Monthly Archives: April 2024
Maine Landscape
Batson River above the rapids at Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA, April 2024 — A quiet stretch of the Batson, on a sunny April day. The woods are still open and the sun warms the ground and the water. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro at 24mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera HDR. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Her Majesty
Red-tailed Hawk: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — When I started out on one of my birding trails a Red-tailed Hawk came flying across the marsh right toward me at eye-level and then swooped over and climbed in spirals higher and higher and way inland. All I managed were a few “going way” shots. Ah well. But then, on the way back to car, almost back, I caught sight of big bird shape right over the highway in a tree…sure enough it was the hawk. I watched it hunt from several different perches along the edge of the marsh until it moved on back the way it had originally come from. The light, high noon, was about as harsh and hard as it gets in Southern Maine this time of year…but still, such a majestic bird. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. -0.3 to hold the highlights. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! White Ibis
White Ibis: Biolab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — This White Ibis was standing on another snag along the edge of Indian River Lagoon, right by the Osprey from yesterday. I did not even move the car. You don’t often see the full length of those reddish legs, and seeing them only emphasizes somehow the length of the bill. Impressive bird! OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Another Osprey
Osprey: Biolab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — I was pretty happy with the Osprey (and the photos) at the beginning of Biolab road, but that does not mean I did not stop for this one, posed nicely on a snag at the edge of the Indian River Lagoon (Mosquito lagoon), not 30 feet from my rental car window. 🙂 OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Honey Bee on Dog Tooth Violet
Western Honey Bee on Dog Tooth Violet (Trout Lily, Adder’s Tongue): Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The bees and the hoverflies were very active in the early blooming Trout Lily patches at Emmon’s Preserve the other day, so I turned the dial on my camera to program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications and attempted to catch a few around the flowers. 1/2000th of a second at 15fps and bird subject recognition with eye tracking got me a number of keepers as the Western Honey Bees were busy with the flowers. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent from about 4 feet. Cropped, these are very close to 1:1 image scale. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Vespers
Vesper Sparrow: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — I am falling way behind in my postings. These were taken a week ago already, but I can’t not post my first Vesper Sparrow sighting of the year in Southern Maine. Vespers are not uncommon in Maine, but I know of only one place where I see them commonly, and sure enough, they are back again this year. It always takes me a moment to get reacquainted with this bird. I spend at least a while trying to make it into some other species before my mind settles on Vesper. They are not flighty…this one was actually working its way closer to me, so I get a chance to study them. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Osprey
Osprey: Biolab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — You can only drive around Blackpoint Wildlife Drive so many times on any extended visit to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, so I almost always get out to Biolab Road at least once. I found this Osprey fairly low in the trees just coming into the parking area near the beginning of the road. It sat nicely for me as I popped out of the car with my camera. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Mourning Cloak Butterfly
Another gift from yesterday’s visit to Emmon’s Preserve (Kennebunkport Land Trust) in search of Trout Lily. Lit in front of me, flew off, and then returned even closer…and then sat with its wings open as long as I stood there. 🙂 Warming up in the thin April sun. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Gift Owl
Barred Owl: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — Sometimes Owls happen. I was down on the ground photographing Trout Lilies in one of my favorite spots for aka Adders Tongue, Yellow Dog Tooth Violet. I had been down there for at least 10 minutes when I decided to stand up and move to another clump. When I stood, a big bird dropped out of the tree right above my head…no more than 10 feet above my head, and swooped away through the still bare trees to land in a big maple 50 yards into the forest. It must have been there when I walked in and I must have been right under it all the time I was photographing the lily. It took me a moment to process the fact that it must be an Owl. I could see it there sitting on a limb with its back to me, way too wide for a hawk, and its flight had been absolutely silent. Owl! I worked my way around, looking for a more or less unobstructed view, trying very hard not to disturb the bird any more than I already had. There was, of course, no ideal line of sight and though it was sitting in full noon sun, its eyes were in deep shadow. Still, a Barred Owl in broad daylight. That does not happen often, or at least not to me. OM Systems OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator. This is an image that required more than normal processing to find the eyes in their shadowed recesses, and to remove foreground obstructions, but, still…my best shot ever of a Barred Owl, and only the third one I have seen in Maine. What a gift!
Florida! Sorta Sora
Sora Rail: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2014 — I saw 2 lady birders stopped and looking intently through binoculars at the base of the mangroves across a narrow channel by the road, so I did a drive by look, and saw enough to pull over and walk back. Yes, a Sora, and not sorta, but a real Sora, deep in the shadows but within reach of the OM Systems OM-1 and M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Very high ISO, but still. Turns out this was the first reported Sora for the year at Merritt Island. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.