A Visit to the Eastons and Hank Finds a Friend
The weather let me get out three times last week. I had a visit with the Eastons and a change of pace took me to the Waits River where it looks like Hank has found a friend.
The Beaver Meadow Chapel at 1672 Beaver Meadow Road Norwich, VT will be hosting me to present my slideshow An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon Saturday August 22 at 7:00 p.m. Free and everyone welcome.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by my setup at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair. My next show is going to be local. I’ll be exhibiting in the Vermont North By Hand Open Studio Tour October 10-11, 2026. I’ll be set up at the Martin Farm on Route 5 right on the Bradford – Fairlee Town Line. Sue Martin is a very talented stained glass maker and has kindly offered me space to set up next to her. (I’d open my ‘studio,’ but my work at home is in a very cramped 6′ x 9′ office – mostly filled from floor to ceiling. There’s not much to see…) The map and details for the Open Studio Tour are here.
Last Tuesday, I made the trek up to check in on the Eastons. On my last several visits, Mrs. Easton had been facing a serious, ongoing challenge for the pond. On each of my visits, an intruding female arrived and a scuffle began.
When I arrived Tuesday, there was peace on the pond. Mom and Dad were foraging lazily. The chicks were sleeping in. Every so often, one of the parents would deliver a snack to the chicks, often having to wake them to make the delivery. The chicks would often take the snack, yawn then return to his nap.
Dad took over babysitting and Mom headed up the pond on her own. I went looking for Hank. Before I could find him, an intruding loon flew in. He landed not too far from the chicks.
The intruder seemed more interested in breakfast than fighting. Dad went to face off with him repeatedly. The intruder would dive and cover a lot of water before resurfacing. Dad eventually put on a wing-rowing display and the intruder took the hint and departed.
Peace returned to the pond. I poked around a bit more, without finding Hank. The female intruder didn’t show up while I was there.
On Wednesday, I headed down to the Waits River. There have been black-crowned night herons nesting there for several years and a least bittern has been a regular in the marsh. There was a thick fog when I put in and it stubbornly refused to lift. I explored around the marsh.
I was about to give up and head in. As I started upstream, a great egret flew in.
After a time, Hank flew a couple hundred yards upstream. The egret followed promptly and they went back to foraging near each other. They repeated this a couple more times.
I returned the next day and found them flying upstream together. They headed away from the River and I didn’t see them again that morning.
Both herons and egrets are solitary birds. The heron looks to be a juvenile, I have no idea how to spot a juvenile egret. I wonder if they’re used to having company in the nest and haven’t grown into the need for solitude.
A note on the type, I’ve tried to increase the font size on both the text and photo captions. Is this an improvement?
And, as always if you’ve come to this post from a link elsewhere, you can subscribe with the form below. I’m just going to use your info to let you know when I’ve added a new post. I won’t share or sell your info. And, if you like the blog, please share it with a friend or two. Thanks!
My monitor is fairly large, so I can’t say that I even noticed the change in font size. But thanks for all of the lovely photos. I liked the egret in his lovely white attire!
Ian, I enjoyed your ‘Milk Drop Coronet’ reference! That photo was published in many science books. Your ‘Egret making a catch’ photo is really great! Thank you for checking on the Loons!
Yes, thank you for the larger font. Wonderful photographs.