Posts in Category: Sanford Lagoons
Common Green Darner
Common Green Darner: Sanford Lagoons, Sanford, Maine, USA — Not a great photo as I was at a fair distance and shooting through obstructive foreground plants, but, in my experience, a rare photo. I never…well, almost never…see Common Green Darner perched. They seem to be in perpetual flight, at least during daylight hours. I have a few shots of Green Darner mating wheels, and one of a Green Darner female ovipositing…but this might be only individual I have seen just settled out and resting in many years of looking. And, of course, when I tried to work my way down the bank for a less obstructed view, it was off instantly. Even in flight the Common Green Darner is hard to miss. It is not the largest Dragonfly in North America…the Giant Darner of the Southwest is bigger…but it is certainly the largest we have here in the Northeast, and that green body and bright blue abdomen stand out in almost any light. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
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.