Posts in Category: Photography

Tips, advice and philosophy on photography

Osprey in Maine, May 2021

Greater Damariscotta, Maine, has been attracting bird photographers for years. Damariscotta Mills came to the attention of photographers when they restored the fish ladder on the Damariscotta River. The ladder was originally built in 1807 when mills blocked the fish’s trip up the river. in 2007 a group took to restoring the ladder which allowed the fish to run again. The fish attracted osprey and eagles. The birds attracted photographers. 

When the alewife start running, all sorts of birds and others come to feed on them. I got a couple days up that way last week. The action seemed to be better just to the east in along the Saint George River in Warren, Maine. There were a number of osprey coming and going, the most spotted at one time was six. There was also a pair of adult bald eagles and two immature bald eagles in the area as well as a large supporting cast of cormorants and gulls. 

The attraction for the wildlife is the alewife run. Alewife are marine fish that swim up rivers to breed in fresh water. They can grow to about 16″, but average about 10″. They swim upstream in large schools, with many millions of fish heading up the rivers in greater Damariscotta every year. Alewife apparently don’t appeal to humans. There are a few shops in the area advertising smoked alewife, but most of the fish caught become bait in lobster traps. 

The rivers are filled with schools of alewife.
Closer view of the alewife.
There were several flocks of herring and ring-billed gulls ranging in size from about 20 to over 50. They moved around on the river mixing then splitting up, making it hard to count. And, every time an eagle went over, the gulls would all take flight and squawk. They seemed to do their fishing around the lowest point of the tide.
When a gull managed to catch or scavenge a fish, it would be mobbed by several others attempting to steal it. 
A broad-winged hawk came by to check out the scene. The guidebooks say broad-wings will eat fish, but this one just circled overhead briefly before moving on. 
This immature bald eagle was my hero, he couldn’t go by the gulls without swooping them.
Another eagle resting on rocks in the river. The eagles seemed more interested in stealing fish from the osprey than catching their own.
The main attraction was the osprey. They fish at mid tide. The water has to be deep enough for them to dive into – they can go a couple feet down, but it seems they like the water shallow enough to keep the fish near the surface. Osprey glide in a slow circle over the water until they see an opportunity to grab a fish – or two – then dive. 
There are often multiple osprey circling over the river.
Osprey can pull up and ‘hover’ more or less in one place while they watch the action below. 
Still hovering…
Still hovering, in the “‘”angel’s wing” pose.
Still looking for a target….
The best part of watching them is the dive and climbing back out of the water.
Unlike eagles which grab fish from very near the surface, osprey dive much deeper, sometime submerging the entire bird. They make a slash when they hit!
Climbing back out of the water makes for some great pics. 
Another bird with another fish.
This guy looks kinda mad, glad I’m not a fish.
Sometimes they come up with a fish – or two – sometimes not. 
Another catch.
It was a bad day to be a fish.
After a dive, osprey shake like a wet dog to get rid of the water.
Shake it up!
After a catch, the osprey will often circle over the photographers to show off their catch.

The trip to see the fish ladder and osprey is worth it. The alewife start running in early May and go into June. The Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder is open to the public. They harvest fish a couple times a day and are very used to visitors stopping by to watch. You can usually see osprey and eagles from the road by the fish ladder. Last time I was there, a pair of seals came upstream for a snack. 

More of the Usual Suspects, May 18, 2021

Let’s check in on some of our local wildlife. I had a chance to get out to see who was out and about a couple times over the last few days. 

