Posts in Category: action
Maine! Titmouse attitudes
Tufted Titmouse: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The Tufted Titmouse is at our feeders every day, all year long. There is a pair nesting somewhere close by. They are particularly perky birds, with their little crest, and show a lot of attitude. Always fun to watch, and if I sit still enough they will come quite close. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! More Red-bellied
Red-bellied Woodpecker: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — When you shoot at 15 frames per second you get a lot of different looks at even as active a bird as the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Here are 4 more, after yesterday’s tippy-toe pose. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Always on his toes
Red-bellied Woodpecker: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are around our yard much more often this spring than in past years or past seasons. I am pretty sure they have established a primary territory just across the road from us in a little patch of forest. I hear them calling from there a lot. That is okay by me. I enjoy every encounter. This one came back to the old pines three times while I sat out in my camp chair waiting for birds, and just this once came down low enough for some good photos. And great afternoon light too. It was super active of course, as they always are, and I like the tiptoe pose here as it moved rapidly up the branch…but then Red-bellieds are always on their toes. OM System OM-1MKii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! More Egrets Posturing
Great Egret: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, January 2024 — With Snowy Egrets it is all about dancing on water. With Great Egrets it is all about the spread wings. Or at least it was on this day at Merritt Island. And I had lots to choose from. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at from 246 to 420mm equivalents. Program mode with my birds in flight and action modifications. -0.3EV Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Wet Bluebird
Eastern bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The tail end of the April Nor’easter brought a pretty constant cold drizzle all day yesterday, but that does not fully account for how wet this Bluebird is. I suspect it was bathing somewhere. I can only hope it found some warmer water. It also appears to have been half blow-dried, but that might just have been the fitful wind and its own attempts at preening. I would, of course, have preferred not to have the foreground branch, but does not quite spoil the shots for me and perhaps adds context to the distinctive attitude of the bird. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Great Egrets dominate
Great Egrets: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — After spending fifteen minutes with the dancing Snowy Egrets, busy feeding on the shrimp hatch, I switched my attention to the Great Egrets sharing the same pool, and presumably the same bounty. Great Egrets behavior is different though. While Snowys feed in a dancing frenzy, paying little attention to each other except to avoid collisions, each Great Egret seems to feel the need to dominate the pool. Greats seem to spend most of their energy facing off with other Greats. In the process, very little actual feeding seems to get done. ?? It must somehow work for them. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 246mm equivalent. (I had to zoom out for the considerably larger birds.) Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. -0.3EV. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Spoonbilling
Roseate Spoonbill: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, January 2024 — After enough time trying for water-dancing Snowy Egrets, I turned my attention to the few Roseate Spoonbills who were in the same pool behind the entrance sign at Blackpoint. Always a great bird, in January the Spoonbills at Merritt Island are just coming into breeding plumage. This male was busy doing its spoony thing, harvesting shrimp much more efficiently than the Snowy Egrets, but without the spectacular show. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 400mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Costa Rica! Scintillant Hummingbird
Scintillant Hummingbird: Feathers Garden, Savegre Mountain Hotel and Spa, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — This is the other small hummingbird of the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica and Panama (and the higher volcanos of the Central Range in Costa Rica). The Scintillant replaces the Volcano at lower elevations, according to the guides, but I seen both up to 8000 feet. At 11,000 it is only Volcanos. I posted Volcanos from this same garden at Savegre earlier this week. The bright rufous tails and the extensive rufous vests on these makes them unmistakably Scintillant. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! April’s sweet song
Song Sparrow: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — April 1st and the Song Sparrows are finally singing from the tree and bush tops. This one sat long enough to catch its song several times, and even for a short video. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Not dancing
Bonaparte’s Gull: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — The Bonaparte’s Gulls that feed with the Egrets on those days when the shrimp hatch do not do the whole “dancing on the water” thing, but the Egrets dancing keeps them stirred up and active. They never get to sit still for long. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 300mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.