Keith Carver • Photography: Recently Added 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Simon and Henry summer 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:33:52 GMT

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.

Simon and Henry July 5 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:26:56 GMT

Here are some photos of grandsons Simon and Henry at Popham Beach Maine, and an overnight island campout at Damariscotta Lake.

Warblers 2008-09

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:12:03 GMT

Most of these photos were taken in western Massachusetts in May 2009, at the peak of warbler spring northbound migration. Because these tiny birds are so fast and rarely perch for more than a few seconds, they are difficult to photograph. Moreover, many are found in the crowns of deciduous trees, far above the photographer's head. Warbler arrival coincides with leaf-out of these trees and related access to worms and grubs.

Indigo buntings 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:44:13 GMT

These indigo buntings were photographed on Mt. Holyoke, Massachusetts near the Summit House, in May 2009.

Sanibel 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:04:22 GMT

These photos were taken February 19 - 24, 2009 at Sanibel Island, Florida and nearby locations. This was my first visit to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, a birders paradise by any measure. Most of the photos were taken at Ding Darling, nearby beaches on Sanibel, and Bunche Beach on San Carlos Bay. I also photographed burrowing owls at Cape Coral.

Larks, buntings and longspurs

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:53:08 GMT

These horned larks, snow buntings, and Lapland longspurs were photographed in Hadley and Deerfield, Massachusetts in January 2009. These are all small sparrow-sized birds. The snow buntings and Lapland longspurs are much less numerous than the horned larks, in typical mixed flocks.

Feeding the deer

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:35:47 GMT

This gallery shows my friend and photographer Bee Emily feeding a fawn white-tailed deer in an old abandoned orchard, Quabbin Park, Massachusetts. The date was February 2, 2009 and a herd of 12 deer had gathered to browse on whatever was available. The bucks and does were too skittish to approach Bee, but she finally succeeded in persuading the fawn to feed cracked corn from her hand. Bee has special patience and animals do not feel threatened by her presence.

Feeding the birds

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:32:07 GMT

My photographer friend Bee Emily and I found a very friendly flock of hungry chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, and tufted titmice in a snow-covered old abandoned orchard at Quabbin Park, Massachusetts. There were also at least a dozen white-tailed deer. All were looking for food, on the last day of the coldest January in many many years. These birds were very tame, would land on our hands to take seeds, nuts, apple and orange slices. It was a magical moment to have them be so close, a first for me.

These photos were taken January 29 and February 2, 2009.

Feeder birds 2009

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 23:50:14 GMT

Winter sea ducks, Maine

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:17:11 GMT

I photographed these sea ducks on a sunny but windy and bitterly cold day in January, in Ogunquit, Maine near the Cliff House. The stars of the show were the colorful Harlequin ducks, with about a dozen in one raft and another five in a closer-by raft. The photogenic Harlequins appear only in mid-winter. There were also long-tailed ducks (formerly known as oldsquaw) and black scoters further out from the cliffs. Somewhat closer were rafts of common eiders and a pair of common mergansers.

Shorebirds 2007-2008

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:37:44 GMT

These shorebirds were photographed during the summers of 2007 and 2008, primarily at Weskeag Marsh (So. Thomaston, Maine) and Scarborough Marsh (Pine Point, Maine, south of Portland). These birds are mostly small, beautiful and absolutely remarkable for their long-distance migratory journeys. It's always a thrill to observe them up close as they stop in July - October along the salt marshes of Maine, fattening up for the long journey south to their wintering grounds.

The Nature of Birds - Lathrop show

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:18:26 GMT

This collection of photos is being exhibited at the Lathrop Community Center, Easthampton, Massachusetts during the month of December 2008. These are framed images, mostly birds of western Massachusetts, midcoast Maine, and central New Mexico. The purpose of the exhibit is give viewers an up-close glimpse into the lives of a wide variety of birds, their distinctive characteristics, flight patterns, feeding habits, plumage, etc. These framed photos are mostly 8x10, 11x14 and 16x20, and all will be for sale. Higher-resolution unmatted images of many of these birds may be viewed in the galleries of this website, and prints ordered directly. For further information about the photo exhibit, contact Keith Carver at krcarver@charter.net.

fall foliage 2008 Western Mass.

krcarver@charter.net (Keith Carver • Photography) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:11:31 GMT