Posts in Category: Maine

Sassy Red

On April 2, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - action, animals, Maine, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day, poem, squirrel, wildlife

Red Squirrel, Alewive Woods Preserve, Kennebunk Land Trust. Kennebunk ME

I told the story of this Red Squirrel, which I encountered on my hike into Alewive Pond on Thursday, in today’s Year Poem (which I will append here for your viewing pleasure :).

The photo is with the Nikon P900 at 1100mm equivalent field of view. 1/60th @ ISO 800 @ f5.6. Processed in Lightroom.

And the poem.

The red squirrel paralleled me
100 years along the trail,
always three threes ahead,
but with one eye solid on me.

Eventually he found a perch
on a branch, oh, twice my height,
just where the trail turns,
to sit safe and sass me as only
a Red Squirrel can sass…tail
arched high, little paws, tiny
claws clenched, every ounce
of his ten, behind the eye
that glared, that dared me
to do my worst!

Little did he know I had
my camera ready to
record his heroic posturing,
or that his antics would
be exposed on the internet
for all the world to see.

So there, Mr. Red Squirrel,
we humans can sass too.

Croci!

On April 1, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - flowers, Maine, Pic of the Day, spring, yard

Crocus in our yard

I had to look it up, but the plural of Crocus is, as I might have expected, either “crocuses” or “croci”…both are accepted forms. We have had a single crocus blooming for several days, and lots of buds showing, but yesterday it got up to 70 degrees in your yard and the whole little bed burst open. The crocus is such a cheerful flower, and I find our variegated variety is particular festive.

Sony HX90V macro. 37mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 80 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.

Song Sparrow in Spring

On March 31, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - action, animals, birds, Maine, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day, wildlife

Song Sparrow, Timber Point, Rachel Carson NWR, Goose Rocks, Maine

As I mentioned yesterday, the Song Sparrows are back all along the coast here in Southern Maine. They are often our earliest summer singer to arrive. This bird is out at the tip of Timber Point, a relatively new property of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge located between Goose Rocks and Biddeford Pool, just where the Little River flows into Goosefair Bay. It sat up and sang for me nicely.

Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 125 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.

First Phoebe of Spring

On March 30, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - action, animals, birds, Maine, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day, spring, wildlife

Eastern Phoebe, Kennebunk Bridle Trail, Kennebunk ME

Eastern Phoebe, Kennebunk Bridle Trail, Kennebunk ME

The first Eastern Phoebes have returned to the marsh and trees around the Bridle Trail near the mouth of the Mousam River where it crosses Route 9 here in Kennebunk. Along with the Song Sparrows (also present for at least a week) they are our earliest returning songbirds every year. I don’t count the Robins, since they are really here year-round, or any of our other backyard feeder birds, which I can see any month of the year. The Song Sparrows and Phoebes will nest along the Bridle Trail, and I will be seeing them all summer. I love the background of this shot…the bokeh as they call it. The wind was gusting to 30 mph yesterday and the winter grasses of the marsh were being tossed…they were just far enough behind the bird to create this warm wash of color. You can see the effects of the warm light reflected up from the marsh grasses on the body of the bird as well. There is often a light yellow wash on the lower breast of the Phoebe, but you rarely see it this yellow.

Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 220 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.

Ice!

On March 28, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - close up, ice, macro, Maine, Pic of the Day

thin ice shell over buds, Kennebunk Maine

We had a day of freezing rain late last week. Every elevated surface was coated with a thin shell of ice. Fortunately the ground and roads were warm enough so that ice did not form underfoot and under tire. I went out to the grocery and was caught by a tangle of brush across the road, bordering the drive and parking lot of a bank. There were some birches in the classic “bent down by ice” posture, and lots of ice-bound buds along the branches in the tangle.

In-camera HDR. Sony HX90V at 24mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Lightroom.

