Photo By Shawn Weigelt
March 26, 2009
Carmel, Maine
Junco’s are passing through the area lately. This is a male of the Slate colored sub species having some seed on my back deck. They are always a welcome sight!
Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 300mm. 1/200sec, ISO 200, f/5.6, hand held.
Photo By Shawn Weigelt
March 8, 2009
Carmel, Maine
Spring comes slowly in our corner of the country, but seeing four Red-winged Blackbirds under my feeders this morning was a promise that it’s on its way. I won’t miss much about winter with the piles of snow and frigid temperatures, but these little Common Redpolls are an exception. They are just so cute and are always a welcome sight in our back yard. My wife, Malia, loves their little black goatee! The lack of a reddish wash on the breast tells us that this individual is a female.
Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 300mm, 1/250sec, ISO 200, f/5.6, hand held.
Photo By Shawn Weigelt
March 8, 2009
Carmel, Maine
While this is not a particularly spectacular photograph, and a rather plain and unexciting species of bird, I don’t see them very often and was happy to get a photograph. This is my first usable shot of a Pine Siskin.
Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 300mm, 1/400sec, ISO 200, f/5.6, hand held.
Photo By Shawn Weigelt
March 2, 2009
Carmel, Maine
The warm colors of the American Tree Sparrow beautify the most miserable winter day! They are certainly a treat to have visiting my back yard.
Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 240mm (1st shot), 300mm (2nd shot), 1/160sec, ISO 250, f/5.6, hand held.
Photo By Shawn Weigelt
Summer 2007
Freeport, Maine
Huh?!? A southwest specialty in Maine?!?!? Actually, this is a trained hawk named Austin who is used for falconry and for educating the public. His owner is Jonathan Wood of, “The Raptor Project.” Mr. Wood has a large assortment of raptors including eagles, owls, hawks, and falcons, and puts on an absolutely awesome and very educational presentation. We saw he and his birds at a sportsman’s expo at L.L.Bean. I took this photo while the hawk was only about two feet away with our old Minolta point and shoot before I had a DSLR. Harris’s hawks are a very interesting species and are only found in the US in our southwestern states. Structurally they are a mix between the stocky soaring buteos and the long tailed and short winged accipiters of our woodlands. Harris’s hawks are one of the few species of raptor that hunt cooperatively and can be thought of as the avian counterpart of wolves. In a group they are able to capture and kill prey such as large jackrabbits that would otherwise be almost impossible to handle for an individual bird. They have become a very popular and desirable species for use in falconry for these hunting techniques and are easier to train than some other species.
Minolta DiMAGE G500, 1/500sec, ISO 100, f/5.5