Steam on the White Pass & Yukon Route

On October 16, 2025 - Railroad Photography

The events of August 16, 1896 were what eventually got me to visit Alaska. In 1896 a fellow named Skookum Jim Mason and his family – nephew Dawson Charlie, sister Kate Carmack and George Carmack found gold in Rabbit Creek (now Bonanza Creek) in the Klondike region of the Yukon in Canada. Over the next two years, about 100,000 people headed that way to search for gold.

Few of them made money finding gold. Many of them made money from the people looking for gold. Canada required would-be miners entering the country to carry a year’s worth of food. That and their supplies for mining came to something like 1,000 pounds. Shops sprang up in Skagway to provide the supplies for prospectors heading north.

In another scheme to make money off prospectors, George Brackett, a civil engineer that worked on the Northern Pacific Railroad built a toll road through the White Pass above Skagway. Travelers ignored the toll gates and the project was a financial failure.

The White Pass & Yukon Railroad Company bought Brackett out and on May 28, 1898 started construction of a 3-foot gauge (the distance between the rails, standard gauge is 4′ 8.5″) railroad from Skagway to the Yukon using much of Brackett’s road for their right-of-way. Riding in a heated coach with your supplies in the luggage car proved to be more popular than hiking up the hills to get to the Yukon.

That railroad survives today as a tourist line. They’ve restored one of their steam locomotives, number 73, a 2-8-2 Mikado type built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Pennsylvania in May 1947.

I’ve been tracking down and photographing the remaining operational steam locomotives since the late 1970s. Getting a chance to photograph no. 73 was always on my list.

Pete Lerro of Lerro Productions organized a charter where the railroad ran the steam engine for us to photograph. Pete is an outstanding photographer who is willing to put in all the advance work to get great photos. He runs a number of workshops every year with subjects ranging from steam locomotives to air-to-air shoots of WWII vintage aircraft to lighthouse and National Park trips. If you’ve got an interest in photography, check Pete’s page out. He always runs a good shoot and he’s got the right personality for working with groups of cranky photographers. But, be forewarned. Pete is serious about getting great shots and his workshops may not be for those with a casual interest. Expect long hours – on our second day, we departed at 6:30 am and after some night shots, the train returned about 11:00 p.m.

You can ride the White Pass & Yukon most days between late April and early October every year. Most trips are powered by diesel locomotives, but no. 73 does work on some regularly scheduled trains. It is worth the trip. You’ll ride through some absolutely amazing scenery.

The view from the train on the way from Skagway to White Pass.

Another view from the train heading to White Pass.

One of the railroad’s regular excursions approaching the Canadian border.

And one of the regular excursions coming down the hill from White Pass.

If you arrive by cruise ship, the train picks you up right on the dock.

On to our excursion. The first day dawned overcast. As we headed up – unless you leave Skagway by ship, you go up – towards Carcross, Yukon, we found the weather either wet or wetter in the valleys along the way. We were ever hopeful for blue skies. We never quite got them, but mostly avoided the rain on our stops.

Our first stop was Bennett, British Columbia, where the railroad station still stands.

No. 73 is an impressive machine. She had a very sharp exhaust that was great to hear echoing off the mountains. She also proved to be very sure-footed. The grade up to White Pass hits 3.9% – the train has to climb almost four feet up for every 100 across – very steep for a railroad. Wet rails covered with leaves are an additional headache. Even when we made the engineer start the train going uphill, no. 73 slipped only a handful of times on our three days.

Bennett is on the shore of Lake Bennett. The scenery was beautiful. The first morning, I heard a loon call on the lake but couldn’t see him.

We were north of the railroad’s regular excursion trains, but had to get into a siding to let a work train pass. Even the diesels on the line are interesting. They’re unique – narrow track gauge and the harsh winters required designs just for the WP&Y.

We moved north to Pennington. That’s an old section house – where the railroad provided housing for the men that worked on that section of track.

After making it to Carcross and starting back south, we stopped to get some shots in the fall color.

Then another shot along the shore of Lake Bennett.

Another shot in Pennington – and a hint of blue sky.

And our last shot of the day, once again on the shore of Lake Bennett.

We headed back to Skagway for the night.

Our second day sort of dawned to very heavy overcast. The railroad didn’t have any regular excursion trains scheduled and we could work on the south end of the railroad without getting in the way.

Our first stop of the day was the bridge over the East Fork of the Skagway River still in the Borough of Skagway.

Our next stop was in aptly named Clifton, still in the Borough of Skagway. You can see the grade the tracks climb as the back of the train is much lower than the locomotive.

The weather wasn’t in our favor. It was dark and foggy when we stopped to photograph the train crossing Dead Horse Gulch. The Gulch got the name during the gold rush. Rumor has it there are still bones from many of the horses prospectors used to haul material up the pass.

We returned to Bennett and photographed the train passing the station going the other way.

Another shot of the train passing the Bennett Station heading south, with Lake Bennett behind.

Continuing south, we stopped to get shots crossing the Nicola River in Fraser, BC.

My last shot for the day was the iconic shot from the WP&Y with the train crossing a wooden trestle while coming out of a tunnel.

We returned to Skagway. More ambitious photographers grabbed some dinner and headed back out for some night shots. We wiser photographers went to bed.

Our last morning started brighter than the previous mornings. Which isn’t saying much…..

Number 73 had help from a diesel for much of our excursion. Partly to help keep our speed up as we climbed and partly to save water for no. 73. Our last morning started with 73 pacing the diesels that would assist for the morning.

As we worked uphill, the sun broke out. This shot shows the diesels helping no. 73. Just ahead of no. 73 is a tank car with water. No. 73 was able to refill her tender from the tank car while the train was in motion. This save lots of time for photography.

The wooden trestle from the last of yesterday’s shots is behind us as no. 73 climbs up the side of the mountain. The fellows who built the railroad must have really, really wanted to put a railroad here.

Another shot of no. 73 clinging to the side of the mountain.

Here’s no. 73 coming out of the north end of the tunnel.

We went as far as Fraser on our last day. The diesels helping our train have cut away. The locomotives from the work train encountered on our first day were in a siding. No. 73 pulled up to pose with them.

