Northern Blazing Star, Kennebunk Plains WMA, W. Kennebunk Maine

It is not easy to capture the effect of the Northern Blazing Star bloom on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, here in Southern Maine. Even in the best year the flowers are spread thin among the grasses. Visually, to the naked eye, it is impressive…but a photograph often does not capture what the eye sees and the mind (spirit) appreciates. This is the best I could do from yesterday’s visit to the Plains. Sony RX10iv at 170mm equivalent. In-camera HDR mode. Nominal exposure: 1/640th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

Mexican Amberwing Dragonfly, Reid Park, Tucson AZ

We seem to be popping back and forth between Tucson and Maine these last few days as I work though the images for the past few weeks. This is a Mexican Amberwing from Reid Park in Tucson. I saw them there while leading a phonescoping workshop for ZEISS Sports Optics, and went back the next morning specifically to try to photograph one (along with a Vermillion Flycatcher that I also knew was hanging out there). This is a very small dragonfly…only maybe just over and inch long with wingspan not much greater. It is the southwestern equivalent of our Eastern Amberwing, which is in flight right now in Maine. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 160. Processed in Polarr.

Osprey, Great Diamond Island, Maine

On our way out to Long Island for Carol’s birthday treat, we passed an Osprey nest on some old pilings off Great Diamond Island just as the Osprey was coming in to the nest. We were not very close but I shot off a burst. I like the proportions and scale here, the beauty of the light on the water, the dynamic pose of the Osprey, and the opposing stillness of the Cormorant. Lots to like. 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. 1/1000th @ f4.5 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

Rivoli’s Hummingbird, Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ

They recently split the Magnificent Hummingbird (on the left in this photo from Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon south of Tucson) into Rivoli’s Hummingbird (the one we get in Southeast Arizona and down through Northern Central American) and Talamanaca Hummingbird, which inhabits the mountains of Costa Rica and south (I have seen them at Savagre Hotel in Costa Rica). I always thought the name Magnificent was appropriate for this large, and very flashy, hummer, but then what do I know? The Rivoli’s is sharing the feeder with a Broad-billed and a couple of Black-chinned Hummingbirds. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My “Birds in Flight Mode” variation on Program. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 640. Processed in Polarr.

Cactus Wren, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson AZ

There were more Cactus Wrens around Tucson among the Saguaro than I have ever seen in any trip to Tucson. This one is from the grounds, the parking lot actually, of the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum where they nest and breed, and cage extra sustenance (if of questionable nutritional value) from what the tourists drop. Still I have to admit, this looks to be an exceptionally healthy specimen. 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 1000. Processed in Polarr.

Hedgehog Cactus, Saguaro National Park West, Tucson AZ

There were only a few cacti in bloom in the Sonora Desert among the tall Saguaro when I visited last week, but the tiny Hedgehog Cactus was among them, and it has wonderful clusters of flowers. The Hedgehogs tend to grow best in the shade of another cactus…a big cholla or a young saguaro, so they are often tucked in tight to the base of one or the other, where the shade is deepest. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. 1/800th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

Coati, Santa Rita Lodge, Medera Canyon, AZ

I mentioned in a Day Poem that I saw my first Coati in the wild in North America (more or less) under the feeders at the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon, south of Tucson, Arizona. My only other Coati was in a similar setting…under the feeders at Selva Verde Lodge in Costa Rica. I am beginning to see a pattern here. This particular Coati has learned to drink from the hummingbird feeders at the lodge. It can just barely reach, but it is evidently worth the effort. Sweets for the sweet. And a good show for the watching birders. The hummingbirds were, on the other hand, not too pleased. 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 600mm and 156mm equivalents. Program mode. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 500 and 320. Processed in Polarr. Assembled in FrameMagic.

American Rubyspot, Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson AZ

I have searched the streams of York County Maine for several years now looking for an American Rubyspot Damselfly, to no avail. I know they are here. I just can’t find one. This one is from a morning at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson Arizona, where it was fairly common. I am almost sure this is an American Rubyspot, but in Tucson, along the rapid little stream where I found it, it might be a Canyon Rubyspot. Perhaps someone who knows better than I can advise. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. 1/400th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

Broad-billed Hummingbird, Santa Rita Lodge, Madeira Canyon, AZ

Santa Rita Lodge in Madeira Canyon south of Tucson Arizona is a well-known spot for seeing rare mountain hummingbirds in the United States…mostly Mexican and Central American species that reach the far north edge of their ranges in the sky-islands just north of the border. There are not many rarities around this summer for some reason but that does not diminish the attraction of Santa Rita Lodge. This is the Broad-billed Hummingbird, one of the most colorful breeders in North America…and there are lots of them this summer. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 1000. Processed in Polarr.

Vermillion Flycatcher, Reid Park, Tucson Arizona

For those of you who thought my last Vermillion Flycatcher was too pale…not vermillion enough…this one is about as bright as they get here in Arizona. 🙂 Reid Park, Tucson Arizona. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.