Posts in Category: Sony RX10iv
Louisiana Waterthrush!
Louisiana Waterthrush: Sanford Lagoons, Sanford, Maine, USA — I have known about the Sanford Lagoons (Sanford Sewage Department) for many years…from word of mouth in the birding and dragonfly communities and occasional posts on the internet…but I have only ever visited once, before yesterday. One of the motivations for my switch to the recumbent trike, and then adding electric assist, was to be able to get a bit further out on my frequent explorations, without resorting to the car. The Lagoons are 15 miles from my door, almost exactly, and while I could have ridden the 30 miles round-trip on my upright ebike, those portions of my anatomy in contact with the bike…mostly my seat, wrists, and hands…would not have thanked me by the end of the ride…and it would have kept me off the bike for at least a day after. The recumbent makes it easy, and I still had half a battery charge left when I got home. 🙂 I did not get there until after noon, not the best birding time, but I saw some interesting dragonflies, and a few birds. This was the most unexpected. I was photographing some Cedar Waxwings moving through the tree line at the back of the lagoons when this cheerful bird popped up on a branch just in front of me. Waterthrush! I have only ever seen waterthrushes on very rare occasions…mostly in Ohio at Magee Marsh during spring migration…so it is pretty amazing that my mind supplied at least that much. As to whether it is a Louisiana or a Northern??? Louisiana is the only one on the York County Audubon bird list for Sanford Lagoons, and all 4 of my AI identification aids agree that this is a Louisiana…though I am not certain I could say for sure otherwise. I am sure I do not know the birds well enough to be confident where their range overlaps, as it does…just…here in Southern Maine. We are in the extreme northeast corner of the Louisiana’s range, and well with the range of Northern. All things considered I am calling it a Louisiana until someone who knows better convinces me it is not. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Drasteria moth
Drasteria moth (probably Shadowy Arches): Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, Maine, USA — I found this little moth fluttering close to the ground along the foot trail at Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area the other day. Some research this morning gets me as far as one of the Drasteria moths, possibly a Shadowy Arches, but I don’t know my moths well enough, or their ranges, to eliminate any of the other Drasterias. I think the Graphic Moth might be more common in Maine, but this one seems to have too much orange. 🙂 If anyone knows better, please leave a comment. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent from about 4 feet. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th.
Dad the provider. Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebirds: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Bluebirds raise two (at least) broods a summer, so it is the male who feeds the young of the first brood while the female is already on the eggs. The past two days have been cool and rainy, adding to the stress on the male, so we have had the fledglings on the deck most of the day. The male returns often with grubs…but he feeds them mealworms between grub runs. The female comes only occasionally, but does not take time to feed the young. She is just after a quick snack before getting back to the eggs. This is not a great shot…as it was early morning in the rain and not much light yet at all, but it is a good portrait of both the male and one of the fledglings. The fledglings are almost big enough to fend for themselves. I have seen one of them on the mealworm feeder, but he has not figured out now to get the mealworms out. And, besides, it is easier to just sit there and let dad drop them into his mouth. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at about 400mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Lincoln Sparrow v.2021
Lincoln’s Sparrow: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — you have to be alert or lucky…or even better, alert AND lucky…to catch a Lincoln’s Sparrow passing through Kennebunk on its way north. The past two springs we have had a few (only one this year) for a few days. And, of course, they are not easy to photograph as they are “skulkers”…always low in the brush and half buried in leaves. Still, it is fun to try! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent from my backyard photo blind. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 800, 250, 250, 640, and 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Before it fades too far into memory, I want to post this shot of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak what spent a day with us last week before heading off north to better breeding grounds. This is the best shot I was able to get away from the feeders and other man made objects. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm. Cropped to about 1100mm equivalent. Processed in Pixelmator Photo’s Machine Learning Super-Resolution (and for shadows, highlights, and sharpness). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Lady Slipper Orchid season
It is, at long last, Lady Slipper Orchid season here in southern Maine. I have been watching my spots for two weeks waiting for the bloom. Last year a gentleman I met walking pointed me to the most amazing spread of Orchids that I have ever seen…several hundred plants, at the very least, spread along a hillside in the woods above a stream. The exact location will remain undisclosed as some Lady Slippers were dug up nearby last year. Lady Slippers are almost impossible to transplant, as they rely on a symbiotic fungus in the soil, but it does not stop people from trying. So, despite my broken wrist and various deep bruises and a well tweaked back from my walking encounter with a truck on Saturday, I went out with three cameras to see how they were doing this year. I was not disappointed. The shot above is with my go-to Sony Rx10iv at 31mm equivalent. (Program mode for ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/250th). The following shot is with my new Nikon B700, which I bought as a back-up camera to carry on trip (and which might become my preferred dragonfly camera). I am reacquainting myself with the Nikon way of doing things. It was also taken in Program at 68mm equivalent with macro engaged, ISO 100 @ f4.1 @ 1/1000th, -1 EV.
And finally here is a shot with my iPhone SE2020, the Moment thin case, and the Sirui 18mm ultra-wide lens. Standard Camera app on Auto. I really like the “in context” effect of the ultra-wide perspective.
Ovenbird
Ovenbird: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, Maine, USA — I was almost back to the car when this tiny bird hopped across the path and then proceeded to walk up and down a long dead tree trunk among the leaves and dense brush. I did a lot of very quiet scurrying myself, trying to find a clear view of the moving bird, and managed this one shot. I have seen them closer and more in the open at Magee Marsh in Ohio, but this is the best sighting I have had in Maine. 🙂 It really takes a camera as agile as the Sony Rx10iv to capture a bird in this kind of situation. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
fledgling Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird fledgling: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — It is hard to believe that it is that time of year, but I saw our pair of Eastern Bluebirds feeding fledglings on our deck and at the feeding station out by my photo blind yesterday already. Bluebirds do at least two broods a year, so this is their first nest…they fledged two. The fledglings will often “park” themselves near our feeders while the adults go out to forage, and the adults do take mealworms from the feeders when they return, even if they have other food for the young. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — We were privileged to have a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak with us for the day yesterday. Carol saw it first and called me to come early in the morning, and it returned to both the feeding station on the deck and the one under the pines where I have my photo blind, every hour or so all day, coming for more sunflower seeds. I put some out on the deck rail, since, unlike the female, he did not seem to like the feeders. By the look of his plumage, he is not a full adult…perhaps just coming into his second year. He still does not have the glossy black of the adult male but he certainly has the full bright red bib. He was remarkably trusting. I took my first photos through the glass of the deck door, but several times I was able to slide the door open far enough for unobstructed photos. The deck rail is only about 8 feet from the door. Such a handsome bird! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
insistent Pine Siskins
Pine Siskin: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — The past few days I have seen a female Pine Siskin hanging out with our flock of Goldfinches. Yesterday a pair of them were actively dominating the flock…demanding first serve at the feeder, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. I had no idea they were so much more aggressive than Goldfinches. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.