A big thank you to the crew that ran our trains. They were a professional bunch. All were very knowledgeable about the railroad and its history. And all seemed to love working for the railroad.

No. 73 coming around the balloon track in Fraser – with blue sky!

We’re south of Fraser, with blue skies and beautiful scenery.

Number 73 reflecting in a small pond trackside.

And a shot at Summit Lake, just north of the international border. The summit is 2,865 feet above Skagway. The railroad takes just under 20 miles to make the climb.

Time was running out for us and we headed further south.

We arrived back at the trestle where we came out of the tunnel as the light was fading – and our schedule was tight to get back. We got off the steam train and climbed into the coaches behind the diesels. We rode around the canyon almost five miles to get this shot. We’re standing trackside to get this shot.

And a tighter shot of no. 73 coming out of the tunnel and crossing the trestle.

Number 73 and her train again clinging to the side of the mountain as she came down to catch up with her passengers.

We headed back to Skagway in time for several of the photographers to get to Whitehorse, Yukon to catch flights home.

Pete and his crew as well as everyone on the railroad did an outstanding job, we had a great time and came away with some great photos. If you get up to southeastern Alaska, a visit to Skagway to ride the railroad is worth the trip.

I’ll have one more post from my trip in a few days. Mostly some of the scenery along the way.

And, I’ll be at the Celebrate Vermont show at the Doubletree in Burlington November 21-23. More details in following posts.

Alaska, steam, steam engine, steam locomotive, White Pass, WP&Y

Grizzlies!

On October 9, 2025 - Bears, Wildlife Photography

I’m just back from an adventure that took me from Juneau up into the Yukon. This was my first trip to Alaska. I’ll have to go back, I didn’t get to see all of it. What got me to finally get around to going was a chance to photograph the steam locomotive on the White Pass & Yukon Railway out of Skagway. Since the 1970s, I’ve been tracking down the remaining operating steam locomotives. WP&Y has been on my list for years. I’ll have a post about that when I get through editing the pix.

Watching the grizzly bears in the salmon streams has been another dream. I was able to take four days on my way to Skagway to stop in the Chilkoot Valley to watch the bears along the Chilkoot River. Chilkoot is described as ‘the poor man’s bear tour’ as it is much less expensive than getting to Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park. Katmai is where the bears in the Fat Bear Week come from. Chilkoot’s bears aren’t as big or as numerous as Katmai’s but I managed to see at least 24 individuals while I was there.

The bears in the Chilkoot Valley are brown bears. They’re the same species as grizzlies but biologists make a distinction between grizzlies that live inland and brown bears that live in the coastal region. Brown bears have access to additional sources of food – like salmon – that the inland bears don’t. Inland grizzlies live on plants, roots, grubs, and insects.

The summer season was winding down as I arrived in Haines. Hotels and restaurants were shuttering for the winter. With a web search, I got lucky and found the Hotel Halsingland. The hotel has combined two of the houses built for officer’s quarters at Fort Seward back in the early 1900’s. The interiors have been beautifully maintained as best they can after adding electric and plumbing. The proprietor was even kind enough to dig out a socket wrench to let me tighten up an errant tripod.

The ferry from Juneau dropped me in Haines in a steady drizzle with heavy, low clouds. Except when the rain turned to a downpour, that was what I got – until the very last morning I was in town.

The Chilkoot River in Haines, Alaska, on the driest and brightest day of my visit.

The river hosts three species of salmon, sockeye (aka red salmon), pink (aka humpy salmon) and silver (aka coho) salmon. And the valley is home to a number of bears. While I was there the females, or ‘sows,’ were the ones out during the day. Late evening and early morning found the males, or ‘boars’, along the river. Sows with cubs avoid the boars, boars will kill cubs of other bears.

The bears are in hyperphagia – the period at the end of the summer where they need to fatten up to survive without eating through the winter.

The star of the show was a female bear with four cubs born this year. Liters of four are extremely rare for bears. The Alaska Fish and Game Department knows her as ‘Bear 925.’ Locals call her Lulu. She seemed on a regular schedule, appearing about dawn to feed for a couple hours before retreating back into the forest, presumably to nurse and rest. She’d reappear between 10:00 and 10:30 for another meal, heading back into the forest about noon. Then about 2:00 to 2:30 she’d return for another meal before heading back into the forest. Late afternoon, she’d reappear to get a meal, departing at dusk, presumably to avoid the boars.

There were other families I saw regularly. One mother with three second-year cubs, and at least three mothers with first- and second-year twins.

On to the bears… Fair warning, there are photos of bears eating fish where we see the insides of the fish on the outside of the fish…..

Brown bear with cub on a rock — Meet Bear 925, Lulu to her friends, and one of her cubs.

Lulu’s cubs didn’t seem thrilled with the water. They’d follow her through it, but weren’t big on wading or swimming to fish.

The mothers would bring fish to the cubs along the river. Between deliveries, the cubs would sort through the piles of used fish along the banks. Salmon provide so many nutrients that the forests along salmon streams have faster and denser growth than along streams that don’t host salmon. And, they make the area stink of dead fish.

Lulu watching for fish in shallow water.

Lulu grabbing what looks like a coho salmon.

Lulu. The economy of Eastern Alaska seems to consist primarily of emptying tourist’s wallets. The locals are very efficient at this. To this end, there are several companies that offer tours to passengers on the visiting cruise ships. They’d arrive in groups from six to about 40. I was very surprised at how close they got to the bears. I figured I could outrun at least one of the tourists in the group and kept not far behind them. I’m sure the bears knew exactly where we were, but they seemed to accept people as the price of the fish.

An unwise salmon jumping in front of Lulu. That would be the last mistake that fish made.

Meanwhile, back on shore, two of Lulu’s cubs were having a tug-of-war over an old fish.

Lulu crossing the river. A good good time to use a long lens.

One of Lulu’s cubs following her across.

This cub took a longer, but drier, route.

One of Lulu’s cubs with a salmon. I missed how he? acquired it. Best guess is the salmon died after spawning and was floating downstream where the cub grabbed it.

This is a second sow. She has three second-year cubs. Her cubs were foraging for their own fish. She would still catch and provide fish for them. She also ate her share.

