Posts in Category: Kennebunk
Maine! Pioneer
Piping Plover: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — I went down to the beach yesterday specifically to check to see if there were any Piping Plovers yet. A Maine Audubon post said they were back and reminded folks to give them space, but it seemed very early to me. On a long stretch of beach with two breeding areas I found only this one Piping Plover…maybe a pioneer or a forward scout. He will find the beach much changed since the winter and spring storms, but hopefully it will not impact the breeding sites. They are not taped off yet, and indeed, with the beach so changed, it is hard to determine exactly where the plovers might nest. As always these shot were taken at 800mm equivalent and cropped in to at least 1600mm equivalent. I was not nearly as close to this bird as it looks, and I did not walk through the area where it was feeding. Give them space. 🙂 OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Still early morning light. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Nutty
White-breasted Nuthatch: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — We see the White-breasted Nuthatch on our back deck under and on the feeders every day…but I like to catch them away from the feeders when I can. This one flew in and landed on the bittersweet vine (the biggest bittersweet vine I have ever seen) that grows up the pine at the edge of our lot while I was sitting in my camp chair waiting on the birds. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Titmouse attitudes
Tufted Titmouse: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The Tufted Titmouse is at our feeders every day, all year long. There is a pair nesting somewhere close by. They are particularly perky birds, with their little crest, and show a lot of attitude. Always fun to watch, and if I sit still enough they will come quite close. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! More Red-bellied
Red-bellied Woodpecker: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — When you shoot at 15 frames per second you get a lot of different looks at even as active a bird as the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Here are 4 more, after yesterday’s tippy-toe pose. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Always on his toes
Red-bellied Woodpecker: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are around our yard much more often this spring than in past years or past seasons. I am pretty sure they have established a primary territory just across the road from us in a little patch of forest. I hear them calling from there a lot. That is okay by me. I enjoy every encounter. This one came back to the old pines three times while I sat out in my camp chair waiting for birds, and just this once came down low enough for some good photos. And great afternoon light too. It was super active of course, as they always are, and I like the tiptoe pose here as it moved rapidly up the branch…but then Red-bellieds are always on their toes. OM System OM-1MKii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! My eclipse photos :)
Dark-eyed Junco, American Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Eastern Bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — We were just outside the path of totality here on the southern Maine coast…95% and I did not invest in the filters needed to view or photograph the eclipse itself, nor was I compelled to drive inland an hour and half to get to full totality. I figured Facebook would be flooded with eclipse photos this morning, and I was right. I did go out to the backyard during what passed for totality here to photograph some birds in the strange afternoon twilight. It never got dark, even at 95% total…it was just more like the light was softened and diminished…indeed like an early twilight but with the sun still high in the sky. The birds did not seem to notice. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Crows
American Crow: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — It might be just my imagination, or my age related memory changes, but I don’t ever remember seeing so many crows in York County as there are this year. At least not in our neighborhood. There is something in the yard kitty-corner to us that has been attracting them over the past few days, and they are in the trees around us much of the day. And you cannot step outside without hearing them calling. While they are common and abundant, and not pretty by most any standard, I actually enjoy Crows. I always think they have a sense of humor and play (I might say mischief) that is uncommon among birds. They always appear to laughing at each other, and at me. With the tree branches still bare it is a good time to photograph them too. None of these were super close, but close enough for decent photos. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Wet Bluebird
Eastern bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The tail end of the April Nor’easter brought a pretty constant cold drizzle all day yesterday, but that does not fully account for how wet this Bluebird is. I suspect it was bathing somewhere. I can only hope it found some warmer water. It also appears to have been half blow-dried, but that might just have been the fitful wind and its own attempts at preening. I would, of course, have preferred not to have the foreground branch, but does not quite spoil the shots for me and perhaps adds context to the distinctive attitude of the bird. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Crocus
Our Crocus only got to bloom for two days before being buried in the April Nor’easter’s six inches of snow and ice. We will see if there is anything left by the time the snow melts. I doubt it. These are all hand-held focus stacks with the OM System OM-1 and the M. Zuiko 12-45 f4 zoom at 90mm equivalent. The last 2 closer shots also use the built in digital tel-converter for an equivalent focal length of 180mm and a 1:1 image ratio. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Bluebirds in spring
Eastern Bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — Our backyard bluebirds (male and female) are getting brighter as the days lengthen into April and the sun climbs higher in the sky. Of course that was before our 4 inches of snow and ice over the past 24 plus hours…but that won’t slow them down for long. The storm did inspire many of the other backyard birds to use the mealworm feeders…and drew in a couple of Starlings (not happy to see them eating the bluebirds’ mealworms). It will all work out. The bluebirds are singing now…sweet and faint…and that is always a good sign. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.