others of the Bluebirds and Goldfinches, on my WideEyedInWonder site. This link takes you to this image.
Eagle at Roger’s Pond
Bald Eagle, Roger’s Pond Park, Kennebunk Maine
Some of you know I have been checking the Mousam River at Roger’s Pond Park regularly over the past 2 months, in hopes of seeing the Eagles that hunt the river there most winters and can be seen well into summer. It is somehow more special to see the Eagles there, only a quarter mile off Main Street, in downtown Kennebunk. No luck so far this year, until yesterday! I always hope for an Eagle on a good perch, but this one was tucked back into the pine, high and on the far side of the river, and the only vantage with and unobstructed view of the face was from entirely too far away. Still, it is an Eagle!
Sony Rx10iii at 1200mm equivalent field of view (2x Clear Image Zoom). 1/400th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Nuthatch
White-breasted Nutchatch, Kennebunk Maine
It was dark and rainy yesterday, here in Kennebunk Maine, so of course, the birds were very active at the feeder. I was tempted out to the deck for a few photos, though the low light made focus difficult and pushed the ISO higher than I would have liked. This White-breasted Nuthatch performed nicely for me, (and there was a Red-breasted in the suet feeder as well, pic maybe tomorrow ๐ This is not a bad shot for ISO 1600.
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/100th @ f4. Processed and cropped slightly in Polarr on my iPad Pro.