Posts in Category: OM-1 & 100-400mm
Maine! Hooded Mergansers
Hooded Merganser: York County, Maine, USA, November 2023 — The winter ducks are coming in. Yesterday I posted a Red-throated Loon from the mouth of one of our rivers, and today we feature these two male Hooded Mergansers. They had one female with them. Hoodies are generally seen in pairs or small flocks and prefer still waters, like those of this tidal creek. OM-Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Red-throated Loon
Red-throated Loon: York county, Maine, USA, November 2023 — The Red-throated Loons are in along the coast and up our tidal rivers. We don’t ever see their red-throats here in Maine as they loose their breeding plumage before they head south from their tundra and taiga lakes and far north coastal breeding grounds. The population along the Maine coast seems to vary year to year. At least some years I tend to see a lot of them, and some years hardly any at all. It could be a matter of where they are feeding, or it could just be a matter of where and when I am looking. This year I have already seen quite a few at the mouths of the rivers. If a Common Loon is a big double decker passenger jet, the Red-throated Loon is a small compact commuter jet…and, indeed, the Red-throated is distinguished among loons for its “short runway” on takeoff…which allows it to nest and feed on much smaller ponds than the Common Loon. OM-Systems OM1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! early light Eagle
Bald Eagle: York County, Maine, USA, November 2023 — Yesterday I was out early, dropping my wife off at church, so I swung by our local Eagle spot to see if I might find a bird. I say Eagle spot…some years a pair hangs out there all winter, and one year they even had a young bird with them…and then some years you do not see one at all. This might be a good year. This adult bird was catching the morning rays and warming up for the day high up in a big pine on their favorite perch. Not as close as I would like, but we take what we can get. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -1.0 EV to maintain detail on that white head. 🙂 Processed in Photomator. Cropped considerably.
Maine! Chickadee in the wild
Black-capped Chickadee: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — It is somehow aways more satisfying to catch a Chickadee out in the field or forest, away from our feeders. This bird was a member of a mixed feeding flock in an old orchard and, typical of chickadees, worked his way closer and closer to me as I watched. The only issue was finding a more or less clear line of sight through the brambles for a photo. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Snow Buntings already
Snow Bunting: York County, Maine, USA, November 2023 — Maybe I am just not in the right places at the right time, but this is only my second ever sighting of Snow Buntings in Maine. I know they must be here, somewhere, most of the winter, but I just don’t see them. These were behind the dunes at our local beach, sitting on the wire fence that protects the dune restoration project, and occasionally dropping down to feed behind the fence. Take a good look at the feet! The super long toes and the sharp nails are certainly made for navigating snow and ice. These three birds were in one group, and I found a group of maybe half a dozen more feeding the marsh grasses on the other side of the road as I left. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. (The light was terrible and I was experimenting with new settings and am not totally happy with the results…more work to be done. Still, any photograph of a Snow Bunting in southern Maine, is a win on my scoreboard 🙂 Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Migrant
Orange-crowned Warbler: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Here, 10 days into November, I still have a few photos to post from October. This was, to be fair, taken on the very last day of the month. One member of a small mixed feeding flock I encountered in an old overgrown orchard. I have seen other posts of this species over the past week from various locations in Maine, so they must be coming through right now on their way south. We only see them during migration here in Southern Maine. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent field of view. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator Pro. ISO 400 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Maine! White-tail again
White-tailed Deer: Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, October 2023 — Another study of the White-tailed Deer that came out onto the marsh at Laudholm while I was waiting for the Great Blue Heron to hunt its way down to me last week. It appears to the a young doe and was certainly wary as it worked it way out deeper into the marsh and into the open. I am not sure what it was looking for. When it saw me on the deck, right in plain slight and wearing my hunter safe colors, it had second thoughts and headed back to the forest. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Blue Jay rampant
Blue Jay: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Just after leaving the deck and my hour long observation of the hunting heron, and my brief observation of the White-tailed Deer, I encountered a small flock of Blue Jays moving through the maple swamp close to the boardwalk. I often see them there, high in the trees and far out from the boardwalk, but this time they were close enough to attempt some photos. I love all the different blues and blue-violets of the plumage, and there is no denying that Blue Birds have personality…or birdinality at any rate. One thing you can’t do with at Blue Bird is to ignore it…they simply are not having any of that! OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Hunting Heron
Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Another shot of the Great Blue Heron hunting in the marsh. I watched this bird take a small shrimp or fish from the edges of the pools at the rate of about one very two minutes for over an hour. An amazingly efficient hunter but very small bites. Twice it caught something lager…some kind of snake or eel…but mostly it was just taking the same tiny prey. The impressive thing was that the heron’s attention never wavered. It was continuously on the hunt. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Bird in a stick
Hermit Thrush: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — still finishing up photos from last month, as bad weather and hunting season are keeping me out of the woods and off the fields. “Bird on a stick” is the, at least mildly, derogiatory term for static photos of birds on a branch…the most common bird photos. As is generally the case, I can describe my photo, tongue in cheek, as just a bird on a stick photo and that is humor. If you describe my photo as bird on a stick, then I might take umbrage. But in this case, I probably would not as this is very definitely a bird on a stick. A Hermit Thrush from my encounter with several feeding in an old orchard. They bushwhacked under the trees a year or so ago to reclaim the orchard from the brush, and there are lots of these sapling stubs just a few inches tall. The thrush hopped up on one presumably to look for insects moving on the ground. Still, makes an interesting bird on a stick photo. 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.