Posts in Category: close up
Breakfast, Snow Egret Style
Snowy Egret, Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, FL
I was photographing this Snowy Egret across a small pool off Black Point Wildlife Drive at Mettitt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida when it flew out and did its dancing on water thing and came up with a little fish. To my surprise it proceeded to fly in to a submerged Mangrove stump right in front of me, not 10 feet out in the water. It balanced on its precarious perch for 7 or 8 minutes, as it maneuvered the fish for swallowing. Ideal light, a great bird in close, and some action for interest. It does not get any better than that. 🙂
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/1000th @ f6.3 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
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. 🙂
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. 🙂
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. 🙂
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 125 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Things are looking up…Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse, the yard, Kennebunk Maine
Sometimes when the birds are very active at the feeder I can not resist getting the camera and, the season, a coat and hat, and stepping out the back deck door. Sometimes the birds will tolerate me there for a half hour at a time. Sometimes they are off at the first crack of the door and will not return while I am out there. I have not figured out what makes the difference. I suppose it might be how desperate they are for sunflower seeds. 🙂
This Tufted Titmouse was one of the few who stuck around long enough to pose for me the other day when I tried the experiment again. It was “we are not desperate” day, and I was only out long enough to see the birds in the treetops moving on to other yards. Still I like this shot. The sunflower feeder is right over his head, but it looks like his aspirations might be even higher. It might make a great inspirational poster (though I don’t actually approve of the genre, in general).
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program mode. 1/250th @ ISO 160 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Red-tailed Hawk, and a poem :)
Red-tailed Hawk, National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farm, Wells Maine
There is a poem:
When I first pulled into the parking lot
at Laudholm Farms, I glanced out the
driver’s side window to see a hawk
sitting on the Bluebird House 40 yards
away. I grabbed for the camera, but
by the time I got it out and on, and
reached for the handle to roll down
the window, the Hawk was gone.Surely too big for a Cooper’s Hawk?
Still I got out and wandered over
toward the corner of the woodlot
beyond the bird house, in case it had
not gone far…and, surprise, there it
was on the ground 4 feet behind the
rough hedge along the fence between
the parking lot and field. It was away
again before I could get on it, but it
landed in the low branch of a big oak
at the edge. I got a few shots, mostly
obscured by branches and a few dried
leaves still clinging on…but then it
swooped and landed again on the
ground behind the hedge. Now there
was a big enough gap just there so I
could focus through the winter twigs,
and I took its portrait as it danced and
pounced on something small in the
frozen grasses at its feet. Up again
to perch in an old maple by the road.This time I caught the unmistakable
flash of rust red on the tail. Ah!The Red-tailed Hawk perched with its back
to me, and let me get a lot closer than I
expected, looking over its shoulder every
once in a while to see what I was doing.Magnificent! The beak and eye…the
intricate cryptology of feather detail
of one of nature’s ultimate birds of prey.In the end it had enough of my looking at it,
and flew off down the treeline another 40
yards. I let it go. Thrilled to my bones,
entirely blessed, to have been part of its day.
This is, clearly, one of the portraits behind the hedge. Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. 1/800th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Cropped for scale and composition and processed in Snapseed on my Android tablet. Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farm in Wells Maine.
British Soldiers, and a funny story…
British Soldier Lichen, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area in West Kennebunk Maine
There is an interesting story behind this image of British Soldier Lichen, taken on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area in West Kennebunk Maine. I was feeling the itch in my shutter button yesterday. It was a strange winter day, with temperatures in the low 50s and snow still on the ground and I thought it would be a waste to stay inside, so I drove out to the Kennebunk Plains to see what I could see. I thought that with the warm weather and light snow coat, others would have been into the parking areas already and made a way for my non-four-wheel-drive hybrid. When I got there, the parking area was completely flooded. I had not counted on the snow melt, which was in high gear. The parking lot was not only flooded over and ice pack, but it actually had a good sized stream flowing through it…much deeper then I though when I turned in. By then I was committed, and I thought, oh well, I will just drive all the way to the other side to dry ground so I can get out of the car (I only had my winter crocks on, which have air holes and are only 3 inches high anyway). Good plan until, right in the middle of the stream, my front driver-side wheel went through the ice that was under water and the car sloped down until the water was right up to the lower sill of the door. And, of course, there I was, well and truly stuck. There was no way my little hybrid was going to climb back up out of that hole in the ice…and I was still in my crocks, but now surrounded by a minimum of 4 inches of water, and that was on the high side of the car. So I pulled out my phone and called AAA. It took a while to explain the situation, but about 40 minutes later a big flatbed tow truck arrived. By then I had climbed across to the passenger seat and out of the car and waded on tiptoes to solid ground at the edge of the parking lot. Of course I took some photos while I waited for the tow truck. This one, of the British Soldier Lichen (in case you have forgotten), is one of them.
The tow truck driver knew his stuff, and despite almost getting stuck when his back tires also went through the ice, he got the chain on a tow point on the frame and winched the car back to solid ground (or ice at least). From there I was able to back around and get out of the parking lot. No harm done. All part of the adventure. And I can not say enough good about the skill of that AAA tow truck driver!
The Lichen shot is at 1/80th @ ISO 100 @ f5 at 86mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Polarr on my Android tablet.