One of the triplets sorting through the leftovers along the bank.

After seeing that her cubs all had fish and having a couple herself, mom plunked herself down on her butt to rest.

One of the cubs going back for seconds. The white collar is common on young brown bears, often appearing in their first year and fading out in their third.

Mom finished her rest and went back to work.

The afternoon of my second day, Lulu took her cubs to the other side of the river. Since they seemed reluctant to swim, she made the obvious choice and marched across the road bridge to the other side.

Lulu kept to her schedule. No matter the species, you can recognize ‘KNOCK IT OFF!’ from mom.

Another mother with twins. And an attitude about photographers.

Her cubs were checking the leftovers on the shore while she went fishing.

One of her cubs made an unsuccessful pounce after a fish.

Sometime overnight, Lulu brought her family back on the near side of the river. Looks like a good spot for a family picnic.

One of the cubs wandered off to do some exploring.

Lulu’s cubs split up and she went downstream. This cub lost track of mom and stood up to look for her while he called. He soon figured out where everyone had gone and went to join them.

Lulu and her family reconvened for another meal.

The leftovers onshore weren’t to Lulu’s liking and she went back to fishing.

One of Lulu’s cubs ventured into the water. When he came out, he shook like a dog.

Lulu watching for salmon. The gulls were a constant presence along with lots of other waterfowl. I didn’t get many photos of them. It seemed unwise to be crouching near the bear’s food along the water’s edge – where the running water made it next to impossible to hear – while there were hungry bears about.

There were a couple dozen eagles by the river, mostly too far away for good photos.

One of Lulu’s cubs watching to see which way the family was headed.

Back on the far side of the river, one of the triplets settled in for a meal. The gulls gathered waiting for scraps.

And with time to catch the ferry out of town running low, one last shot of Lulu’s family heading back up into the forest. Sort of the ursine version of the Abbey Road Album cover?

There are still several thousand images I have yet to go through. I’ll get the steam engine posted in several days and probably a post of scenery – mostly from the ferry as we went up the Lynn Canal between Juneau and Skagway.

I still have copies of my 2026 calendar. They’re available online here. If you’re around West Newbury, I’ve got a supply in my car.

bears, brown bear, grizzly, grizzly bears

The Loons Are Moving On

On September 11, 2025 - Herons, Loons, Wildlife Photography

We’re coming to the end of the season with the loon families. It looks like I’ve had my final visit with the Westons and Littleton is likely to leave soon. This may be the last loon post for the season. I’m going to try to get out a couple more times. But, I’m preparing to depart for an adventure next Thursday. One that – hopefully – will get enough photos for a few posts.

I’m still promoting my 2026 Wildlife Calendar, they’re available online at https://www.ianclark.com/product/2026-9-x12-wildlife-calendar-of-ians-photos/554?cs=true&cst=custom or if you’re local, I’ve got a supply in the car.

On to the loons, et al.

Back on the fourth, I dropped in to visit the Middletons. Dad wasn’t to be found (we lost mom in August) and Littleton was on his own. Dad has likely moved to a nearby pond for some rest and is likely to come and go from his pond for a couple more weeks.

I found Littleton in the fog, he greeted me with a nice stretch.

Loon chicks have to learn how to be an adult loon. That requires practice. Here’s Littleton practicing his? wail. The first couple tries in the morning sounded more like a subway car screeching through a sharp curve than a loon. He got better as the morning progressed.

Littleton also made a few attempts to fly. His first of the morning was pathetic – he made it about 10 feet before appearing to trip over something and splashing down. He wasn’t deterred and kept trying throughout the morning.

Littleton took a break from foraging for a quick stretch.

One more stretch….

Littleton moved further away to forage. I drifted through the one sweet spot on the pond that has cell service and took a second to check my messages.

While looking down I heard Littleton start a run to try to fly and looked up. He was headed directly at my boat. And was getting close. Very close! VERY CLOSE! Close enough for me to yell at him to watch out. He finally put the brakes on and skidded to a stop. I cropped some from the top and bottom of this shot, but side to side is the whole image as shot. After a quick stretch, he headed off to find more breakfast. I went off to see who else was still around.

The lily pads have been covered with small bugs for a couple weeks. This morning, the yellowjackets were out, apparently eating the bugs. Does anyone know what they are?

On the eighth, I headed up to visit the Eastons. It was a delightful 38° when I put in with fog coming off the pond. Mom wasn’t to be found. She has a history of scooting early and leaving dad to tend the chicks.

As I started down the pond, I passed Hank heron sitting on a small island. He was fluffed and huddled against the chill. I parked the boat, hoping he’d wait until the sun came over the hill to light the trees behind him. He had other ideas and took a few steps up the island before flying off to do heron things.

Dad and Leaston were at the far end of the pond. Leaston was demanding that dad provide breakfast. He did do a little foraging on his own when dad was slow with the next course.

Leaston waiting patiently for dad to deliver. The rim light shows the very last of Leaston’s down on the top and back of his head.

Loons will often dip their bills in the water and snort – I think they’re blowing their nose. Afterwards, they often give their head a shake – sending droplets flying.

Dad delivered a good-sized crayfish. Loons swallow them tail first – I assume they’re easier to swallow that way and less likely to pinch. This crayfish wasn’t cooperating.

Littleton held the crayfish by the claw and gave it a good thrashing.

Littleton was left holding the claw when he launched the crayfish straight up. He retrieved it and got it down.

And repeated the process with the next crayfish dad delivered.

Littleton should start to try to fly this week. I’m going to try to get back to see how he’s? doing.

Tuesday was a beautiful morning on the hill, with fog hugging the Connecticut below me. I headed off to check on the Westons.

And found their pond in thick fog. But it was chilly and there was a cold breeze, giving me the opportunity to hate the trip. I decided to wait a bit to see if the fog would lift. It started to thin and I headed up the pond to find the loons. And the fog thickened. I did find one loon – briefly – in the fog. This scenario repeated a couple times.

Eventually the fog thinned enough for me to find the loon. There was only one loon on the pond and it wasn’t one of the Westons. This loon was banded, neither of the Westons are. This is probably a loon from a neighboring pond that found a quiet spot to rest for a bit. I was able to get one photo that morning. With that touch of color, it shows the season is winding down.

