Monthly Archives: June 2025
Not a ho hummer!
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — Lousy light is often the best light for hummingbirds, if you want to catch the gorget in all its glory. The day stated overcast and dull yesterday, but, for the first time this summer the male Ruby-throat was very active around the feeder, and was posting guard on the little branches we have fixed to the deck for perches, and I had time to watch it and get some photographs. They needed treatment for noise in post, but the gorget is as good as I have ever seen it. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
A bit full of himself (herself?)
Willet: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — Looking a bit full of him/herself? I know that is a total projection and the Willet is not feeling anything I might think, but I am human and can not help myself 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Singer in the stones
Song Sparrow: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — This pair of Song Sparrows were evidently hunting insects or some other small invertebrate in the stones under the bridge over the tidal creek on our local path through the marsh. I was on the bridge. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Poser
Eastern Kingbird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — You never know what you will find along the Bridle Path when you go with your camera, but that’s the fun of it! This Eastern Kingbird posed for me, on a couple of different perches, coming and going as it hunted over the marsh. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Landing flaps
Great Blue Heron: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — There are not many Great Blues around yet this summer. Seems like there were more last year by this time. ?? Sometimes though you are just in the right place at the right time. All landing flaps down! Spilling air from the wings. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Plover chicks: the movie!
Something different for today. Music (very imperfect) on my little Aether tongue pan. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program. Photomator. Enjoy.
Plover chick again
Piping Plover chicks: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — It was amazing to spend an hour with these two, maybe two day old, Piping Plover chicks and their parents on the beach yesterday. The chicks are totally fearless…eager to explore, finding all kinds of tasty bugs, running like wind-up toys across the sand, going nowhere in particular. The parents are frantic, trying to herd them and protect them from all the considerable dangers in this world. Sound familiar? So much fun, and such a privilege to watch. And a real challenge to photograph, if you into that as well. If you take a close look at any of these photos, you will see why Piping Plover chicks give any camera’s auto focus fits. The things are blurry by nature, intentionally blurry. No sharp edges but their legs, no contrast to the plumage, which is itself too fluffy and undefined to focus on, and their eyes are always hooded, half open, and deep set. No target at all. Still, with persistence, and throwing away way all the many many near-misses, it is possible to come home with a few keepers. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. (I kept switching back and forth between focus areas but I am not sure it made any difference.) Processed in Photomator.
Wandering Glider
Wandering Glider: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — lots of Wandering Gliders coming in off the ocean and over the dunes the other day. You could stand and watch them pass in an apparently endless stream. I even tried a few flight shots. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Dot-sight. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Lily
Lily: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — We have a few of these Lilies in the yard. This is the first to bloom. We call them “oriental lilies” to differentiate them from the Day Lilies we also have. The flowers are very similar but the plants are considerably different. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 75mm equivalent. Aperture preferred (my macro modifications) at f5.6 and 1/30th. Processed in Photomator.
Happy tern (not so happy fish)
Least Tern: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — Continuing to experiment with the dot-sight for photographing terns in flight, I finally found some fishing yesterday at the mouth of the river. It will take more practice than I have had so far but I am happy with this shot of the tern rising with its catch. The dot sight makes it just a bit easier, but, in the long run I don’t think it is increasing the number of keeper I get…just maybe cutting down the time it takes to get one. I still throw away a 100 shots for every one I keep. But it is a lot of fun trying 🙂 I will go back at least one more time before the terns disperse and leave the dot sight at home. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Dot-sight. Processed in Photomator.