Looking out across the frozen marsh, over the river to the sea (and into the sun). We are expecting up to 20 inches of snow on this landscape by tomorrow night as the storm passes over and stalls along the coast. We are two miles inland, so we will see what that amounts to in our yard. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 24mm equivalent field of view. Auto Landscape Mode. Processed in Photomator. 2 images stitched together in Bimostitch for the panoramic effect.

Immature Bald Eagle: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — I took a photoprowl down along the path through the marsh beside the river. It is deep January now, so there was not much happening other than a large flock of Canada Geese and some ducks, but just as I turned back to the car, a raptor came sailing in over the marsh, low. My immediate impression was Northern Harrier. I lost it as it flew low against the trees out near the road, but then picked up what I thought was the same bird in the air coming back. Now I was doubting myself though. It no longer looked like a Harrier, though it was behaving like one…flying low and buzzing the ducks. Eventually it soared right over me. By then, of course, I was under the pines that line the trail just before it reaches the road again, but I managed a few shots as it passed through openings in the canopy. Definitely not a Harrier. I was eager to get home and look at the images more closely to see what I had seen. This image is, unmistakably, an immature Bald Eagle (first year according to Gemini AI), but I did also get one shot of the Northern Harrier (against the light and only just good enough to make out what the bird is), so I did indeed see two different raptors behaving like a Harrier. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view (cropped to something like 800mm). Program with my action modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Horned Grebe: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — I went down to the local beach access where it crosses a tidal creek to see if there were any ducks (eiders, buffleheads, mergansers, golden-eyes) or loons or grebes. It was, as I remember it, a good spot for all three, but the numbers seem (to me) to have fallen off in recent years. I did find a couple of Horned Grebes feeding fairly near the bridge. Sony a7RC. Tamron 150-500 at 500mm on a tripod (cropped to at least 800mm equivalent field of view). Processed in Photomator.

Red-breasted Nuthatch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — We get White-breasted Nuthatches every day, many times a day…but their close cousins, the Red-breasted, only visit our deck much more rarely. Some months we do not see them at all. So when they do show up I am always happy to see them. All is right with the world once more! Silly, I know, to hang so much on one little bird…but there you have it! They are little too, even compared to the White-breasted, which is in no way big. Yesterday was a particularly cold, but bright, January day, but I have not been able to figure out any pattern to when the Red-breasted Nuthatch will show itself. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view (cropped to something like 600mm). Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.

Carolina Wren: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — After a fresh snowfall (maybe 6 inches total), the Carolina Wren showed up with the early birds, looking for mealworm crumbs the Bluebirds dropped under the feeder, in the snow shadow of the lower deck rail. I had my a7RC with the Tamron 150-500 out on a tripod in front of the deck doors because the birds were so active and was able to catch several shots of the wren at work in the snow and around the feeder. It was way too cold to have the deck doors open, so these are through two sheets of glass. The sun was behind heavy clouds. At 500mm, cropped to around 800mm equivalent field of view. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.

What is it about a snowy woods? Woods to me always have a holy feel…add a shroud of snow over every twig and bough and branch and the wood resounds with subtle praise…a chorus that cannot help but stir the heart. Or maybe that is just me? Catching that feeling in a photograph is not easy. I have tried repeatedly and will probably go on trying every time we have a clinging snow, and as long as I can get out into the woods to wonder at it. This image is 5 wide-angle frames (24mm equivalent field of view, Sony a6700 and Sigma 16-300), processed in Photomator and stacked in Bimostitch to form a vertical panorama. It is a vertical slice about 70 degrees wide and about 150 degrees tall, out of our approximately 180-degree total field of view. Like all panoramas, it bends reality and challenges the mind a bit…but then that is what any cathedral is actually designed to do. It is part of what produces the sense of awe. For best effect, view it on a screen that shows the whole image, so that you do not have to scroll. 🙂

Eastern Bluebird in crabapple/chokecherry: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — more shots of the Bluebird with the red berries…this time an attempt to suggest the active nature of the encounter. The berries were evidently reluctant to let go, but the bluebird was determined. I have not been able to determine if this particular winter berry tree is crabapple or chokecherry, or some ornamental. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in FrameMagic.

Eastern Bluebird in crabapple. Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — I went to the pond by the river to look for eagles…I saw one there this week for the first time this winter. None yesterday. But just as I was thinking of leaving, I walked up to check the crabapple tree one more time for Cedar Waxwings or Robins. There was one Robin, and a pair of Bluebirds enjoying the small red fruits (no Cedar Waxwings yet this winter). The Bluebirds would swoop down from a maple branch overhead and wrestle a berry from the branch, with lots of wing flapping and struggle, and then fly back up to eat it. I picked this photo from 30 or more frames I took as the bird returned, because even though it is the female, it shows the most blue on the bird, and I wanted the contrast with the red…and I adjusted the crop at least half-a-dozen times trying to get the right balance of bird and berries. It turns out to be a somewhat unconventional framing, but it works for me. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 450mm equivalent field of view (cropped to close to 800mm fov). Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Another shot of the January water meadow in the marsh along the lower Mousam River here in Kennebunk, Maine, USA. I like the feathery grasses in the foreground, and the pools stretching out behind under the heavy sky. It is more of an “atmospheric” shot than a standard landscape. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 24mm equivalent field of view. Auto Landscape Scene Mode. Processed in Photomator.

Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2026 — I went out yesterday to explore with my camera, what I call a “photoprowl”, down along the Bridle Path where I have not been since the whole pacemaker saga. We have had enough rain and warmish days now so that the snowpack is completely gone, but it is still January light, low, and horizontal even in early afternoon. The sun broke through as I got nearer to the ocean, and though the clouds were still massive, they only added drama to the winter sky. This is a view I have photographed many times in all seasons. This happens to be a panorama…5 wide-angle shots stitched together by a very clever app on my iPad. It is close to the full 180-degree field of view of the human eye, and way wider than our normal 60-degree field of active attention…so it bends both spatial reality and our brains. But it captures a bit of the waiting, resting, beauty of the January day, when the earth is still asleep but maybe dreaming so avidly of spring that it has kicked the covers off. To really “see” the image, you will have to turn your phone sideways…or view it on as large a screen as you have. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 24mm x 5. Auto with Landscape scene mode. Processed in Photomator and assembled in Bimostitch Pro.