Posts in Category: Kennebunk
Purple Finches
Purple Finch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I got out the photo blind for the first time this spring yesterday, as we are getting enough action to make it worth my time. I am thinking this at least a potential pair of Purple Finches. It is hard to tell if the “female” is actually a female or just (just?) an first year male…I see a hint of wash under the chin…if it stays around I will keep my eye on this bird. The male is unmistakable…and this one was in display mode…not full mating display with the fluttering wings…but he certainly wanted to be noticed. Note the erect crest and the puffed out chin…as well as the aggressive posture. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 and 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Turtle talk…
Eastern Painted Turtle: Never fear, I still have lots of photos from our trips to Costa Rica in December to share. However, it is spring in Maine and the turtles are out sunning themselves on rocks and logs in any pond with enough water to hold them. These were in mostly dry oxbow off the Kennebunk River along the Eastern Trail between Kennebunk and Arundel. Turtles are hard to photograph. You just have to learn to live with the blown-out highlights where sun reflects off the shell, or clone in shell from either side. I decided to leave them in this photo. We do see them with our naked eye…they just are never as glaring as they are in a photograph. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Hermit Thrushes are back!
Hermit Thrush: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — taking another break from the birds and wildlife of Costa Rica to visit spring in Southern Maine. I took a short walk on the new hiking trail off the Eastern Trail bike path between Kennebunk and Arundel Road, and found at least 2 Hermit Thrushes hopping around back there. These are not great photos, but anyone who has attempted to photograph a Hermit Thrush in dense woodland will appreciate the effort 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 and 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Mr Mallard
Mallard: Spring Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Preserve, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Keeping local again today, with this very cooperative Mallard duck from the pond on the Kennebunk Plains. He was not bothered by my presence at all, and both he and his mate came up on the bank while I was standing there. They saw me…they could hardly miss me in my bright yellow triking togs…but they just did not care. This is pretty much a full frame shot at 600mm. The sun was in and out…in here…so the green sheen on the head is not quite as bright. I like the little peak of blue on the wing. Sony Rx10iv. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Red-throated Loon
Red-throated Loon: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I still have lots of photos from Costa Rica to share, but with better weather I am out on my eTrike most days and seeing more of note in the backyard. This Red-throated Loon was hunting mussels on the very altered bed of Back Creek where flows under the bridge on its way to the Mousam River. Red-throated is not as common as, well Common Loon here, but it might just be a matter of overall numbers of the two species. I am always happy to see one…but I do check each one, since we had a Pacific one long ago Christmas Bird Count. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed and considerably enlarged in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 @ 1/1000th.
Wood Frogs!
Wood Frogs: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Let’s take a break from the exotic birds of Coast Rica to celebrate spring in southern Maine. The Wood Frogs are mating in every vernal pool between home and the beach, all down Brown Street…and I am sure in almost every still water in southern Maine. They seem particularly loud this year. Springs is coming in! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 200-320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Brown Creeper!
Brown Creeper: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — We rarely see Brown Creepers in our yard, and they are even rarer on our deck. This one has been coming for several days now, foraging among the suet crumbs on the rail of the deck under the suet cage. Of course the light was marginal and I had to shoot through the double-pane glass of the deck door, but still…every Brown Creeper is worth celebrating. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr, Pixelmator Photo Pro, and Apple Photos. ISO 3200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Show off!
Mallard: York County, Maine, USA — There are always Mallards, and Mallards will always do something interesting if you watch them long enough. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 573mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 1250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
No. Not impressed.
Mallards, York County, Maine, USA — Mallards are hard to impress and this male, peeking into the frame on the right, is going to have to try a lot harder. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 573mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wild Turkey: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — It is perhaps a bit ironic to celebrate Thanksgiving with an image of the main course…but just look at these well fed birds! They are certainly a symbol of the bounty and abundance of the natural harvest this year. And, of course, none of these birds are headed for the oven, for which I am sure they would be thankful if they were that self-aware. And it is good to fall into the nostalgia of the season…to let the feeling of generations of thankful pilgrims all across this continent well up once more in us. For many of us, for most of us, it is not hard to find something to be thankful for, and good to have a day that demands it of us…that encourages us to pause and consider the bounty and abundance of blessings in our lives. So be thankful. Keep safe, in this our second thanksgiving of the pandemic. The blessings of the creator and sustainer of all be on us all today! Sony Rx10iv at 144mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/320th.