Monthly Archives: April 2015
White-winged Scoter!
White-winged Scoter, Mousam River, Kennebunk ME
Scoters are sea ducks, generally seen just at the limits of vision off shore. I was amazed to find this single White-winged Scoter about a mile up the Mousam River from the sea, hanging out in the shadow of the bridge across Route 9. And it was literally hanging in the shadow. It went from one side of the bridge to the other, but always stayed in the shadow of the bridge??? My references do say that this scoter breeds further inland than the others and is the most likely to be seen on rivers and ponds during migration…so I guess I really did not need to be surprised. But I was! 🙂
Nikon P900 at 1200mm equivalent field of view. Program with -1/3 EV exposure compensation. 1/125th @ ISO 450 @ f6.3. (Pretty good for handheld at 1200mm and 1/125!) Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Nubble Light
Nubble Light, Cape Neddick ME
On the way home from Easter Dinner at the relatives in York, we stopped for a moment at Nubble Light (well, we detoured to Nubble Light) so I could take a few shots. Nubble Light is one of my standard test subjects when I get a new camera…and it is one of my favorite “scenic” places to photograph along the southern Maine coast. I mean…well maintained romantic lighthouse, crashing surf, blue green sea, a few clouds in the sky…what more could you ask? And here the gull adds to the composition. 🙂
Nikon P900 at 24mm. Landscape Mode. 1/1600th @ f2.8 @ ISO 100. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Loon wins crab toss!
Common Loon, Back Creek, Kennebunk ME
There is a Common Loon hunting at the mouth of Back Creek where it meets the Mousam. It has been there for the better part of a week now, patrolling and diving for crabs. I caught it here with a fresh caught crab, doing the crab toss thing to get it aligned for swallowing. I have several other shots in the sequence with the crab in different positions before the bird finally swallowed it. 🙂 The image makes me smile…which I guess shows little sympathy for the crab.
Nikon P900 at 1600mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 125 @ f6.3. Program with -1/3EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Hairy on Suet
Hairy Woodpecker on the backyard feeding station
I am having a lot of fun with the new Nikon P900. The 2000mm optical zoom makes bird shots that were always just slightly out of reach now possible. Not that the feeder birds are ever really out of reach…but this kind of close up was. We get both Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers at the suet, and we enjoy them both. 🙂
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. Program with -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1/500th @ ISO 100 @ f6.5. Processed in Topaz Dejpeg and Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Chipper’s Easter Dinner
Chipmunk, York ME
The whole family gathered at my sister-in-law’s home for Easter Dinner, as we do most years, and while the ladies walked off the main course before dessert, I snuck out into the yard to see if I could find any birds or anything else interesting. What I found was a very photogenic and cooperative Chipmunk scampering about picking up its own Easter Dinner, finding mostly berries or small fruit of some kind that survived under the winter snow. I am not sure what he is saying…maybe “could you pass the salt?”…but he certainly was enjoying himself. And I was enjoying him!
Nikon P900 at 1596mm equivalent field of view. Program with -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1/250th @ ISO 400 @ f6.3. Processed in Topaz Dejpeg and Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Happy Easter.
Back Creek and Mousam River, Sunrise, Easter 2015
As the dawn sweeps over the globe today, Christians are gathering on mountain tops, hilltops, roofs of buildings, and beaches to witness the sunrise. It is Easter Sunday for most Christians, and the sunrise this day symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago, and celebrates his ongoing life through the spirit in each of us. And whatever you think of Christianity, the promise of new life, of being better at loving and giving and living, is one that speaks to us all. In the dawn, as the sun rises yet again on a new day, surely we can all believe a little more deeply that forgiveness is possible, that love is all that matters, and that joy is not only within reach, but our birthright. Surely this day, we can all believe that peace on earth begins with us, with each of us, facing the dawn with hope and open hearts. He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Happy Easter Sunday!
