I always enjoy thinking about how a photograph can show not just a cool animal, but how it can also convey part of a story. Eastern Bluebirds stay in Maine year round. If you have a bluebird house and leave it up in the winter, you may see a stream of bluebirds leaving the house on chilly mornings after they’ve all packed inside to stay warm at night. Here’s a bluebird in my oak tree after an ice storm – puffed up and sitting in the sun for warmth.
A Dark-eyed Junco sits on a snowy and icy white pine tree. I took this photo after the ice storm in early April.
This bobcat was my most unexpected wildlife encounter of the month. It explored my property, marked a few shrubs, pounced when it heard rodents rustling around in the long grass, and eventually wandered on. As always, my photographs show wild animals. I use a long lens and crop for composition.
I’m also sharing this photo, because it shows how excellent the bobcat’s camouflage can be.
A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird rests in southern Texas on his way north for the breeding season. This photo was taken a few years ago in April.
Another spring photo for May. Here a Great Egret sleeps while standing over its nest and nestlings. A slight breeze ruffles the egret’s feathers, making its aigrettes, or plumes, easily visible. Great Egrets build stick nests in breeding colonies. A single stick from this individual’s nest is just visible poking out from the leaves in the lower left-hand corner.
Since this first post is taking place in April, here is a photograph full of signs of early spring in southern Maine: a Common Grackle and some pussy willows in a light snow. The willows were full of grackles calling and displaying to each other and this male has his head pointed up because he is about to call.
As with many birds, the winter ranges of Common Grackles are shifting along with climate change. Though they are generally short-distance migrants, a few individuals can now be found in Maine year-round, though the bulk of their population moves at least a little further south for the winter. Common Grackles are some of the earliest birds to return in spring in large numbers to Maine.