Keith Carver • Photography: Featured Galleries and Collections

Monhegan birding Sept. 25-26, 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:59:04 GMT

Monhegan Island is a very popular stop for September birders, attracted by large numbers of migratory birds particularly warblers. I accompanied a group of birders from Midcoast Audubon Society and was on the island September 25 and 26. On the morning of September 25 there was a large fallout of warblers that had accompanied a frontal weather system out of the northwest. I was busy trying to focus on and photograph these fast-moving birds. Some of my successful images are included here. On our Laura B ferry out of Port Clyde we saw a large group of Northern gannets near Monhegan Island, and the birding just got better from there. This gallery is a sampling of my photographs from this two-day trip.

Maine shorebirds 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:37:36 GMT

I have been photographing Maine shorebirds for the past four summers, mostly at Weskeag Marsh in South Thomaston and at Scarborough Marsh south of Portland. Shorebird numbers and varieties normally peak from mid-July through early October. These include several species of sandpipers and plovers, as well as wading birds such as egrets, herons, ibis and rails.

This is a gallery of shorebird photos taken mostly at Weskeag Marsh, and mostly in mid- to late summer 2009. Because of a significant shift in summer weather patterns including nearly nonstop rain in June and July, and later-than-normal snowpacks in their Canadian breeding grounds, there have been significantly fewer shorebirds at Weskeag and Scarborough this summer. Wading birds numbers and varieties seem about normal.

Acadia National Park September 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:38:11 GMT

Acadia National Park was established in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson, and now covers more than 40,000 acres. It is the only national park in the Northeast. We visited this year from September 2 - 5, and stayed in Bar Harbor. We enjoyed exploring the Park Loop Road, Cadillac Mountain, and other points of interest on Mt. Desert Island.

This gallery is a sampler of images taken in the Park, including both sunrise and sunset views from the top of Cadillac Mountain. It also includes several vistas along the Park Loop Road and scenes from the Bar Harbor waterfront.

Baxter State Park September 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:09:35 GMT

Given that we spent only a day driving in the south end of Baxter State Park, the title of this gallery should be more like "a short exploratory drive into a small section of Baxter State Park." Baxter, dominated by Mount Katahdin, is huge: 200,000 acres sprawling across the north-central highlands of Maine. After entering the south entrance to the park, we drove about 15 miles northwest on the Nesowadehunk Tote Road, a narrow but well maintained gravel road. We drove from the Togue Pond Gatehouse up to the camping areas at Nesowadnehunk Field.

The park is named after Percival P. Baxter, governor of Maine from 1921 - 1924. He acquired and donated to the State of Maine the huge tract of land that comprises the park, and also set up a trust fund to support the administration and maintenance of the park. Baxter State Park has over 40 peaks and ridges, all dominated by Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

Beautiful Maine

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:03:31 GMT

A collection of landscapes, seascapes, and oddments of midcoast and western Maine. Mostly taken in the summer of 2009.

Loons 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:38:34 GMT

This sequence of loon photos begins on July 20, 2009 at Damariscotta Lake, Maine. I was late arriving at the lake this summer. And by mid-July when I finally had my boat, this year's loon "chick" was already a two-month old teenager. At this stage, the juvenile is about half the size of an adult, already molting its initial brown feathers soon to be replaced with gray feathers later in the summer. So our loon juvenile looks a little ratty in these photos. There was only one surviving chick in this year's brood; normally there are two.

Eagles and hawks

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:27:25 GMT

The first two eagle photos were taken in Hadley, Massachusetts near the Connecticut River, in May 2008. The remaining eagle photos were taken on Damariscotta Lake, Maine in the summer of 2007. The other hawk photos were also taken in midcoast Maine unless otherwise noted.