Yesterday, I went back to visit the Middletons. Again, I found only Littleton on the pond. He? seemed restless, swimming around and back and forth on his pond. He disappeared off into the fog, I went looking to see who else might want to be photographed.

I headed into one of the coves on the pond and heard something sizeable splash into the water. Too big for a turtle, too small for a deer. As I continued on, a soggy racoon appeared out of the brush, chattering at me. I have no idea what the chatter meant, but I’m fairly certain there’s now a curse on my family.

A doe and a pair of fawns were in the brush along the shore, poking their heads out randomly, never long enough for me to photograph. A pair of pileated woodpeckers worked the trees along the shore – staying hidden or in deep shadows.

Eventually, a pair of what I think are first year wood ducks appeared and spent some time foraging.

I heard Littleton make a few practice flights, getting as far as flying most of the way across the small pond. I headed down the pond to another cove that has an easy way to let me ground the boat and get out and duck behind a tree… Littleton was out on the main part of the pond when I pulled in. When I got back in the boat and got turned around, I was looking for him in the pond. It took me a few seconds to realize he’d followed me into the cove. I backed up and grounded the boat to watch.

Littleton came into the cove and set to foraging in the weeds in the shallows, bringing a few up with him when he surfaced.

Not every loon looks good wearing a weed crown, but Littleton has a certain savoir faire that let’s him pull it off. It was getting time for me to head in, so I set sail out of the cove.

Littleton came with me. We can’t know what wild birds are thinking, but the next few minutes made me suspect that Littleton was lonely and wanted some company.

Another shot of Littleton as he followed me.

After hanging out near my boat for several minutes, he headed off along the shore again.

A few minutes later, an adult loon flew relatively low over the pond and made a tight loop overhead over Littleton. Littleton let out a wail – a good, adult sounding wail. The other loon didn’t answer and continued on his way. He was too far away for me to see any bands. Could this have been dad checking on him? Maybe encouraging him to try to fly? Or just a random loon on the way to somewhere else?

Littleton headed back my way and gave a nice flap.

Littleton sat 20-25 feet from my boat for a bit before diving and swimming a couple circles under my boat. I had my GoPro – packed in my backpack. I cursed myself for not having it out and having missed the encounter. But, I didn’t get the camera out. Littleton repeated the dive and circling under the boat. I may have used strong words. And then I got the camera out. The next time Littleton dove, I was ready. And the next….

He surfaced close to the boat, and stayed a couple minutes before swimming downwind across the pond.

Once on the far side of the pond, he turned into the wind and started running…….he’s almost up!

He’s up! He made a strong flight around the pond. He was able to get up to treetop level of the trees around the pond. A good start, but he’s got to get higher to get over the hills around the pond. He’ll be able to do that very soon. Even more impressive than the flight was the smooth landing with a skid to stop.

The adult loons in our neighborhood usually stick around, more or less, on their territory until the last week of September or the first few days of October. I suspect they’ll show up now and then until the end of the month. The chicks usually move on about a week or 10 days after the parents leave. Most of New England’s loons will make their way to the Atlantic for the winter. Most will stay between Cape Cod and Maine. Some will venture down further south. And, there are always a few that are adventurous and can show up anywhere.

I’m going to try to call on the Eastons again before I head out, but this is likely the last of story for this season.

Visits with the Eastons and Middletons

On August 31, 2025 - Loons, Wildlife Photography

This past week, I had time to check in with the Eastons and the Middletons. Fall had arrived. When I put in on Tuesday to visit the Eastons, it was 41° and the hills were definitely turning rusty.

My 2026 Wildlife Calendar is here, they’re available on my site – along with lots of other of your favorite images. Please take a look.

Mrs. Easton was feeding Leaston, who is now over eight weeks old. I stopped to watch mom and chick before I found dad. Mom and Leaston had been foraging as the sun rose. I’d been waiting and hoping for them to turn broadside to me for a nice silhouette shot. Leaston was drifting with his? back to me. Mom has just surfaced with a meal out of frame to the left – just what I needed to get Leaston to turn into position.

Shortly afterwards, a loon flew in low over the pond and looked to have landed out of sight at the far end. Dad announced himself with a wail and came to join mom as they set out to challenge the intruder.

While mom and dad were searching for the intruder, this spotted sandpiper flew in close enough for a couple quick shots.

Mom and dad located the intruder at the far end of the pond. I suspect the intruder was known to them – they rapidly went from circling each other to wing-rowing. I think this is the intruder.

This loon is starting a turn while wing-rowing. You can see he? has shifted his center of balance by lifting his left wing while dipping his right wing.

To come around faster, he’s dipped his right wing in the water. He turned right and shortly skid to a stop.

If I had followed who was who correctly, this is mom displaying as the intruder heads back to restart the skirmish.

Dad dove, mom ducked under to watch. The intruder is in the back.

With dad underwater, the intruder wanted to get away before dad had a chance to attack from below.

And he turned towards me, giving us a great look.

He returned to face the home team again and promptly gave up, departing the pond. I suspect he’ll be back – he circled overhead for some time calling as he flew. He was still overhead as I packed up and headed home.

Wednesday I headed out to see the Middletons. It was chilly again – in the mid 40s – and their pond was in thick fog.

While I looked for the loons, I passed one of our great blue herons. He? was perched where the sun would hit the pond soon after sunup – if it could get through the fog. On chilly mornings, I find the herons sitting where the sun will hit them soon after rising more often than not. I’m convinced they’re smart enough to pay attention and be sitting where they’ll warm up quickly.

I found Littleton off on his own, just drifting along in the fog. Shortly after finding him, a loon flew into land. I suspect this was the female that drove Mrs. Middleton off the pond. She wasn’t quiet about her arrival, she tremoloed and wailed to let everyone know she’d arrived. Littleton flatted out to hide.

The new arrival started foraging and disappeared into the fog. After a bit, Littleton set out to find dad.

Littleton caught up with dad who set to work getting breakfast. Dad surfaced with a weed in his mouth. He worked at freeing it, shaking his head and dipping underwater. It stayed put. Dad eventually gave a stretch and went back to work. After his next dive, the weed was gone.

