The Eastern Towhee used to be Rufous-sided Towhee, and I still have that name stuck in my head. In fact that is what I typed as a title until some vague memory that they might have chanced the name sent me looking in iBird to make sure I did not get it wrong…and I, of course, had. By whatever name, the Towhee is one of the most cheerful of the woodland birds of Soutern Maine, especially in spring when the males sing their loud, bold “drink-yer-tea-tea-tea-tea-tea” song. This fellow even sat for his portrait. 

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/400th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. 

It is the season for tiny toads in the woods and lawns of southern Maine. I saw several while mowing the lawn for the first time this week…and found this specimen deep in the woods of Emmon’s Preserve. It allowed me to circle around it for better light and a view of its eye. Very cooperative. 🙂

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. 1/320th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. 

I told the story of these Trout Lilies at Emmon’s Preserve (Kennebunkport Conservation Trust) in a Day Poem a few days ago. They are also sometimes called Adder’s Tongue 

I went to Emmon’s Preserve today
to look for Trout Lilies where I know
they grow, along the trail down to the
little falls on the Bascom River. As
I went down, I thought for sure I was
too late…the blossoms were closed,
well past and drying, and the leaves
already loosing the spots that give
the flower it’s names, whether you
call it Trout Lily or Adder’s Tongue.
Ah well, I have missed them before
and I would like to think this will
not be my last spring…but then
right down by the falls, where the
cold air settles and is further cooled
by the rushing water, holding back the
season, there they were…in full bloom,
poking up out of moss right by the water’s
edge…nodding as they do…bending their
bright yellow faces down until the red veins
on the backs of the petals show like a
blush. I bent low to photograph them,
doing my best not to slip off the bank and
into the the stream. The woods dream
in flowers in the spring. I would not
want to wake them with my thrashing.

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. 1/1000th @ f4.5 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. 

Spring is late in Maine, but that does not mean that the yard is not in bloom. I went out yesterday in the early overcast light to capture some of the color. This is a mix of wildflowers that have become established in the yard and plantings. Clearly the Daffodil, Tulip, and Pansy are plantings…as is the Apple, just coming into blossom. The Spring Beauty and Violet are wild. 

Sony Rx10iii at various focal lengths. Program Mode. Processed in Polarr and assembled in FrameMagic on my iPad Pro. 

I took a wildflower walk at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge…around the loop at the Headquarters…just to see how spring in Maine is doing. It is, apparently, still early. Expected wildflowers of spring are still just budding, if they are showing at all. I did find a few Merry Bells (Bellwort), a small delicate drooping lily of the woods. This image was taken in what I call telephoto-macro mode…at the long end of the zoom at a closest focus. 

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. Program Mode. 1/250th @ f4 @ ISO 320. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. 

On a very slow day at Magee Marsh during the Biggest Week in American Birding on the Erie shore of Ohio, the bird of the day, and the only bird to draw a crowd, was this Eastern Whip-poor-will hunkered down 10 yards off the boardwalk. Between the crush of the crowd and the limited sight-lines, I was pleased to get this shot at all. 

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. ISO 1000 @ 1/1000th @ f5. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. 

This Prairie Warbler caused a bit of excitement at the Magee Marsh Boardwalk on the last, and very birdy, day of the Biggest Week in American Birding on the Erie shore in Ohio. It did not want to sit for a portrait, and had to be tracked through the emerging leaves of the trees and vines…but it was enough to make many birders happy. 

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. 1/800th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. 

The Blackburnian Warbler is, to my mind, another of the most spectacular warblers of the spring migration at Magee Marsh on the Erie shore, during the Biggest Week in American Birding. The bold orange and black pattern makes it look like a spark among the foliage. 

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. 1/1000th @ ISO 800 @ f6.3. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. 

There is an Eastern Screech Owl nesting in one of the boxes along the boardwalk behind the Maumee State Park Nature Center (Oregon Ohio). When we visited, the mom owl (red phase) was sitting on a limb to the right of the box and above, and the chick (grey phase) was looking out at us from the box. As we stood watching, the mom swooped from her branch, pushed the chick back inside, and followed. 

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. ISO 1250 and 1000 @ f4 @ 1/250th. Processed in Polarr and assembled in FrameMagic on my iPad Pro. 

The Prothonotary Warbler is, in my opinion, one of the most attractive of the many attractive warblers. They nest in the marsh at Magee Marsh on the Eire Shore in Ohio, and they are just arriving during the Biggest Week in American Birding. The light was beginning to fade by the time I found this one (along with several dozen other birders) along the boardwalk. It was actively feeding near an old nest site, so perhaps it is settling in for the season.

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. 1/1000th @ ISO 1250 @ f5. Processed in Polarr and assembled in FrameMagic on my iPad Pro.