Posts in Category: Kennebunk Plains
Comet Neowise
I had my first looks at our new comet last night. The sky was not as clear as I might have liked, and the mosquitoes were horrific until it got totally dark, but it was an experience not to be missed. I am not totally happy with any of the photos, but if we have at really clear night anytime before the comet begins to fade, I will put what I learned last night to good use. 🙂 If you are interested in seeing or photographing the comet, I would advise not even trying until the stars are visible. Though it is just barely visible to the naked eye, it is easier to find using pointer stars, which will give you a much better idea of where to look. It is almost exactly half way down to the horizon, in a line that extends down from the lowest star in the bowl of the big dipper…but still much higher in the sky than I anticipated. Sony Rx10iv from 24mm to 300mm equivalent. The first two are manual exposures, 6 seconds, and 10 seconds at f4, auto ISO in the Multi-frame-noise-reduction mode. The wide angle shot is in Auto Low Light mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine.
Before the season passes….
I won’t say “one last Wood Lily” because you just never know, but I want to post at least this one, before the season passes. Many of the lilies are very tall this year, probably to do with the timing and amount of rail we have had, the number of sunny days, etc. This pair, photographed on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area here in Southern Maine, was close to 3 feet above ground level. Sony Rx10iv at 367mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Wood Lily…I warned you :)
I did warn you that I was not done with Wood Lilies. This cluster was growing on the Maguire Road section of the Kennebunk Plains, here in Southern Maine. Note the tiny Green Metallic Bee between the bottom two flowers, on its way to its next pollen stop. I came in close for a more conventional close-up. Sony Rx10iv at 106mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Wood Lily Close
I went back out to the Kennebunk Plains yesterday looking for Wood Lilies and dragonflies…this time to what I think of as the “back” side of the plains…the area along Maguire Road where it runs up toward Route 99 and the “front” side of the plains. I was, again, surprised to find that many of the lilies there were already past their prime. It seems to be an early bloom this year, and the lilies on the back side of the plains, for whatever reason, are always a bit advanced over the lilies on the front side. This is a smallish lily growing all by itself, and I zoomed in close for the shot. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. You will have to indulge me on Wood Lilies. I have several more shots to share, but they only last a few weeks and then they are gone for 12 months. 🙂
Violet! Variable Dancer, damselfly
This is an embarrassingly simple photograph. Just a snap really, of an interesting damselfly: The Variable Dancer. Dancers are delicate damsels, with a wavering, uncertain flight, that, if it reminds me of dance at all, reminds of little girls (or boys) spinning aimlessly on a grassy lawn. But you have to admire the color on this one! They are, as the name implies, variable, so they are not all this purple, but when they are purple, they are very purple. Way to go dancer! I found the one in sand along the shore of Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Wood Lily (again)
One Wood Lily leads to another 🙂 Such lovely flowers. I wait for them to bloom every year. They are not with us many weeks and then they are gone for another year. Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine. Sony Rx10iv at about 420mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Photobomb :) Turtle and Dragonfly
Just for fun. I always take a short burst of photos at about 4 frames per second…just to make sure I get the shot. I saw this happen through the viewfinder, but did not know if I actually got it until I got the sequence up on the tablet at home. 🙂 The turtle, a smallish Painted Turtle, was sunning itself high above the water (high for a turtle) in Day Brook Pond. The turtles at Day Brook are among the most skittish I know of, perhaps because so many people take their dogs there to swim, so I was surprised when this turtle did not immediately dive off and back into the water when I approached. I am, of course, happy that it did not. (The Dragonfly, though not quite in focus, appears to the a Chalk-fronted Corporal.) Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Wood Lily!
I rode my ebike out to the Kennebunk Plains yesterday looking for dragonflies, and was surprised to find the the Wood Lilies in full bloom. This feels early for Wood Lily. I think of them in full bloom in mid to late July…but there they were. Much of the area where they grow was included in the prescribed burn of last September, and it looks like we will not have lilies this year in those areas, but along the edge in the deeper brush that did not burn, they are tall already. The light was lovely yesterday afternoon and showed the lilies to best advantage. Sony Rx10iv at 480mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Ducks in a row…
Mallard, Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I was out at Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains looking for dragonflies yesterday and came across this family of Mallards out for a stroll…or swim, perhaps is better…but that does not catch the “feel” of it as well as stroll. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Stream Cruiser
Stream Cruiser, Cold Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I am thinking the north side of the Kennebunk Plains is still under State management, as the signs have not been replaced, but the big yellow gates are up there too, limiting access to Cold Brook Pond at the back of the plains as it slopes off to the Mousam River. I did make out there on my last odes trip to the plains, and found many Stream Cruisers patrolling the path as though were a stream. Males this time, and perhaps a few females that did not perch for me. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. I noticed something I had never seen before. The club on the end of the abdomen was “breathing”, visibly swelling and contracting in a regular rhythm. ??