Harbor Seals, La Jolla Cove, La Jolla, California

Back to San Diego again this morning to pick up another shot of a new-born Harbor Seal pup memorizing the smell of his mother’s breath. She is clearly exhausted from the birth. Sony RX10iv at 580mm. Program mode. 1/250th @ ISO 160 @ f4. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Brown Pelican, La Jolla Cove, La Jolla, California

When I was out yesterday I saw flocks of White-crowned Sparrows in the hedges and fields here in southern Maine, and it is raining and going to be almost 60 degrees today. The birds of spring can’t be far behind now…but for today I will drop back to my February trip to San Diego to pick up this image of a breeding plumage Brown Pelican coming in to land on the nesting cliffs over a mixed mass of Brant’s and Double-crested Cormorants at La Jolla Cove in La Jolla, California north of San Diego. It is all about focus here. I was able to pick the bird up on the way in and maintain focus as it came over the cliffs (or rather the camera was able…I can take very little credit beyond pointing and hoping 🙂 It makes for an impressive image…or that is what I think. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. -.3EV. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Tom Wild Turkeys, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Reserve, Wells Maine

Out on my eBike yesterday for a short photoprowl, I found a big Tom Turkey (Wild Turkey) and his haram in the big meadow at the bend in Branch Brook on Rt. 9. just at the Wells Town line. Further off than I would have liked. I waited and they worked a bit closer, but still… Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/800th @ f4 @ ISO 100. -.3EV. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic.

Off Big Beach in Kennebunk Maine

As I may have mentioned before, you have to be just a little crazy to be a surfer in Maine. The water is cold, the waves are never very big…and yet every time there is any surf at all you will see wet-suited hopefuls in the water off Big Beach in Kennebunk. This is a typical sighting. Pretty surf though. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/1000th @ f8 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Off Big Beach in Kennebunk Maine

As I may have mentioned before, you have to be just a little crazy to be a surfer in Maine. The water is cold, the waves are never very big…and yet every time there is any surf at all you will see wet-suited hopefuls in the water off Big Beach in Kennebunk. This is a typical sighting. Pretty surf though. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/1000th @ f8 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Black-capped Chickadee, Kennebunk Maine

This shot is interesting to me in several ways. One is, as always, the “personality” of the Chickadee. So chipper. So vividly alive. The other is graphically. I find the imperfections interesting. The contrast between the out of focus branch with blocks some of the bird, and the crispness of the bird’s plumage…and the way the bird is set in space by the focal plane of the camera. It also has a kind of “caught in the act” feel to it, because of the framing by the branches…and the attitude of the bird. Surprise! Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. -.3EV 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr and using the Light tool in Apple Photos.

Black-capped Chickadee, Kennebunk Maine

We had a brief sun shower between the snow squalls yesterday afternoon, and I happened to be coming back from a walk around the neighborhood just at the right moment. As the sun broke through, a small crowd of Chickadees decided it was time to visit the feeders, and, though I was right there on the back deck, only a few feet from the feeders, they would not be denied. The first that came in landed too close for the 4 foot focus on my camera, and I had to back up to get these shots. Not exactly arms-length, but pretty close. The beautiful spring sun, and the closeness of the birds, made for some very satisfying shots. Checking my other shots, the little patch of white feathers above the eye on this bird is unique. It gives this particular Chickadee an extra dash of character. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/1000th @ f4.5 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr and the Light tool in Apple Photos.

Double-crested Cormorant, La Jolla Cove, La Jolla California

We will drop back a few weeks into February and my trip to San Diego for the Birding Festival there. I always enjoy visiting the Cove at La Jolla, north of San Diego proper. It is just a 30 minute drive through up-scale communities along the coast from our convention center in Mission Beach, and the cliffs there are home to hundreds of nesting Cormorants and Pelicans. This Double-crested is in full breeding plumage, showing its crests and the patterning in wing feathers. It also displays the hazards of living in a popular sport fishing area. It clearly has a hook embedded in its gullet. Folks who know say that the hooks do not last long. The Cormorant’s body dissolves the iron of the hook and the nylon line falls away. Iron is temporary. Nylon is eternal. 🙁 Still, it can not be comfortable having the hook embedded…though it does not seem to have kept this cormorant from feeding. It certainly looks healthy and just a bit dapper in its breeding finery. Sony RX10iv at the 600mm. Program mode. -.3EV 1/1000th @ f7.1 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Pussy Willows, Kennebunk Maine

I told the story of these Pussy Willows in yesterday’s Day Poem. I was riding my eBike on a long photoprowl around the loop past the beaches when I came to a pussy willow tree bowed down by recent heavy snows to almost touch the pavement and had to ride around the branches. It only registered what they were when I was past and I had to circle back to photograph them. I remembered them from my Great-grandmother’s dinning room table, where they appeared every spring as the centerpiece, but I have not seen them often since. Blast from the past. And a wonderful find. I spent a few enjoyable circling around the branches, attempting to find attractive backgrounds without being run over by the passing traffic. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. -.3EV. 1/1000th @ f5 @ ISO100. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Purple Finch, Kennebunk Maine

I have seen several pics of Purple Finches over the past few days, posted on Facebook from around the country. They must be moving through on their way north. This one appeared yesterday on our back deck under the bird feeders in the fresh falling snow, so I scattered some seed. I had to shoot through two layers of thermal glass in the sliding door. If I even got close enough to the glass to cast a shadow, the birds (this finch and a bunch of Dark-eyed Juncos) were off and away. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. -.3EV 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 400. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.