Black-capped Chickadee: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2026 — Sometimes life conspires to beauty, and your breath catches. Sometimes you are ready to catch it. Sometimes you actually do. I think this is one of those moments. Sony a6700 with Sony FE 100-400 f5.6-f8 at 600mm equivalent. Cropped to about 900mm effective field of view. My birds and wildlife mode. Processed in Photomator.
Red-tailed Hawk, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2026 — Our resident Red-tailed Hawks have been scarce this summer, but there seem to be a few migrating through just now. This one was overhead while I was photographing the horde of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the trees along the marsh trail. Not close, but it circled many times as it climbed. Sony a6700 with the Sony FE 100-400 f5.6-8 at 600mm equivalent. Cropped to 4 and 3 mp, so effective fields of view of about 1500 to 1750mm. My birds in flight and action mode. 1/2000th. Processed in Photomator.
Yellow-rumped Warbler: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2026 — There are thousands of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the trees that line the old trolley berm through the marsh beside the river, and they, or at least their fellows, have been there for most of a week now. I do not know if they are staging there, for if high numbers are passing through daily, but at any given moment you might be surrounded by 30 or more warblers—and moving up the trail the density does not change. They are everywhere! And some are quite close. I had my pick of photo ops, and I was trying for a few shots that would capture both the autumn and the warblers. This sequence, in a large-appled crabapple tree, framed against the distant foliage, pretty much does it for me. 🙂 Sony a6700 with Sony FE 100–400 f5.6–f8 at 600mm equivalent. Cropped to 9mp so about 1000mm effective field of view. My birds and wildlife mode. Processed in Photomator.
One of my favorite all-time locations for photography, this little pond, right beside a busy road only a few miles from home, really lights up in the fall. Give it the right sky and it is magic. Sony a6700. Sony 16–50 f3.5–5.6 kit lens at 24mm equivalent. My custom HDR-like landscape mode. Processed from a HEIF in Photomator.
White-breasted Nuthatch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2026 — We are nearing peak color here in Southern Maine, and the birds are getting into autumn mode. The nuthatches are often at the feeders, collecting and sometimes devouring sunflower seeds. This one posed nicely in front of a little patch of color while working the kernel out, making for some more artistic renderings. Sony a7CR with FE 100-400 f5.6-f8 at 400mm. Cropped to about 800mm effective field of view (16mp). My birds and wildlife mode. Processed in Photomator.
Garter Snake: Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA — By far the most common snake in the Northeast, and in Maine. Very likely the most common snake in North America, with a wider range than any snake but the Black Racer, but with broods of 50–100 young a year, and a generalist diet that brings them into almost every habitat (including neighborhood yards) they are much more likely to be encountered. This one was sunning itself beside the boardwalk and could not be bothered to move as I came up, and stayed where it was for a whole series of photos. Sony a7CR with the Sony FE 100-400 f5.6-f8 at 300 and 400mm. Close shot cropped to about 750mm effective field of view. My birds and wildlife mode. Processed in Photomator.
Great Blue Heron: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2026 — It sometimes seems a Great Blue Heron can stand still for longer than any other bird. I watched this one for over a half hour, and about all it did was blink occasionally. It did, at one point, dip its head, and I thought it might be thinking about preening, but no. I left it to its meditations and walked on around the pond. I saw what I took to be another heron out on the far side of the marsh on my way around, but when I got back to where I could see down the length of the pond, my heron was gone—so I suspect it was the same heron. It was doing the same little or nothing, only in a new place. Sony a7CR with the Sony FE 100-400 f5.6-8 at 400mm. Cropped to 7mp so about 1000mm effective field of view. My birds and wildlife mode. Highlight metering for the whites in the bird. Processed in Photomator.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle): Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2026 — The Yellow-rumped Warblers are coming through Southern Maine in numbers right now. We have nesting YRW but not anything like the horde now passing. They are not easy to catch in the fall. Very flighty. Very busy. And rarely perching out in the open. Still, fun to try. Sony a7CR with Sony FE 100–400 f5.6–f8 at 400mm. 18mp crop so about 750mm effective field of view. My bird and wildlife mode. Processed in Photomator.
Black-throated Blue (immature): Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2026 — There are large numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers coming through Southern Maine right now. They are skitterish, mostly up high, and generally uncooperative for photography, but it is fun to try. And, of course, you never know what other warblers might be traveling with them. This is, apparently, a young male Black-throated Blue Warbler, still filling in its black bib, but with the unmistakable wing patch and overall look of the adult bird. I say apparently because eBird says it is highly unlikely in Kennebunk in October, but there it is, right there in the photo. It was deep in the shadows, and I did not even realize that I had photographed it until I was processing the photos. My first ever for Maine. 🙂 Sony a7CR with Sony FE 100-400 f5.6-f8 at 400mm. Cropped to 4mp or a 1500mm effective field of view. My custom birds and wildlife mode. Processed in Photomator (including some noise reduction).
Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2026 — Gotta love the fall in Southern Maine. Crisp days. Trees coloring up nicely. Lots of birds at the feeder, and more passing through along the forest edges and windrows in the marsh. This is either the adult male just coming out of molt, or a male from the first brood of this season just coming into full adult plumage. Hard to tell. And doing one of its bluebird things—looking right at me and highly suspicious of my intentions. Still, they pose nicely in the late afternoon October light, against the colors of autumn. Can’t ask for anything better. Sony a7CR with Sony FE 100–400 f5.6–8 at 400mm. Cropped to 20mp so about 700mm effective field of view. My custom bird and wildlife mode. Processed in Photomator.