White-tailed Deer: Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA, November 2023 — I spotted this Great Blue Heron (upper left and upper right in the top and bottom photos) and decided to stay on the marsh overlook deck on the back side of the wet maple forest boardwalk at Laudholm to see if it would work its way down to me…it eventually did, but while I waited for it, this lovely young doe White-tail came tentatively out of the forest, maybe looking for a a fresh water pool. I was sitting on the bench and partially blocked by the deck itself and the foreground brush, so I eventually stood up in all my hunter-safe bright yellow glory, and, of course, the deer, who was already wary out in the open, saw me and, after due consideration, decided it was time to head back into the relative safety of the forest. Watching it run through the marsh was one of the most satisfying wildlife moments I have had in a log time. White tail indeed! OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications (wildlife in this case). Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Hermit Thrush: York County, Maine, USA, November 2023 — Out and about the other day, my first surprise (of many that day) was a small flock (maybe just a pair and their off-spring of this year) of Hermit Thrushes feeding along the path and in an old overgrown orchard. I think of Hermit Thrushes, true to their name, as being shy and keeping to themselves…not so this group, who were happily feeding among the fallen apples right out in plain sight only yards from the moderately busy path. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.