Posts in Category: action
Maine! Denisons under the deck
Carolina Wren: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2025 — Yesterday we woke to six inches of snow in the yard, like most people in Southern Maine (some had more) and after clearing the drive and cleaning off the car and removing the snow from the shed roof I went looking for birds. We see these two wrens about once a week up on our back deck after the spilled meal-worm crumbs, and occasionally on the meal-worm feeder itself after a whole worm, and I know they spend considerable time under our deck, in the jumble of old flowerpots that have accumulated there. I think they actually nest a few yards over but they visit us. We see them often in the summer and I know they have been recorded on the Christmas Bird counts in Southern Maine, but this is the first winter when we have seen them regularly. I am always happy to see them. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Kings about their business
King Vulture: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Carrion is the business of vultures, of course, and the Kings are no exception. The bare head is an adaption specifically for carrion eaters to allow them to dig deep into a carcass. Of course I am not sure why the bare head has to be so brightly colored. I mean what is that bold yellow stripe in line with the spine about…or why the outrageous carbuncle…but I as not consulted on Vulture design. Good thing. Leave that to the true artist. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 375 and 600mm equivalents. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Highlight metering. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! January Song Sparrow
Sony Sparrow: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2025 — Besides the Pine Warblers hanging out with our wintering Bluebirds, there are several Song Sparrows that have neglected to go south around town. At least a few along the dunes in the beach rose, and 3 or 4 in a local park along the river. (And probably more that I don’t know about.) They seem perfectly happy and have already survived the few snow storms and the low temperatures of the past few weeks. We will see how they do when it gets really cold next week. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Playing with his food
Common Eider: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2025 — This first winter male Eider is breaking all the rules. While he did eventually swallow the crab whole, he did it on the surface, not underwater, and he was, so it seems to me, playing with his food before he ate it…to the extent that he threw it up in the air and then re-caught it as it came back down…before it could sink. I know there must be a better explanation than play…if there isn’t we have been seriously underestimating the intelligence of Eiders (or I have anyway). Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Costa Rica! Shiny!
Shinning Honeycreeper: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Mirador El Pizote has a wonderful set of feeders, ideal for photography of the tanagers and honeycreepers and euphonias who frequent the lowlands of Costa Rica…including the Shinning Honeycreeper, which can be one of the more difficult honeycreepers to see. They have hummingbird feeders too, and large fruit feeders for the toucans, aracaris, and oropedolas. This Shinning Honeycreeper could not struck a better pose. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Yellow is the color
Yellow-throated Toucan: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — One of the most recognizable birds of the American Tropics, the Yellow-throated Toucan has a wide range, when including its nominate and 2 sub-species, all down through the lowland rainforests of Central America and along the north-west rim of South America from eastern Venezuela to southern Peru. It is still listed as “near threatened” by the IOU. No one actually knows how it is doing within its range…but there is a lot of deforestation going on throughout, and it is assumed numbers are declining. Big, bold, loud and just a little clumsy around feeders, it is one of those birds that you see in the air or perched and think, “How is that possible?” For one thing that huge beak is a thin, hollow shell, and weighs very little compared to the mass of the bird. Always a delight to see. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600 and 515mm equivalents. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Eider
Common Eider: York County, Maine, USA, January 2025 — When we first moved back to Maine in 1995, there were flocks of hundreds, thousands, of Common Eiders all along the coast of York County. Now I have to go looking to find one…or one small flock of maybe half a dozen. I am not convinced that there are less Eiders, though that could well be true. just for sure that they don’t come into the coast here anymore. This handsome male reminded me. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Green Honeycreeper close!
Green Honeycreeper: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — After an active morning around Victor’s place, and a mid-day rest, I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting and photographing birds at the feeder. Victor has a fruit feeder with plantains set up off one corner of the 2nd floor balcony, with a mossy branch that he replaces as needed, and a nice distant background…ideal for photography. And, closer to the house, between the balcony and the feeder, there are some bushes that frame the feeder and provide even closer perches for birds as they come and go. This is pretty much a full frame shot of the male Green Honeycreeper in one of those close bushes, just beyond the balcony rail. In a shot like this you can appreciate the subtle color variations and the texture details of the plumage. The artistry of creation. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-500 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. (The green in the name Green Honeycreeper comes from the female of the species who is bright leaf-green.)
Costa Rica! Broad-billed
Broad-billed Motmot: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — It was the call of the Broad-billed Motmot that drew us out into Victor’s little patch of second-growth rainforest early in the morning and we had glimpses of the bird right away…but then it was off on its rounds and it was not until a couple of hours later that it came back and sat so I could photograph it. It was pretty tame and allowed me to circle for angles and light for a good half hour while it hunted flying insects…eventually catching and eating a monster cricket. At one time it was thought that the little paddles at the end of the tail feathers were the result of intentional preening, but recent studies have suggested that the barbs along that section of tail feather are loosely attached and fall off naturally as the bird moves through foliage. Why? Of course, no one has been able to answer that question…but the paddle tails certainly add to the allure of an already beautiful bird. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. +0.3EV Processed in Photomator. (Including some noise reduction in these ISO 8000 shots).
Costa Rica! Two toed (not!)
Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The two sloths found in Costa Rica, Hoffman’s Two-toed, and the Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth. are not actually closely related…they descend from two different ancestors, but are very similar in both appearance and behavior. The Two-toed is the slightly bigger and slightly more active of the two, but that is not saying much when talking about sloths. They both eat a low energy, hard to digest, diet of leaves. And, of course, they both have 3 toes…but the Hoffman’s has only 2 fingers. This Two-toed was resting in a tree about 25 feet up, just at the edge of Victor’s little patch of second growth at Tico Rainforest B&B. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.