Either the painted turtles opened their convention, or they’re waiting for a couple more to show up to make a baseball team. 
Canada geese were coming and going all morning. 
And, of course, geese can neither come nor go quietly….
Canada geese were coming and going all morning. 
There were a handful of sandpipers working through the reeds. Here, a solitary sandpiper stopped briefly in the clear. 
Grackles are in good supply this year. Even they looked sharp in the morning sun. Here’s one not gracking.
And now gracking….
The resident loons spent their morning inspecting the real estate around the pond. They gave a long look at last year’s nesting site before heading off to see what else was available. 
On another outing, I found the marsh along the river a busy place. There are usually a handful of marsh wrens around, often heard and occasionally seen. On my visit they had a much larger presence. There were probably 40 or 50 of them chattering away and I spotted a dozen nests. They were darting about the reeds.
Wrens are very acrobatic while moving around in the reeds.
Wrens pull the fluff out of last year’s cattails to line their nests.
On another outing, I found the marsh along the river a busy place. There are usually a handful of marsh wrens around, often heard and occasionally seen. On my visit they had a much larger presence. There were probably 40 or 50 of them chattering away and I spotted a dozen nests. They were darting about the reeds.
On another outing, I found the marsh along the river a busy place. There are usually a handful of marsh wrens around, often heard and occasionally seen. On my visit they had a much larger presence. There were probably 40 or 50 of them chattering away and I spotted a dozen nests. They were darting about the reeds.
There were several sandpipers about. This solitary sandpiper was getting too sandy….
And took a bath to clean up….
Then told everyone about it….
The red-wing blackbirds are well along in building their nests. That didn’t stop the guys from telling us about it from the highest cattails.
Charles, the chipping sparrow, looked pretty dapper. 
And a pair of veerys were foraging along the bank. 

Still Waiting For Chicks, May 2, 2021

Our wait for bluebird chicks continues. Mrs. Bluebird spent most of her day sitting on her eggs. Today was the first day we could have expected the eggs to hatch. 


We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds. 

Mrs. Bluebird Spends Another Day on Her Eggs, May 1, 2021

Mrs. Bluebird spent the day sitting on her eggs. The first day the might hatch is tomorrow, Sunday May 2. There’s a big window, they could take until the 10th. Stay tuned. 

We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds. 

The Wait Continues… No News From Our Bluebirds, April 29, 2021

Mrs. Bluebird continues babysitting her eggs, venturing out occasionally. Mr. Bluebird sat in the rain on our deck roof above the box for a time this morning. Sunday is the first day we can expect the eggs to hatch. 

We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds. 

No News From Our Bluebirds or Chickadees, April 28, 2021

Mrs. Bluebird spent her day tending her eggs, with a few trips out for food. I wonder if she gets bored just sitting, or does she link long thoughts?


We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds. 

Checking In With Our Bluebirds and Chickadees, April 27, 2021

Not much news from our bluebirds today. Mrs. continues to sit on her eggs, popping out occasionally to find some food. 

We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds. 

Update April 26, 2021

We had a little extra excitement from our feathered friends this morning. My wife, Lee, found a robin that couldn’t fly. The robin is now under VINS’ care.

Mrs. Bluebird spent most of her day in her box tending her eggs. Here’s a short clip, where she deals with a shed feather. The eggs should hatch between May 2 and May 10. 

We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds. 

The Clock Has Started For The Bluebirds, April 24, 2021

Mrs. Bluebird has definitely started incubating her four eggs. Thursday, she sat on them most of the morning before spending most of the afternoon out of the box. She stayed in the box Thursday night, sat on the eggs Friday and again spent the night. The book says it takes 11 to 19 days for the eggs to hatch. Let’s say she started Thursday, that means they should hatch sometime between May 2 and May 10. Here’s a good look at her sitting on her  eggs.  About 11:00, you can see her turn the eggs. All birds turn their eggs while incubating them. Theories as to why include, rotating the egg helps deliver albumen – the ‘white’ of the egg that is protein – to the chick – the ‘yolk’ and that turning the egg helps warm the egg evenly and and prevents the egg’s membrane from sticking to the shell. 


We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds. 

Bluebird Update April 22, 2021

Mrs. Bluebird spent much of her morning sitting on the eggs, before heading out on her errands by about 11:00. No more eggs today. 

We’re looking inside a nesting box with the bluebirds in West Newbury, Vermont. The camera is permanently mounted in the box and we can watch without disturbing the birds. 

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