Groundhog sunning. It seems to be woodchuck season in southern Maine. This is my second encounter in less than a week. This specimen was obviously sunning itself on a log in an overgrown damp pasture on a warm June day in Kennebunk, Maine. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in VDIT.
Groundhog (Woodchuck): Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — Not something you see every day, but I have now seen this twice this spring…once in Ohio at Magee Marsh, and now here along the Bridle Path near Route 9. I actually probably walked right by this Woodchuck in the tree, just above eye-level, right beside the path, because I was too busy looking for possible hawks higher in the trees, At any rate I would have missed it if the couple behind me had not chased me down in the parking lot as I was readying my trike to ride home, to ask it was possible they had actually seen a “beaver” in a tree. They had a phone photo and I did not have the heart to tell them it did not look exactly like a beaver to me, but I was truly thankful for the alert, and took my camera back to see if it would still be there. Google AI provided the information that tree climbing is at least a well known habit of Groundhogs, along with some speculation as to why they might do it. Predator avoidance, tender spring leaves and fruit later in the season, but the one I like best is “just for fun”…or to get a better look at their territory. This Woodchuck was not at all disturbed by my attention, and was still comfortable there in the little fork in the branches when I decided I already had way too many exposures and went back to my tike and home. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at various focal lengths for framing. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Basilisk Lizard: Pierella Ecology Gardens, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — I first visited Pierella Gardens on my scouting trip in December 2024 with Victor of Tico Rainforest B&B, and was delighted to be able to include it in my March trip, along a whole group of Point’nShoot Nature photographers. It is truly a wonderful place. This is mature Basilisk Lizard, something I have never seen this close. You can really appreciate the colors and the dragon-like form. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. And this is a good demo of the subject identification, eye-tracking auto focus on the a6700 at work even in low light!
Side-striped Palm Viper: Frog Heaven, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — After the Eyelash Viper the folks at Frog Heaven brought out a snake I had never seen before. This Palm Viper is only found in Costa Rica and Panama, though very similar snakes are found in Honduras (also called a palm viper), and on the Pacific Islands and in South-east Asia. The green was much more difficult to photograph well than the bright yellow of the Eyelash. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 348 and 600mm. Aperture preferred program with my macro modifications. f16 at 1/10 second at ISO 12500. I had to use -2 EV to keep the green from washing out totally in the light of my Ulanzi Photo Flashlight. Processed in Photomator.
Eyelash Viper: Frog Heaven, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — One of the highlights of a visit to Frog Heaven, for those who are so inclined (and I know it is not everyone) is the snakes they bring out towards the end of your time there. There is nothing quite like a bright yellow Eyelash Viper posed on a branch in the dark of the night. Eyelash because of the pointy scales above the eye. Viper because it is. a pit viper…notice the little heat sensor between the eye and the nostril. Photographed by the light of my Ulanzi Photo Flashlight (not a flash but a handheld led torch). Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 409mm equivalent. Aperture program with my macro modifications. F16 @ 1/40th from my little travel tripod. -1 EV to tame the highlights.
Red Squirrel: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, May 2025 — I call him (or her) Hoover because he (or she) comes after the Raccoons have been emptying our sunflower seed feeders all over the deck, mostly on rainy days for some reason, to clean up the mess. She (or he) lets me open the deck door for an unobstructed view and photographs. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 543mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. (ISO 16500 by the way.) (And a second by the way…I am not sure, of course, if our Hoover is a individual squirrel, he or she, or if we have a whole tribe of Hoovers living the woods across the road, just waiting rainy day, “clean-up on the back deck aisle” call??)
Green and Black Poison Dart Frog: Frog Heaven, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — Much like Zebras, there might be some debate as to whether this poison dart frog is more green on black or black on green…but the official name is Green and Black. It is, even more officially, Dendrobates auratus. They are in the same family as the bright red and blue Strawberry (or Blue-jeans) poison dart frog, but a different species. They are slightly larger as well as being, of course, about as totally a different color as you can get. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 265 and 463mm equivalents. By the light of my Ulanzi Photo Flashlight (and led light not a flash), using my little travel tripod. Aperture preferred program with my macro modifications. f16 at 1/30th. Processed in Photomator.
Red-eyed Leaf Frog: Frog Heaven, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — The Red-eyed Leaf Frog is probably the poster child for Costa Rican conservation…and maybe for Central American Conservation, or even Rainforest Conservation. It is just such a stunning subject for photography, with its unlikely combination of bright colors and quirky looks, and is the one non-bird species that almost every photographer who visits Costa Rica wants to photograph. Now I am going to tell you that almost every photo you have ever seen of a Red-eyed Leaf frog was posed. It is possible to find them, around the decorative pool at Selva Verde Lodge, or just out in the Rainforest, where they can be photographed “in situ” so to speak, but those are not the photographs you have likely seen. The folks at Frog Heaven brought this frog in to their little photo shelter in the rainforest and placed it on the woody vine for us to photograph. No flash was used, nor is flash allowed. These were taken by the gentle light of my made-for-purpose hand-held led. The folks at Frog Heaven are very careful in handling the wild fogs…it is their business…and they truly care about the wellbeing of the frogs on their property. No harm was done, but the frog’s night was disrupted. I do have mixed feelings about that…but these are without doubt my best photos to date of Red-eyed Leaf Frogs. I offer them as an incentive to protect the rainforest, as the people at Frog Heaven do every day…without photographers eager to photograph frogs and the skill of the Frog Heaven workers, and the vision of the owners, this property would be what it was a generation ago…just another banana plantation on the river. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. My macro modifications to Aperture Preferred Program. f14 and f20 for increased depth of field. -1 to -2 EV to balance highlights and shadow under the artificial light. Processed (including noise reduction) in Photomator.
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.
Otter: Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, Florida, January 2025 — One of my Easy Birds and Wildlife folks spotted this otter crossing the berm and the road ahead of us. We were busy with a Sandhill crane eating bugs around our feet, but we abandoned the Crane to see if we could track down the otter. And, indeed, we saw it crossing the berm 50 yards ahead of us again and got closer just as it ventured back up on the grassy bank. What a treat! They are apparently pretty common at Orlando Wetlands, but I rarely get to see one in the wild. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.