Posts in Category: Kennebunk
Green Darner, close-up
Green Darner: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Two more shots of the Green Darner pair that I found at the Southern Maine Health Care drainage ponds here in Kennebunk. They were very busy ovipositing on a floating reed, and I was able to extend the zoom on my Nikon B700 to the full reach of its enhanced digital zoom at 2880mm equivalent, for these telephoto macro shots of the two heads. Shutter preferred program mode at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Green Darners!
Green Darner: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I go years between photos of a Green Darner…they just about never perch while I am around…but this is my second one for this year. I found a male settled out on the shore at the Sanford Lagoons last month, and this mating and ovipositing pair at the Southern Maine Medical Center drainage ponds this past weekend. There was a little window through the foreground reeds that opened and closed with the breeze. Nikon B700 at 917mm equivalent (they were close enough to overfill the frame at full zoom). Shutter program at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Green Heron
Green Heron: Quest Ponds at Southern Maine Medical Center, Kennebunk. Maine, USA — I stopped by the drainage ponds at SMMC here in Kennebunk to check for new dragonflies, and to see if there were any spreadwings. Spreadwings have been noticeably absent so far this season. While there I was surprised when this Green Heron took off from under the reeds and landed on the lone rock in the pond. It sat there for long enough for a series of photos and then took off, likely for one of the other ponds around the edge of the parking lot or for the marshy area between lots. It is the first time I have see a Green Heron at these ponds, but it is first time in several years. It was overcast so not enough light to bring out the green highlights in the wings, but still a handsome bird. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter program at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Large Lace Border Moth
Large Lace Border Moth: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — When I got back from my trike ride the other day, this lovely little moth was waiting for me in the ground cover along the foundation of our home. It was settled there, and I was able to put the camera in Macro mode and take this full frame close up at about 108mm equivalent. I did not know what the moth was, so I used the AI identification feature of my FieldGuides Leps app. I was not at all surprised at the name…it is what I would called this moth if I had the naming to do 🙂 Though it is the “large” lace border moth, it is only about an inch wing tip to wing tip. Nikon B700 as above. Shutter program with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Sometimes it is not only about the dragonfly…
Slaty Skimmer: Alwive Pond, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I think most dragonflies are beautiful…in a steampunk kind of way…but sometimes dragonfly photography is not all about the dragonfly. This Slaty Skimmer kept perching on the pickerel weed which makes a dense mat in the waters along the shore of Alwive Pond in Kennebunk Maine, and I could not resist taking way too many photos, trying to capture the contrast, both in color and structure, between the dragon and the delicate flowers…it was only in processing that I discovered the beauty of the background…which really “makes” the shot. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Feed me! Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Not a great photo technically, as it was early and overcast. Both I and the camera would have liked more light, but I could not resist trying to capture a little of the interaction between our fledgling bluebirds and the diligent male who is trying to keep them happy and growing. They sit near the mealworm feeder and he ferries mealworms over to them. He is working as hard as he can, but the fledglings are certainly impatient. Every parent can identify! 🙂 Nikon B700 at 460mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Eastern Pondhawk
Eastern Pondhawk: One off my favorite dragonflies! I like the subtle change from blue to green and I really appreciate the little green dots on the hind side of the eyes. 🙂 It is a bonus that they perch so nicely for photos. I am seeing quite a few pondhawks this season, everywhere from the mucky drainage ponds at Southern Maine Medical Center to the clear clean waters of Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains…so they do not seem to as fussy about water as some of the dragons. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker: I know there are Red-bellied Woodpeckers around here in Kennebunk, because we get them at the feeder a few times each year. They could be just passing through, of course, but the timing makes me suspect that they nest somewhere in the area. We are having a few cool (cold for a Maine summer), and very wet days in a row and for the past several days we have had a Red-bellied Woodpecker at the suet feeder at least once an hour all day. This may be a young bird, as it is not quite as “flighty” as the Red-bellieds I am used to…which are among the most difficult birds for me to photograph. If I move, say to go get my camera, even well inside the house behind the double-glazed doors to the deck, where the most they could see is a subtle change in the density of the shadows, they are off and away into the trees. This one allowed me, on two separate occasions, to get the camera and get a few shots through the thermal glass. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/500th. (I am pretty happy with this at ISO 6400, though it did require some additional noise reduction in post. 🙂
Pygmy Clubtail
Northern Pygmy Clubtail (?): Branch Brook, Kennebunk, Maine, USA. — It is always fun to find a new (to me) dragonfly on my rambles around the back roads of York County Maine. Every time I cross Branch Brook on my eTadpole recumbent trike, which is generally at least once a week as the bridge is on one of my “go to” exercise loops, I think that I should stop and explore the stream for dragonflies…and yesterday, since I was in no great hurry in the unaccustomed heat, I finally did it. I only found two dragonflies, a female Ebony Jewelwing, and this tiny clubtail, which is new to me. Looking at the photos, and considering the location, it is clearly a Pygmy Clubtail, and I am pretty sure it is a Northern. However, the watershed where I found it is one of the few with a confirmed presence of Southern Pygmy Clubtail in Maine, and my AI tools consistently ID it as Southern. To my eye there is more than one strip on the thorax, which, according to Paulson, makes it Northern…but I can not be 100% sure. Anyone who knows better is welcome to chime in. Nikon B700 at 135mm macro and 1440mm telephoto equivalents. Program mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Nothing is safe from a Red Squirrel
Carol called me from the bedroom where I was setting up for my morning qi gong. I thought she said “I think there is a dead squirrel here…” so I came to look…turns out she said “I think there is a Red Squirrel here…” and, indeed, there was. A highly caffeinated Red Squirrel at that. In the 10 minutes or so it was on our deck, it was everywhere, and into everything…all very rapid…a lightning raid before it scampered off. Red Squirrels must live in the surrounding woodlands, but they only appear in our yard once or twice a year, at least while we are looking. Just as well too, since nothing is safe from a Red Squirrel…we have come to an uneasy truce with our resident Grey Squirrels and Chipmunks (we are host to at least 4 squirrels and what sometimes seems to the hundreds, but is more likely dozens of Eastern Chipmunks), but the Red Squirrel is another beast altogether and no “squirrel proof” feeding solution will even mildly discourage them. Still, they are undeneighably cute with their rusty tail, little round ears and big round eyes…and those little paws…and it was fun to watch one scamper all over our deck and feeders…for a change…once in a great while. Sony Rx10iv at 500-600mm equivalent…through the thermopane glass of our deck door. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. And, of course, before full sun-up so the light was a problem.