Littleton’s adult feathers are mostly grown in. That means he? has to preen to keep them clean and waterproof. Loons, like most waterfowl, have a gland at the base of their tail called the uropygial gland. This secrets a waxlike substance called preen oil. Loons have to rub this over all of their feathers to keep them waterproof. Littleton is reaching back to get some of the preen oil on his head. He’ll rub his head over their feathers to spread the oil.

And finished with a nice stretch. Note the nice pose, facing the camera, wings fully extended. I hope Littleton was paying attention to how that’s done….

First breakfast completed, morning preening done, it was time for second breakfast. Littleton reminded dad that chicks enjoy breakfast.

Littleton tries to get dad to get more food by looking cute. Milk that while you can kid, it will only work for another week or two…

While Littleton was working on scoring more breakfast, the third loon took off and left the pond.

A less subtle hint…. this one worked. Dad went back to looking for food.

And a good look at Littleton while he waits for dad to return.

And one last shot of Littleton encouraging dad to feed him.

Happy Labor Day! I’m hoping the forecast holds and I’ll be able to get back out again this week.

common loons, loons

Good and Sad News from the Loons

On August 24, 2025 - Loons, Wildlife Photography

Last Tuesday, August 19, dawned with lots of stars overhead and what looked like light fog in the valley. I went to visit the Middletons. This is the family where mom was chased off the pond by an loon challenging her for the territory. Just dad and the chick were on the pond.

The fog was heavier than I’d expected and didn’t lift before I had to head home. I found dad and Littleton at opposite sides of the pond, lazily cruising. After a bit, dad headed off to catch up with Littleton. Littleton was happy to put him to work rounding up breakfast. The last couple of trips to the pond, dad hasn’t been catching very many fish. The water level is down noticeably and the weeds are very thick this year. (I suspect that lawn fertilizer runoff has accelerated weed growth.) I wonder if the fish are taking refuge in the thick weeds.

Littleton joined in the effort to find his breakfast. He encountered a spot where the water had dropped to make a small island where he used to be able to swim. He made his way several feet overland to the far edge – before deciding it was too hard and turning around to go back. This shot gives a good look at how far back loons’ legs are. The position of their legs is what makes it hard for them to walk on land.

When they got to their favorite breakfast cove, I got a good look at Littleton. You can see his? adult feathers are coming in nicely.

After a few minutes, dad started coming up with meals I couldn’t identify. But they seemed to satisfy Littleton.

They took some thrashing to get them down.

After a few servings, I got this shot. That’s a mussel shell in Littleton’s bill. Dad was bringing mussels up and I think the thrashing was to separate the meat from the shells.

When each serving was complete, Littleton had to remind dad that he was still there and still hungry.

Littleton has a good grip on dad’s neck to encourage him to find more food.

A few more servings and dad decided he’d done enough and went off the find his own breakfast.

When he was at a safe distance from being poked and prodded, he took time to stretch just as I was heading out.

When I got home, I found an email from John Cooley at the Loon Preservation Center. Mrs. Middleton had been found dead on the pond LPC had moved her too. They did a necropsy. They didn’t find any obvious cause of death. They’re going to try to test some tissue samples to see what they learn. I suspect that notifying volunteers that ‘their’ loons died is one of LPC’s less pleasant tasks. I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets attached to their loons. A big thank you to LPC for giving Mrs. Middleton a second chance.

Wednesday morning again dawned clear, with thick fog to my northwest. It turned out to be thick over the Weston’s pond. It seemed like it was thinning and would lift as the first light hit the pond.

Only dad and the chicks were on the pond. Mom hasn’t been seen for a couple weeks. Hopefully she took an early scoot for the season and is relaxing on another pond.

The chicks were following dad around the pond, encouraging him to find breakfast.

The fog only got worse and it became hard to keep track of the loons. A couple times, I heard running for a takeoff. Once one chick appeared out of the fog heading straight for the boat and did a clumsy turn and nose-dived into the pond. The second time, a chick appeared and actually took off. He flew a few yards before setting down again. The fog was too thick to see – or focus on – them and didn’t clear up before I had to leave. I headed back to the boat launch.

I landed the boat and climbed out with my cameras and started to stow them in the car when I heard some splashing. Looking up, I found two does and two fawns had come to the pond. They must have come out of the brush within a minute of my passing. Surprisingly, they hadn’t noticed me standing in the open. I crouched behind the car to watch.

The does would feed next to each other peacefully for a few minutes before going after each other. They stomped their feet, reared at each other and headbutted one another.

The kerfuffles were short-lived and didn’t seem to produce any sort of winner. After each round, they went back to feeding peacefully.

Another face off. I couldn’t decide who was mom to the fawns. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re twins but couldn’t figure out which doe was mom.

After a skirmish with a lot of splashing, the does did some synchronized head shakes.

A nice group portrait. The group started working down the shore. I wondered how long it would take for them to spot me.

The jig is up! The group worked along the shoreline until they came far enough around to spot me behind the car. They looked for a moment with the doe snorting at me before heading off into the brush. I finished packing up and headed home.

Thursday morning found me on the Easton’s pond before sunup. There was a light fog and it was lifting quickly. Dad was by himself, preening and foraging as I paddled down the pond.

Mom’s ears must have been burning. Wednesday evening I posted a shot to Facebook and noted that dad is the more attentive parent. If I arrive and there’s one parent with the chicks, something like 90% of the time it is dad. This morning, mom was on duty and spent several hours feeding Leaston. She did take time to stretch to start the morning.

Leaston followed suit. They set out to find breakfast. Mom delivered a steady supply of crayfish. Leaston occasionally dove to see what he? could find. They stubbornly stuck to the shadows on the pond, making it tough for photos.

After a couple hours watching them feed in the shadows, I decided to head in. This solitary sandpiper flew by and landed along my route.

While I was watching the sandpiper, the loons moved into the sun and I went back to catch up with them. Mom was diving for crayfish while Leaston was picking something – probably insects – off the rocks.

Mom was still hard at work delivering breakfast when I headed out.

