Bulletin #93 – Maine #2

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
October 24, 2009

Bulletin #93 – Maine #2

Hello friends,




The Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) is our largest gull at 30" in length with a 5.5 foot wingspan. It is a white headed gull with black back and pink legs. In the winter plumage, most white headed gull get extensive brown streaking on the head and neck. This gull stays almost completely white, as this winter bird shows.

Here is a winter plumaged Lesser Black-backed Gull for comparison. He has extensive brown streaking on his head and neck.






There were only a few land birds that I found and photographed. One of the best is everyone's favorite, the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalis). This bird was perched in a pine tree. When I set up to photograph him, he flew right across the road about 50 feet from me and 30 feet off the ground. This was my closest encounter with this magnificent bird.







There was a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicis varius). These juvenile birds have a lot of brown. Both adult males and females have red crowns and the red feathers start to appear through the winter. This bird has no red feathers at all on top of the head or on the throat.








A moment later, I was lucky to catch him as he flew off, with the spotted underwings spread wide.

I also found 2 butterflies to photography. The first is the American Lady (Vanessa virginensis). This butterfly is in the same family as the Monarch.

The other is the Clouded Sulfur (Colias philodice).

As we went up to Maine for the fall colors, I thought I would show you a few photos.

Here is the first and click 'next' 3 times to see the others

Here is a photo of the dramatic coast in Acadia National Park.

Lastly, the hotel we stayed at in Bar Harbor overlooked the port. Bar Harbor is a stop on the cruise ship itinerary, so we were lucky to see several different ships in port during our visit. One afternoon we had a violent storm and afterwards a beautiful rainbow appeared over the harbor, encircling one of the ships.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonaldemail: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2009 David McDonald
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