A loon on a nest in the Serpentine, between East Pond and North Pond in the Belgrade Lakes region. I used a long lens with a teleconverter and a camera body capable of giving lenses extra reach (for en effective focal length of over 1000mm) to avoid getting too close to the nest. No photograph is worth making wildlife feel threatened by my presence.
Category Archives: Wildlife
Momma and Chicks
A female common goldeneye with two chicks on Upper South Branch Pond in Maine’s Baxter State Park. A short portage trail from Lower South Branch Pond provides access to the Upper Pond when the water level is low.
In Flight
A great blue heron in Great Meadow Stream, between North and Great Ponds in the Belgrade Lakes region. Photographing from a kayak offers some great opportunities to view wildlife that I’d not see otherwise, yet poses some special challenges when there’s a current or choppy water. Vibration reduction and fast shutter speeds make capturing images like these possible.
Feed Me!
Three tree swallows wait for their momma to bring lunch.
Young Bull Moose
A young bull moose in a stream flowing out of Scraggly Lake, northeast of Baxter State Park. I camped in the lean-to at Scraggly West and when the wind made the lake itself a little too choppy, I paddled about a mile down the quieter water in the stream.
The Crane Family
I’ve observed three pairs of sandhill cranes in the Belgrade Lakes area. These two adults are trailed by a juvenile in a marsh on the northern shore of Great Pond.
Egg-laying
I recently spent a few days at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, where I watched these female snapping turtles laying their eggs in holes that they dig in sandy spots away from the water. I lied on my stomach to get an eye-to-eye perspective.
Landing
A red-winged blackbird preparing to land on a cattail.
Loon and Chick
Lunch time for this newly-hatched loon chick in Great Pond.
Yellow Warbler
I spent a lot of time at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta this season, where I had the opportunity to photograph a variety of birds.