Daily Archives: April 7, 2024
Maine! Wet Bluebird
Eastern bluebird: York County, Maine, USA, April 2024 — The tail end of the April Nor’easter brought a pretty constant cold drizzle all day yesterday, but that does not fully account for how wet this Bluebird is. I suspect it was bathing somewhere. I can only hope it found some warmer water. It also appears to have been half blow-dried, but that might just have been the fitful wind and its own attempts at preening. I would, of course, have preferred not to have the foreground branch, but does not quite spoil the shots for me and perhaps adds context to the distinctive attitude of the bird. OM System OM-1Mkii with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! White-throated Mountain Gem
White-throated Mountain Gem: Feathers Garden, Savegre Mountain Hotel and Spa, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There are three Mountain-gems in Costa Rica. The females of the White-throated (common at higher elevations) and the Purple-throated (more common at foothill and mid elevations) are almost identical, with rufous breasts, green upper side, and a bold white eye-stripe, but the males are distinctive, one with a white gorget and the other, as you might guess, with a purple gorget. Both male and female White-bellied Mountain-gem would not be confused with the other two. They are all smallish hummingbirds with active, feisty personalities, and though always smaller in number, they keep up with the Lesser Violet-ears and Talamanca where they occur together. This is the White-throated Mountain-gem, both male and female, from two consecutive days at Feathers Garden at Savegre Hotel. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.