Posts in Category: Maine
Hermit
Hermit Thrush: York County, Maine, USA, April 2025 — I went out looking for Trout Lily again yesterday as the temperatures climbed up into thee 70s…still only leaves were I looked, but there were quite a few Hermit Thrushes, along with a small flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, moving through the waking forest. The Thrushes were not singing, but once I saw one, I saw half a dozen more moving through at eye-level and on the ground, all within 100 yards of each other. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Eddy art
Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, April 2025 —Water heavily laden with tannins from decaying leaves and high spring stream levels work with gravity and fluid dynamics and the April sun to create art in the eddies. Sony a5100. 10-18 f4 zoom at 27mm. Superior Auto. Photomator and LikeAFrame.
Crocus Spring
We had one mild, sunny spring day this week, and the Crocus buds opened for a few hours. They have been tight closed since, but they might peek out again today. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at various focal lengths for macro and framing. Aperture preferred for depth of field control (my standard macro settings). Processed in Photomator.
Creature in the woods
Porcupine. Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA — While out looking for the first Trout Lily’s (Adder’s Tongue) of the season (there were none yet) I encountered a creature in the woods. I could not, for any amount of trying, figure out what it was, but I managed a few photos and came home to study them. My first instinct was Porcupine, but the almost total lack of quills had me baffled. There is nothing else it can be though, and I found some other photos on the web showing porcupines in a similar state. Perhaps it had just survived an attack of some sort…or perhaps it was its first venture out of the winter borrow, and it had lost most of its quills rubbing on the rocks all winter. It seemed heathy enough otherwise, and not overly upset at the encounter. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Photomator.
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet: York County, Maine, USA, April 2025 — Mild sunny days have been rare as spring comes on here in Southern Maine. Yesterday inspired me to get out for a photoprowl. I went looking for Trout Lily (not even any leaves showing yet) and then along the path by the river to see what I could see. Again, not much. But I met a fellow photographer/birder on the trail who told me that there were Kinglets up ahead. Otherwise I might have turned around early, and never known what I was missing. It is kind of miracle that they were still there when I got there, and hung around just long enough for a few photos. I am pretty sure these are my first Golden-crowns for York County, though I have seen lots of Ruby-crowned. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Piping Plover
Piping Plover: York County, Maine, April 2025 — Taking a break from my coverage of the March trip to Costa Rica. I took some time on a sunny afternoon to go check the beach for Plovers. Our Piping Plovers started arriving in York County more than a week ago. Most arrive from the south in April, and the males begin to establish territories. They still, to my eye, look a bit cold and uncomfortable on the beach. It was only in the 40s yesterday, with a deep wind chill, but I saw at least a dozen individuals in a 1/4 mile stretch of beach. As always I will say that I am very careful when I photograph Plovers. They are an endangered species, clinging to very limited habitat here in Maine. In the original photo this bird is still quite small, taking up only about 3% of the frame. I use a long lens and crop in, and I never get close enough so that the birds retreat from me. Shots like this one happen when I am standing still and the plovers come toward me. And I stand there until they move away again on their own. If you see Plovers on the beach, give them their space. If you want to see them close, carry binoculars or a camera with a long lens. And please, if you walk your dog on the beach, obey the signs and use a leash. Never allow your dog to chase birds. We have been privileged to see Plover and Tern numbers grow in recent years. That is a trend we want to contiinue. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Serenity Loon
Common Loon: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, February 2025 — I present for you this Sunday, the Serenity Loon…without a care in the world…the only ripples being those it makes itself in its peaceful passing. 🙂 What the world needs now. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Wrinkled red
Rose hips. Kennebunk, Maine, USA. February 10, 2025. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 532mm equivalent. Aperture mode at f16. Processed in Photomator and framed in LikeAFrame.
Loony
Common Loon: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, February 2025 — Just to prove I am not still in Costa Rica or Florida, here is a shot from yesterday morning…a dullish February morning, though we had sun in the afternoon. I was walking down to the tidal creek to photograph loons fairly far out, when this one popped up practically right beside me. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! more snow
Actually this is still the snow from Sunday morning, and of course by now the wind has knocked most of it off the trees and brush, but it is still there. It has not been above freezing since. 🙂 Sony a5100 in Superior Auto, with Landscape mode selected. Sony 10-18 f4 @ 15mm equivalent. Processed in Photomator and framed in LikeAFrame.