Yesterday, I headed back to check in with the Westons. It was a beautiful morning, with just a few wisps of fog and mirror flat water. The Weston chicks were foraging mostly for themselves and occasionally pressing dad into service. Early in the morning, one chick made an attempt to takeoff, without quite making it. I waited around to see if the chicks would try to fly again.

It was worth the wait…. After a time, one of the chicks taxied to the farthest edge of the pond and turned upwind. He? made a long run across the water… and he’s up!

It was a short flight – a couple hundred yards or so. He made a nice landing, and skidded to a stop.

After a few minutes, he headed back to the edge of the pond and tried again. Here we go…..

Not the best of style, but he’s fully up. He flew the length of the pond. He was well below tree level when he ran out of pond and made a sharp turn and a nice landing.

As he ran past dad, dad let out what I took to be a wail of encouragement.

With a successful flight concluded, there’s time for a stretch before heading to brunch.

And I had to head out.

It is getting very quiet on the ponds. Most of the songbirds have left. There are still kingbirds and kingfishers around. Merlin claims there are warblers in the brush. The red-winged blackbirds, grackles and most of the sparrows have already departed. I was a little surprised to hear a pair of orioles calling from opposite sides of the the Weston’s pond, they’ll be on their way shortly. I’ll probably get only a few more visits with the loons this fall.

common loons, loon chicks, loons

Update on All Three Loon Families

On August 17, 2025 - Loons, Turtles, Wildlife Photography

There’s been lots of action on the Middleton’s and Weston’s ponds, the Eastons spent a quiet morning. I loved being back out on the water rather than down at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by at the Fair, I love how devoted the loons’ fans are. I promised three people that I’d head out to see what the Westons were up to on my first trip. That plan was overcome by events, but I did get up to see them yesterday.

Last Monday, the 11th, John Cooley from the Loon Preservation Committee, emailed to say that Mrs. Middleton had been rescued after she was found sitting in the road near her pond. LPC dispatched one of their biologists after a passing motorist alerted them. The biologist rounded Mrs. Middleton up and checked her out. She didn’t appear to be injured. But, the intruding female loon that has been challenging her all summer was on the pond. Best guess for what happened is the intruder drove Mrs. Middleton off the pond and she was confused and landed in the road. LPC took Mrs. Middleton to a nearby pond and released her. I haven’t been to visit her but LPC has a couple reports that she’s doing well. John suspects we’ll see her show back up on her pond within a couple weeks. But, the intruder is still out there….

Tuesday morning, I headed to the Middleton’s pond to see what was up.

I quickly located dad sleeping in deep water, slowly spinning around. He must have been paddling gently with one foot. Littleton wasn’t with him, I went searching to see what he was up to. The top of his band is visible allowing me to ID him.

One of our great blue herons was watching for breakfast in one of the coves. But no Littleton. I headed to the loons’ favorite breakfast spot, still no Littleton…

I’d gone the wrong way… Littleton was at the far end of the pond. Dad woke up and set to rustling up some breakfast.

Littleton was happy to provide encouragement.

Adolescent loons are insistent when they’re hungry. They’ll nibble on their parents’ neck – often tugging hard on the parent’s feathers – until the parent comes through with a meal. I’m convinced this is why the parents leave first in the fall….

Dad and Littleton discussing breakfast….

Dad gets the hint and heads downstairs to see what’s on the menu. Tell me Littleton doesn’t look pleased with himself. All was peaceful when I had to head home.

Wednesday morning I headed back up to see what was going on.

Dad was out alone foraging for his breakfast.

After a time, I found Littleton preening. He was off by himself well down the pond. Chick’s down is waterproof but when they start growing adult feathers, they need to start preening.

Littleton finished preening and gave a nice stretch.

Here’s a good look at Littleton, you can see his feathers are coming in and his down is falling out. He’ll grow into the gray non-breeding plumage this fall and change to black & white in the spring.

Preening complete, it was time to get some breakfast. Littleton is capable of feeding himself? by now. But loon chicks are teenagers at heart and would rather have a parent provide meals.

Friday morning, I headed to check in with the Eastons.

The family was foraging together in the fog when I arrived. Dad took time to stretch.

One of the beavers had been up working late and kept an eye on me as he swam by on his way home for the day.

Mom left Leaston with dad and went to check out the pond and find some breakfast for herself.

Dad and Leaston discussing what’s for breakfast.

Leaston shows off a fancy over-the-shoulder grab for another crayfish.

All was calm on the pond when I headed in. Saturday I made it up to check on the Westons. Dad was on the pond with the chicks. Mom wasn’t around. That’s not surprising. By this time in the season, the parents will often head off to a nearby pond where they can relax for a bit.

As I was putting the boat in, I heard both chicks practicing their wails. They produced a short, sharp call that was almost exactly unlike a wail. But, they’ll learn. As I headed up the pond, I head them practicing takeoffs. They’ll probably be airborne within a week.

Soon after I caught up with the family, a loon flew over, calling. I’d expected it was mom returning for duty. But the family flattened out – the loon overhead was an intruder. The intruder circled the pond. I was looking for him high overhead. When I spotted him, he was low, well below the tree line and lining up for a landing. He passed directly overhead at about 20 feet – the best view I’ve had of a loon in flight.

Dad went to intercept the intruder. Here he’s displaying how big and tough he is, explaining the intruder would be a fool to mess with him. Dad skipped over the circling that is the usual opening move with an intruder. I suspect this intruder has been here before and dad was ready to get down to business.

Sure enough, dad postured for a few seconds and then attacked the intruder! Dad got a couple good hits in with his wings before the intruder backed off.

The intruder retreated with dad in close pursuit!

Dad took a few moments to display – he found several ways to explain to the intruder that his absence was required….

Not only dancing, but yodeling as he danced…..

The intruder took the hint and backed off….

Dad gave a final wing flap that sure looked like ‘and stay out!’

The intruder had retreated but hadn’t flow off. Dad went searching for him, covering the length of the pond a couple times while the intruder hid in a cove.

One of the chicks intercepted dad while he was still looking for the intruder.

“Look, I know you’re fighting for our survival and all, but I could use a snack….” First things first…. dad ignored him and continued searching.

The intruder reappeared for another round…..

Dad still wasn’t having it! He explained he didn’t care for the intruder’s company and the intruder should just go away.

