novissima imagines

April 2025

A photo ain’t but 1,000 tries

I was down at the dam in Benton, Maine -- my usual eagle-watching spot -- but today I held company with the cormorant. Since it is breeding season, its bright orange throat patch really stands out against its turquoise eyes.

eleve

When you come across a new bird species you have never photographed, it is called a "lifer". The ring-necked duck — a “lifer” thriving in this lacustrine habitat.

how many peckers have pecked?

At the Messalonskee boat launch, this hairy woodpecker could have cared less that I was taking its glamour shot. He was great company.

fly catcher

This eastern phoebe, perched on a dead reed on Messalonskee Lake, was watching the gerridae - contemplating which one would satisfy its hunger. 

fly catcher

This eastern phoebe, perched on a dead reed on Messalonskee Lake, was watching the gerridae - contemplating which one would satisfy its hunger. 

two roans make a right?

A keen eye is necessary to view the sandhill cranes on “Messo” lake. They typically feed maybe 200 yards off shore — how excited was I to witness these two passing by with their almost seven foot wingspan.

big gulp

This “gulp” of double-crested cormorants were all jockeying for the rights to the local ladies while perched on this grouping of rocks in the Kennebec river - left over from the logging days.

A photo ain’t but 1,000 tries

On the Kennebec river sat this common grackle, veiled in a slight fog on this moody rainy morning. I see noting but a fantastical creature - never has the word common been used to describe their coloring.

victory

I had only ever heard the swamp sparrow until an early morning visit to “Messo” lake. While this one was perched on a branch - attempting to do a split - most were foraging on the muddy shore of the lake.