Red-bellied Woodpecker: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2023 — When we first moved to Kennebunk, going on 30 years ago now, and up to a few years ago, a Red-bellied Woodpecker was a rare sighting in our yard. In fact we had probably been here at least 10 years before we saw our first one. Over the past 5 years, the number of sightings has steadily increased, and they have started coming to our back-deck feeding station on a semi-regular basis. We will go a month without seeing one, and then have a month, or a week at least, when they are at the feeder several times a day…I say “they”, but it could be just one…I have yet to see more than one at a time. They are among the most skitterish of our backyard birds. They generally disappear if there is slightest sign of movement in the house, but even at that they seem to be becoming more bold, or more secure. This one allowed me to stand behind the thermopane glass of the deck door, close enough so I had to zoom out to fit the bird in the frame, and take its photo as it used the feeder. Sony Rx10iv at 458mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 1250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Red-breasted Nuthatch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2023 — To celebrate the first day of 2023, I will come back home from my 2022 travels. It might seem from my postings that I must spend most of every year on foreign soil…but the fact is that I am only away from Maine for a few weeks each year. Most of the time the only birds I see are at the feeders on our back deck or somewhere around the town of Kennebunk. 🙂 I don’t see the Red-breasted Nuthatch every day…but the last few days at least one has been around, maybe more than one. Weather patterns have kept our feeders busy all day with the local mixed feeding flock coming by at least once an hour and staying for 15 minutes or so each visit. This was taken early yesterday, through the thermo-pane glass of the deck door. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro on the Mac Air. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.