Once again, dad promptly followed up his threat by going after the intruder.

The intruder went wing-rowing away up the pond.

The intruder kept rowing to the far end of the pond.

After a time, the intruder decided he’d had enough for the day and flew off.

Dad rounded up the chicks and they went for second breakfasts. One chick kept busy feeding himself? while the other insisted dad provide the snacks.

And a good look at the other chick. It was getting late and time for me to head out.

On the way to the boat launch, I passed a painted turtle. This turtle is shedding the top layer of his? scutes – the plates that make up his shell. The scutes are made of keratin, like our fingernails. Adult turtles usually shed once a year. The sheds will fall off shortly and the turtle will have a nice glossy shell again for a time.

I’ll be back out again this week to see how everyone is doing.

common loons, loon chicks, loons

Updates from the Eastons & Middletons

On July 27, 2025 - Herons, Loons, Wildlife Photography

The Eastons and Middletons are doing well. I had a couple chances to visit the Eastons and one opportunity to visit the Middletons.

This will be my last post until mid-August. I’ll be at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair at the Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, NH Saturday August 2 through Sunday August 10. The Fair is open 10-5 daily. My 2026 calendars are scheduled to arrive this Wednesday and I’ll have them at the Fair. I’ve also got new note cards and prints, along with some favorites from past years. I’m in booth 718, please come by and take a look. If you can’t make it to the Fair, you can purchase my work through my web site at www.IanClark.com. All the details about the Fair are on the League’s site and you can buy your tickets at a discount online here.

Ian Clark's 2026 wildlife photography wall calendar — My 2026 Wildlife Calendar, with large 9″x12″ full color, 12-month calendar with 13 of my favorite wildlife images.

There are a few more of the images I’ll have at the Fair at the bottom of the post. On to the loons….

On July 22, the Eastons’ pond was a pleasant 48° and foggy when I put the boat in.

My buddy Hank Heron was on a pile of rocks near the boat launch to greet visitors.

The Eastons were having a calm morning, foraging lazily.

With time to sit and contemplate whatever it is loons contemplate.

Baby Easton – Leaston – spent much of the morning on dad’s back.

Sometimes snoozing, sometimes stretching. And occasionally reminding dad that loon chicks really love food.

Mom and dad set to work to deliver breakfast. Dad scored a horned pout larger than Leaston.

And swam by the boat to show off his catch.

Leaston was willing to give it a try. Dad sat by watching closely, ready to grab the fish if it slipped away.

Leaston dropped the fish, both mom and dad were ready to recover it. Mom did and gave it back to Leaston.

Leaston gave it another try before dropping it again.

Dad had been at the ready and quickly recaptured the fish. He handed it back to Leaston. Who promptly dropped it again.

Dad figured out that meals have to be smaller than the chick and ate the fish himself.

The parents went back to finding chick-sized meals and that worked much better.

With both parents underwater, Leaston reacted to a threat I couldn’t see. Loon chicks’ defense is to flatten out on the water to make it hard to see them.

The threat soon appeared – an intruding loon coming in for a landing. The last two times I visited, there had been fairly intense skirmishes with an intruder before the intruder was forced off the pond.

In the previous skirmishes, dad had gone to fight off the intruder. Studies of banded birds suggest that most territorial fights are between loons of the same sex. This time mom went out to challenge the intruder. A different intruder? Mom was closer to the intruder when he landed and dad was closer to the chick. Maybe they were just being practical and let the closest loon handle it. Either way, there was a brief period of displaying before the intruder departed.

Mom took a victory stretch when the intruder was gone, then headed back to join the family.

As the chicks grow, you can often see that they’re watching their parents and copying the parent’s behavior – good practice for how to be an adult loon. Here dad and Leaston share a leg stretch.

Or maybe they were just waving goodbye as I gave them best wishes and headed for home.

The next morning dawned with clear skies above home, with fog down in the Valley. I headed down to visit the Middletons, hoping the fog would lift.

No such luck. The fog stayed thick.

The Middletons spent about half an hour foraging in their favorite breakfast cove. Without appearing to catch anything. At least nothing they surfaced with. The parents seemed to get agitated at the lack of success. When loons are foraging, they usually dive and surface gracefully, not making much of a splash. When they’re agitated as when there’s an intruder, they dive more aggressively with large splashes. This morning as they foraged, they started kicking up large splashes.

Mrs. Middleton swam close by my boat. I could see her coming and had a chance to get my GoPro in place. The bubbling sound is air bubbling out of my cheap selfie stick.

The fog lifted enough that dragonflies came out to forage. And the kingbirds came out to hunt the dragonflies.

I gave up and headed home. Along the way back to the boat launch, I passed a very optimistic turtle trying to bask. All those black spots on the water are water bugs.

Yesterday morning, my wife joined me as we headed back to check on the Eastons.

The Loon Preservation Committee had invited me to accompany them to band Mrs. Easton on Thursday evening. I couldn’t make it and was curious to see if they’d been successful catching and banding her.

Hank Heron was again awaiting sunup on some rocks where the sun would first hit the pond. We spooked him and he flew off to a spot along the shore.

It took a little while to locate the loons at the far end of the pond through the fog. Dad gave their location away by stretching.

Just after stretching, dad dove. I assumed he’d gone downstairs to find some breakfast. But soon there was fast moving wake headed my way. Dad was just under the surface and making good time.

He surfaced just behind me, keeping low to stalk something. He dove again and again surfaced keeping low. I couldn’t see what he was after.

After dad dove again, Hank squawked and came flying down the pond. Dad had come up in the shallows at his feet, encouraging him to move along. This is the first time I’ve seen loons go after a heron. I’ve occasionally wondered how they tolerate herons nearby when the chicks are young.

Hank eventually settled on the sunny side of the pond.

And set about getting some breakfast. The loons didn’t bother him again while we were there.

We caught up with the loon family. Mom soon showed us she is indeed wearing some LPC bling.

The Loon Preservation Committee manages to band something like 30 loons every summer. With a population of roughly 750 loons in New Hampshire, they’re getting a sizeable portion of the population banded. That lets them study things like how many of the loon pairs stay together year after year, how old the loons are when they’re observed doing things like nesting. There’s lots to be learned from LPC’s work.

