Daily Archives: February 5, 2024

Florida! Osprey eye

Osprey: Biolab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville Florida, USA, January 2024 — Biolab Road at Merritt Island can sometimes be productive, and sometimes turns up birds not seen on Blackpoint or views not gotten. This Osprey, perched on snag at the edge of the water at eye-level and near the road, was the highlight of the one trip I made down Biolab on this visit to the Space Coast. It honestly does not get any better than this! I just pulled up. Shut the car off to eliminate vibrations, and shot out the open window. The bird was totally unimpressed by my regard 🙂 It was still sitting there when I drove on. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -0.7 EV. Processed in Photomator.

Maine! Both Waxwings!

Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings: York County, Maine, USA, February 2024 — I went out early yesterday to check for Eagles at our local spot and to see if there were any interesting ducks in the tidal creek behind the dunes. No Eagles but the large flock of Robins that I had seen the day before was still working the winterberries along the river, and there was what appeared to be a lone Cedar Waxwing with them. I was excited. I have been expecting the Cedar Waxwings to show up to harvest the winterberry and ornimental cherries around town. A single bird was odd though. They generally arrive and travel in small flocks. I photographed what I thought was the same bird several times around along the river and the wood lot edge as the Robins moved around. It was not until I got the photos up on my tablet for editing that I realized that there were at least two Waxwings with the Robins. One was clearly a Bohemian Waxwing. I can maybe be forgiven for not recognizing the Bohemian when it was in front of me. I was concentrating on my photography and I was expecting to see a Cedar Waxwing. I was not expecting to see a Bohemian! This is only the second Bohemian sighting in my life, and I have not seen one for at least 15 years. And that explains why the two Waxwings were not “flocking”. They are distinctly different species. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. (Image resolution is limited here by the distance and atmospheric wobble involved in shooting over melting snow.)