Out and About, Maine Edition: Two More Firsts (From a Long Way Away)

Illustrating just how much I need a 2x Nikkor Teleconverter, these are two birds from a long way away in crappy light. First is a Common Loon shot from a great distance away.

The second, and a rare one for this area, is a Semipalmated Plover. I initially thought that it was a Killdeer but was delighted that it wasn't.

Common Loon.

Semipalmated Plover.

Semipalmated Plover.

Out and About, Maine Edition: Five More Firsts.

It's been a busy morning here in the woods on the shore of Sebasticook Lake. The following shots were taken before 9:30am around the cabin and from the dock.

A Spotted Sandpiper hunting Common Blue Damselflies on "Seagull Rock".

A female Black and White Warbler takes flight. There were three or four of them
chasing each other around a tree.

Cedar Waxwing takes a break from the aerial acrobatics over the lake portion of the
"we're chasing bugs show".

A Red-Breasted Nuthatch picking morning bugs out of the folds and crevices of tree bark.

A Brown Creeper doing the same.

Out and About, Maine Edition: A Couple of Firsts

I "captured" a couple of birds that are "firsts" for me. The first was an Eastern Kingbird and the second, a Red-Eyed Vireo. Both were in the woods around Sebasticook Lake, Maine.

I heard the Vireo a couple of days ago and it took me a while to call him in. The Kingbirds are all over this place but getting them to sit still for a minute took some doing.

Eastern Kingbird. Sebasticook Lake, Maine

Eastern Kingbird. Sebasticook Lake, Maine

Eastern Kingbird. Sebasticook Lake, Maine

Red-Eyed Vireo. Sebasticook Lake, Maine

Red-Eyed Vireo. Sebasticook Lake, Maine

Red-Eyed Vireo. Sebasticook Lake, Maine

Red-Eyed Vireo. Sebasticook Lake, Maine

Catbirds and Cardinals

These are from the other day, the same day as the Hummingbird captures.

Grey Catbirds and our resident pair of Cardinals.

Hummingbird!

I have a hummingbird feeder in the backyard and have seen them come and go. Yesterday, I sat and waited. The following set of pictures is of one female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. The red you see is the reflection of the feeder itself.

I've been asked about my post-processing process. I'll post something about it in a bit.

From the night before. Dusk on the cusp of night.

Same as above.

The following are all cropped from this distance.

Checking the feeder out. So many feeder spots to choose from!

I think we've picked one.

Yep, this is the spot!

Tongue out in anticipation.

Everything is Orange and Black or How I Accidently Had My Best Bird Capture Day So Far.

This morning, I had an errand to run so I went to Norwalk and found that the location of my errand was now closed on Sundays. I know, I should have called but I did look up their hours online and it said they'd be open. Anyway, on my way home, since I was driving right past it anyway, I did a loop around Horseshoe Pond in my car, not a loop as much as a drive to the cul-de-sac, do a 180 and out.

I ran into an old neighbor from our time in the condos nearby and we were talking, her standing in the street and me in my car, when I noticed a flash of orange in the tree behind her. There were two male Baltimore Orioles working a flowering tree rooted between the road and the pond. I excused myself, we were kind of done anyway, and drove off to get my camera. The round trip would take about 40 minutes and I honestly believed that the birds would most likely be gone when I returned.

They weren't and what had started as a day where I wasn't planning on using the camera at all turned into one of my best capture days so far in my short career as a fledgling bird nerd with a cool camera. 

Enjoy.

 

Getting Caught Up: Bird Feeder Edition

I've taken something like 60 photos since I started writing this post so I'm only posting the latest pictures.

These are all from this morning.

I've been working a lot with camera settings as well as my post process. I continue to use Lightroom and have added the Topaz Labs suite of Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, and Gigapixel AI. I'll admit that I have not used GP that much yet but the other two are amazing.

Anyway, here we go.

This is a Goldfinch. I believe that it's a female.

An American Robin. The one who lives in my yard seems oddly fascinated by what I am
doing in the yard.

Black-Capped Chickadee. These are the bravest birds at the feeder. Some land on the feeder
while I am still filling it.

Carolina Wren.

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren.

A pair of House Finches out on the town.

This Mourning Dove sat around and let me shoot a bunch of pictures of him/her.

More Mourning Dove.

My Favorite pic of the Mourning Dove.

Our local Northern Cardinal male. The wife wasn't with him this morning. She usually shows up in the late afternoon.

Here's the Cardinal waiting his turn at the feeder.

Tufted Titmouse with a nut from the bird feeder. He looks willing to fight for it too.

Tufted Titmouse. There were at least three around the feeder this morning.

A White-Breasted Nuthatch. Notice the size of the rear claw. He likes to work/eat head down so
I assume the claw has evolved to be able to support him in that attitude.

Here's the White-Breasted Nuthatch on the tree near the feeder after he got bored
of the birdseed and suet.