Titmouse in the Snow

On March 23, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - action, animals, birds, close up, Maine, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day, snow, spring, wildlife, yard

Tufted Titmouse. The yard, Kennebunk Maine

The Titmice came back to our feeders about a week ago, after a late winter absence. This Tufted Titmouse shot was taken on the second day of spring 🙂 and is a celebration of our spring nor’easter. I think he looks very stoic there on his branch. Every few moments he would fly across to the feeders and take a seed, then return to this same branch to digest.

Nikon P610 at 1440mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 220 @ f6.5. Processed and cropped for composition in Lightroom.

Ballerina wantabe.

On March 22, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - action, animals, birds, Kennebunk Plains, Maine, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day, Uncategorized, wildlife

Canada Goose, Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area

If there were a prize for the heaviest bodied bird…the Canada Goose might well be in the running. The size of the body is emphasized in this shot of a goose standing on one leg, ballerina like, in Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area. I like the pose, and I like the way the light is reflected back from the water on the body of the bird.

Nikon P610 at 1440mm equivalent field of view. 1/400th @ ISO 100 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.

Turkeys

On March 19, 2016 by lightshedder With 1 Comments - action, animals, birds, Maine, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day, poem, wildlife, yard
Turkey, the Yard, Kennebunk Maine

Turkey, the Yard, Kennebunk Maine

 

Carol came running
early to the bedroom,
“turkeys in the yard,”
and I went running
barefoot and still wet
from the shower, camera
in hand, out the front door.

Indeed, four big birds
in full spring finery…
feathers aglisten in the
morning sun with
colors rarely seen,
(barely imagined).

They strutted mindlessly,
as only turkeys strut,
(I know they call it
a trot but it’s not…
something between
a strut and a stroll)
up the middle of the
road to the neighbor’s
yard where they circled
back just in time
to be a Turkey heart
attack for the lady
in the SUV taking the
corner on Brown
Street a tad too fast.

They scuttled (again
a better word than trot)
through another yard
into the relative safety
of a patch of forest
and where gone.

Ah to be as mindless
and a carefree as a
Turkey in the spring.

(Well, no, maybe
not that mindless.)

Turkeys in the road

Turkeys in the road

Snow Bunting

On March 18, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - action, animals, Kennebunk Plains, Maine, p&s 4 wildlife, Pic of the Day, wildlife
Snow Bunting, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, W. Kennebunk ME

Snow Bunting, Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, W. Kennebunk ME

We had amazing skies yesterday afternoon and of course I went looking for a venue to feature them. They were coming in from the west, so after a few shots from the beach looking inland, I headed out to the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area…one of the few places in forested Southern Maine where you have a decent horizon in all directions. The Kennebunk Plains are a remnant sand plain habitat, traditionally kept open by wildfire, and now managed with fire for several endangered and marginal species in New England and southern Maine. Black Racer snake, Northern Blazing Star (wildflower), Upland Sandpiper, Wood Lily, etc. Not to mention the abundant wild blueberries (not endangered but rare in Southern Maine), or the occasional amazing skies.

I was back in the car, actually backing out, and the first drops of rain were falling when a flutter on the ground between me and the edge of the parking lot caught my eye. I stopped and rolled down the window, then went for my camera. At first I thought it might be a Longspur of one variety or another but I soon realized that it was a Female Snow Bunting. I can’t not say for sure, but I think it might be a life bird for me…and certainly a first in Maine. It was all by itself, and I had the impression that it was running ahead of the storm. It was certainly feeding frantically along the edge of the grass.

This is a 4 panel collage of the bird so you can get a good look. Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/400th @ ISO 400 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom and assembled in Coolage.

Avant Guard

On January 18, 2016 by lightshedder With 0 Comments - abstract, ice, Maine, Pic of the Day, river

Ice along the Mousam River at Roger’s Pond.

So, due to the press of time (I am posting during a layover in DC) this is going to be both the Pic for Today and my Day 6 Nature Photography Challenge on Facebook. 🙂 And keeping to my theme, it is a challenging image. Ice gets into all kinds of strange shapes, given the right weather! This is along the Mousam River at Roger’s Pond in Kennebunk Maine. It is a ground level macro shot, taken with the LCD flipped out.

Sony HX90V. In-camera HDR. Processed in Lightroom.