Duck Stamp Ducks
Mallards at Roger’s Pond, Kennebunk ME
Things are still rather slow, bird wise, in Southern Maine, as the warming spring sun struggles to release the fields and ponds from their winter burden of snow and ice. Still weeks to go with that job. There are a few ducks coming back to the Mousam near Roger’s Pond…though nothing like last year’s bonanza of Wood Ducks and Mergansers. This year we have only Mallards. This shot, one of the few I took on a walk around the frozen pond next to the river, is just such a classic. It reminds me of a Duck Stamp. If you don’t know Duck Stamps…more properly these days the Migratory Bird Stamp…you should. Hunters, by law, have to buy them and affix them to their Waterfowl hunting license. Something like 95% of the funds collected through Stamp sales goes to Migratory Bird Conservation…buying new habitat, restoring habitat in the National Wildlife Refuge System, etc. An increasing (but still too small) number of birders are also buying the Duck Stamp, in support of Migratory Bird Conservation. Besides doing your bit for conservation, a Duck Stamp gets you into any National Wildlife Refuge in the country for the year of its issue. That is a great deal for $15 even if you only make three visits to a NWR during the year. And that is my Duck Stamp story…now back to regularly scheduled photo show. 🙂
Nikon P900 at 1200mm equivalent field of view. 1/320th @ ISO 400 @ f6.3. Processed in Topaz Dejpeg and Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
First Chipper of Spring
Chipmunk. Kennebunk Bridle Path
I went back to the Kennebunk Bridle Path yesterday, since I had had a good time there the day before, and walked upriver to the first bridge. It was hard going, with 2 feet of condensed snow on the path. Others who hand come before me when the snow was softer had churned it up into a very uneven surface, which is now hard, and hard walking. And there were no birds. I did hear what was most likely a Pileated Woodpecker drumming in the woods beyond the bridge. However on the ocean side of Route 9, where the birds were the day before, there were again birds. There was a large flock of Goldfinches, a few Song Sparrows, and, again, a few Eastern Bluebirds. But the real treat was my first Chipmunk of the spring. Where the cover is heaviest in the small pines along the trail, the snow was thin enough so it has melted off to bare ground now, and this Chipmunk was out and about exploring its little patch. I caught it posed out on a limb, and it sat long enough for me to work my way around so there were no twigs between. I have a series of shots testing the limits of the Nikon’s 2000mm plus zoom. The chipper was slightly backlighted, and I love the light through the ears! And the reflection of the Bridle Path in the critter’s eye.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view (hand held). 1/320th @ ISO 400 @ f6.5. I am experimenting with Topaz Dejpeg. On this ISO 400 shot it provided a slight improvement, especially in background noise and texture. Final processing in Lightroom.
Bluebird of Spring!
B Eastern Bluebird. Kennebunk Bridle Path
I was stalking Song Sparrows in the snow along the Kennebunk Bridle Path yesterday, in very spring like 40 degree weather, when this Eastern Bluebird blew into the tree beside me. Did I mention there was a gale blowing? The Sparrows’ feathers were all akimbo in every shot. I had seen what might have been another Bluebird blow by at a distance down the trail, so I was not totally surprised, but still, every Bluebird in Southern Maine is a treat! I was only able to grab a few shots before the wind blew the Bluebird out of the tree and on to parts unknown. Such an intense blue…especially against the warm rust breast and the grays of the winter bare tree.
Grab shots like this are one of the joys of the new Nikon P900. Focus is fast enough to basically turn and shoot. I like it.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. Program with -1/3 EV exposure compensation. 1/500th @ ISO 125 @ f6.5. Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Song Sparrow Rampant
Song Sparrow. Kennebunk Bridle Path
We have a few Song Sparrows back early…so early that they are not yet singing. It might be that only males or only females have come in this early, but for whatever reason, they are not thinking about establishing territories or nesting yet. They are uncharacteristically skulky…staying low in the brush and mostly out of sight. In another few weeks I expect to see them singing from every exposed branch and fence post top. The birds that are in are particularly vivid as well, with very high contrast between the brown and lighter parts. This bird was along the Kennebunk Bridle Path parallel with the lower Mousam River on the ocean side of Route 9 in Kennebunk.
Nikon P900. 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 125 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.