Monthly Archives: January 2023
Mousam River in the snow…
Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2023 — It is very rare indeed for the snow to stay on the trees in southern Maine for more than a few hours. We are into our third day of this winter wonderland now…and it looks good to hold until we get some “wintery mix” late this evening into tomorrow. There are downed trees and branches all over town, and there will be more by morning tomorrow. Still, it is undeniably beautiful. This is two more iPhone 13 shots. One with the ultra-wide lens and, of course, a panorama. The computing power of the phone makes these kinds of photos possible and even easy.
Northern Puffback
Northern Puffback: Mgahinga National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Here are a few more Northern Puffback shots, this time from Mgahinga. The Northern Puffback has a wide range in both East and West Africa, and at most elevations where there is scrubby brush. These birds were along the edge of one of the open fields along the Golden Monkey trek path. Sony Rx10iv around 550mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo. ISO 400 and 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Clinging snow…
Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2023 — We had one of those days on Friday. Heavy wet snow overnight, with, thankfully, no wind, and we woke to a world frosted in white. (The thankfulness is about broken branches, downed trees, and power lines…which would have been a major problem with any wind at all…as it was the lawn is littered with fallen branches buried in the snow.) I was out clearing the drive with the snowblower, and still had the energy when I finished for a few phone photos. I have a “new” iPhone 13 with the ultrawide lens to try out. If you follow my Day Poems on Tumbler or Facebook, that graze on the big pine is where the truck hit it a few nights ago…during the last snow storm. Anyway, it makes a change from constant photos of tropical birds and wildlife. 🙂
Uganda Edition: Western Tinkerbird
Western Tinkerbird: Mgahinga National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — This little Tinkerbird would not come down low enough for photo showing off its bright yellow stripe from crown to tail, but it is definitely a Western Tinkerbird. The Western is pretty much restricted to the Albertine Rift in East Africa but there are populations along the border between Nigeria and Cameron and much further south in Angola. I would have to suspect that they are not actually all the same species…but I also doubt anyone has looked closely. Who knows, this might one day be the Rwenzori Tinkerbird? Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Photo and Apple Photos. Against the green: ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Against the sky: ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1.7EV.
Speckled Tanager
Speckled Tanager: Las Cruces Biological Research Station, San Vito, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The Speckled Tanager is reason enough to visit the Wilson Botanical Gardens at Las Cruces Biological Research Station. It is a bird of upper and mid-canopy in the foothills of the Caribbean slope and the South Pacific slope, but it does come down to fruit feeders. They are regular visitors to the periodic feeding station on the terrace by the dinning hall at LCBRS. I say periodic since there is really only fruit out when a group of birders/photographers are visiting (it is a BYOF feeder, and we always stop in town for fruit on our way to Las Cruces). The Speckled Tanager of Central America and northern South America is very closely related to the Spotted Tanager found further south in South America. They might, at one time, have been the same species but they have become geographically separated. That’s one theory anyway. I have only ever seen them at the Wilson Botanical Garden and early in the morning when the rising sun makes them glow. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Stuhlmann’s Sunbird
Stuhlmann’s Sunbird: Mgahinga National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — This used to the the Rwenzori Double-collard Sunbird, and is almost identical to the Northern Double-collared Sunbird. It is just just slightly larger and has a longer tail and a bit more red on the breast and is yet another Albertine Rift endemic, found only at high elevations in the mountains of western Uganda down through Rwanda, Burundi, and into Tanzania. We saw this one in the same area as the previous birds, just beyond the ranger station at Mgahinga. Notice the little bit of yellow just at the corner of the wing in brushy shot. That is, according to the field guides, rarely seen. I will remember this bird as the one I stood in fresh Buffalo dung to photograph…not by choice…I was just so intent on the bird that I did not look where my feet were. The nice folks at Birdnest Resort on lake Bunyonyi, where we spent the night, did a wonderful job of cleaning my shoes, but not the memory! Sony Rx10iv at 526mm and 567mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. With flowers: ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th. Without: ISO 1250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Crested Oropendola
Crested Oropendola: Las Cruces Biological Station, OTS, San Vito, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Our first morning at the Las Cruces Biological Station, which is owned and managed by the Organization for Tropical Studies, we gathered on the deck behind the dinning hall and put out a few bananas for the birds. The sun was not fully on the deck yet when a pair of Crested Oropendolas came in. The Crested Oropendola has an extensive range in South America, pretty much at the mid-elevations surrounding the whole Amazon Basin, but it only reaches as far north in Central America as the border between Panama and Costa Rica…just into Costa Rica in the extreme south west. I had distant views of the bird in 2021 from the same deck at Wilson Botanical Gardens at Las Cruces, but this was my first close view. Wile not as large as the Montezuma Oropendola, it is still an impressive bird. A member of the Oriole family. The Las Cruces station is one of 3 in Costa Rica dedicated to providing habitat and housing for tropical research. OTS acquired the Wilson Botanical Gardens, formerly a commercial garden, when the Wilson’s retired. At least a good portion of there support these days comes from hosting birding and photography groups like ours in the rooms they provide for students. It is always a privilege to visit. Sony Rx10iv at 361mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .3EV.
Uganda Edition: Rwenzori Batis
Rwenzori Batis: Mgahinga National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Unlike the last two birds from Mgahinga, we had to dig this Rwenzori Batis out of the thich undergrowth tangle and it was not in the sun. It lurked about 4 feet inside the tangle and was only visible in little windows through the foreground vegetation. This one is, I think, a feamale…the males have a more yellow eye-ring. The Rwenzori Batis, is, as the name suggests, another Albertine Rift endemic. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/250th.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Calle Gamba, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Our plan was to bird Calle Gamba on our way from the Osa Peninsula to the foothills around San Vito, but we got pretty much rained out. Calle Gamba runs away from the highway through wet pastures to a section of forest…all of which can be very productive on a good day. We didn’t get the day. This Fork-tailed Flycatcher was pretty much the highlight of out visit. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: Dusky Crimsonwing in the sun!
Dusky Crimsonwing: Mgahinga National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The Regal Sunbird was not the only bird that hand been challenging at Bwindi that was easy at Mgahinga. We also had Dusky Crimsonwing out in the sun just beyond the ranger station…in the same tangle of brush as the Regal, only lower to the ground. Still skulking and still moving to fast to for great photos…but I caught one! (Crimsonwing, not great photo 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.