Posts in Category: afternoon light

Ruby

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2025 — I sat in the open deck doorway for an hour yesterday afternoon to see if the Ruby-throated Hummingbird was in a mood to cooperate. I wanted the adult male with his gorget showing, of course. For the first half hour the young male and the adult spent a lot of time keeping each other way from the feeder, but as afternoon drew on, and the need to fill the tanks before night became more urgent, they begin to be better at taking turns. The adult posed nicely right in front of me, and then the young bird came in to try to drive him from his perch. This is part of the interaction. The adult was not in the mood to move. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Great Blue

Great Blue Heron: Steven’s Gift, Cambridge, Maryland, USA — Coming back to my AirBnB in the early evening, I found this patient heron waiting in the pond by the long drive in from the road. Great light and a very healthy bird make this one of my most satisfying heron shots to date. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 292mm equivalent. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Eddy art

Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, April 2025 —Water heavily laden with tannins from decaying leaves and high spring stream levels work with gravity and fluid dynamics and the April sun to create art in the eddies. Sony a5100. 10-18 f4 zoom at 27mm. Superior Auto. Photomator and LikeAFrame.

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

Yellow-crowned Night Heron: Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, Florida, USA, January 2025 — Not a great photo, but a good bird for Orlando Wetlands. Though it was right were it should have been, on the hummock on Night Heron Lane, the lane got is name from the much more common Black-crowned Night Heron. Yellows are not often seen at Orlando Wetlands. This bird was too far away for great photography, and this is, by necessity, a heavy crop. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Strutting

Tricolored Heron: Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2025 — For the second year in a row, the Tricolored Heron was by far the most numerous of the heron tribe on Black Point Drive. There were, of course, more Great and Snowy Egrets by far, but of the dark herons the Tricolored took the crown. This one was pretty full of itself. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Learning the craft

Immature Reddish Egret: Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2025 — This Reddish-egret, just coming into adult plumage, was hunting along Black Point Drive on our first sunny afternoon. Backlit of course, but it was fun to watch. All Reds are awakward hunters, striking often improbable poses, but this immature was still obviously learning the craft. Still, I love the light through the wings. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Pink overhead

Roseate Spoonbill: Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville, Florida, January 2025 — This is pretty much a full breeding plumage male Roseate Spoonbill coming over fairly close on Black Point Drive in the full Florida afternoon January sun. Does not get much better! Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. 1/2000th. Processed in Photomator.

So pink!

Roseate Spoonbill: Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2025 — On the afternoon of my second day at the Space Coast Bird and Wildlife Festival we finally got some Florida sun. I found a group of Spoonbills feeding in the channel along the road under the dark overhanging mangroves. While still not in full breeding plumage, the Spoons are certainly pinking up. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Highlight metering. Processed in Photomator.

Costa Rica! More Euphonias

Yellow-throated Euphonia: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — after the Vulture Blind, the sun was full out on the feeders and perches by the covered patio down by the house, and the colors on the honeycreepers and euphonias really popped! Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. -0.3EV. Processed in Photomator.

Maine! Off East Point in January

East Point Audubon Sanctuary, Biddeford Pool, Maine, USA. Looking for non-existent Snowy Owls and Purple Sandpipers, but the view is grand! Sony a5100 with Sony 10-18 f4 wide zoom at 15mm equivalent. Superior Auto with Landscape Mode. Processed in Photomator.