Mom delivering a crayfish for breakfast as dad looks on.

Mom gave a nice stretch as we headed out.

And a few more of the images I’ll be exhibiting at the League Fair:

Wing Low, Sweet Chariot This is an intruder that has shown up regularly on the Middleton’s pond this year. I suspect she’s the female that was keeping company with Mr. Middleton early in the year before Mrs. M returned. Mrs. M has just chased this loon off the pond and this loon is almost airborne.

Seen But Not Herd

A pair of Guernsey cows greet visitors to their pasture.

First Light at Portland Head The first light of dawn breaks over the Portland Head Light on Cape Elizabeth, ME. The light is on the headland at the entrance to Portland Harbor in Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The light was commissioned by George Washington and was completed and put in service in 1791 making it Maine’s Oldest lighthouse.

A Tranquil Morning

A favorite from past years. This is dad Easton resting with the chicks as the sun rises over their pond. This image is offered in a limited edition of 12 prints.

There Are No Owls Here

A great gray owl shows off his camouflage against a tree. Great grays are rare visitors to New England, this one visited Newbury, VT in 2018.

Sunrise at Dead Creek There’s a nice reflection on a poll in Dead Creek as the sun rises in Addison, VT

I’ll have lots more images along at the fair, including lots of loons. Come have a look.

birds, herons, loons, new hampshire wildlife

The Eastons Have a Chick, Littleton Getting Big

On July 18, 2025 - Herons, Loons, Wildlife Photography

I made it up to visit the Eastons Tuesday morning and met their chick. Wednesday found me back visiting them and yesterday I dropped in on the Middletons.

The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair is coming up quickly. We’ll be at the Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, NH from Saturday August 2 to Sunday August 10. I’m in tent seven with note cards, my 2026 calendar and lots of prints. I’m busy printing new images including loons, herons, owls, a lighthouse and more. Stop by and have a look.

Owl Be Looking at You – one of the new images I’ll be exhibiting at the Fair.

The Eastons got off to a late start this spring. The Middletons did too. I wonder if all the rain delayed their plans? The Eastons hatched their chicks the third weekend in June for several years. Last year, they lost their first clutch of eggs, the second clutch didn’t hatch until the third week of July. This year they laid two eggs, one didn’t hatch.

When I arrived, mom was foraging near the boat launch. She disappeared while I was unloading the boat.

Paddling down the pond, I found mom had retreated to the far end. Dad was floating nearby. Mom greeted me with a stretch. I couldn’t see any sign of chicks.

Mom spent some time preening before stretching again.

Shortly after that, she went over to join dad. And a chick appeared on dad’s back. If I named baby Middleton ‘Littleton,’ should baby Easton be ‘Leaston?’ Yes, my mind does wander when I’m sitting in the boat.

Mom dove to find breakfast, Leaston settled in to wait. The male in this pair is banded and has a growth under his bill allowing me to tell them apart.

Ah fish! What a great breakfast.

Just a reminder, I’m using a 600mm lens and sitting well back to avoid bothering the loons. This image is heavily cropped.

After a couple helpings, Leaston settled in for a nap.

But, more breakfast is always a reason to get back up. This serving looks like a giant water bug, aka ‘toe-biter.’ Dad wanted his own breakfast and turned Leaston over to mom and headed out.

Dad took time for a quick stretch before heading off.

Leaston climbed aboard mom and tucked in.

Dad had a quick breakfast and came back to reclaim Leaston. With this pair of loons, dad is the more attentive parent. If there’s only one parent with the chick(s) when I arrive on the pond, it is almost always dad. If they’re both feeding the chicks, mom will often scoot before the chicks are full and dad finishes the meal.

Leaston was keeping an eye on things. Probably trying to figure out what role I played in this adventure.

Even at a just a couple days old, the chicks are on the lookout from threats in any direction – including overhead.

And another shot of the chick riding just because he’s so darned cute.

The wind picked up and I had things to get done so I headed in for the day.

Wednesday morning I headed back up to the pond. I hadn’t seen the great blue herons that usually summer on the pond yet this season. It was a nice surprise to find Hank out in the fog. The herons are smart enough to know where the sun will first hit the pond. Overnight the temperature dropped to a very pleasant low-60s. Hank was stationed to warm in the first sunlight. I wanted another angle for my photo and tried to maneuver to the right. Along the shore, a beaver and I were both startled to find each other so close. The beaver set to an impressive bout of tail slapping and Hank disappeared down the pond.

In low light with a little fog and the breeze ruffling the water, loons floating quietly can be hard to spot at a distance. Mom let me know where she was when she stretched.

Mom was tending the chick. The chick wanted to come aboard and gave a mighty flap of his? wings.

It took swimming around to mom’s port side to find the handle to climb aboard.

Once aboard, he made himself comfortable.

Dad was staying away longer than usual, he was back up the pond somewhere near the boat launch. I figured I’d see him on my way out.

As headed in, I saw what I thought was dad at a distance. He was low in the water – stalking something. I had only a brief glimpse before he dove. A few seconds later, there was a loon in another direction. It seemed like he’d moved very quickly – likely too quickly. I looked around where I’d seen the low riding loon. While I was looking behind me, a ruckus broke out in front of me!

Dad was up out of the water doing the penguin dance in front of an intruder! The intruder went wing rowing away. They repeated that a couple of times.

The intruder eventually made a wing rowing run that brought him close to the boat and I was able to get a series of photos. I love the patterns in the water coming off his right wing.

Another shot of the intruder wing rowing past my boat.

A closer shot – check out the patterns in the water again.

And putting on the brakes… the intruder has dipped both wings deeper into the water to slow down.

The intruder hid behind my boat for a few moments before diving. Dad dove too and I lost track of both of them. Over the next half hour, I got brief glimpses of both surfacing – staying low – stalking each other. They hadn’t come to any conclusion by the time I had to leave.

Yesterday’s forecast was for thunderstorms at dawn. When I got up and looked out, we had clear skies with some fog down in the valley. I headed out to call on the Middletons. I found the family foraging in their favorite breakfast cove well before sunup.

Mom dove. I thought she was just foraging. She popped up outside the cove. That was a bit unusual.

Shortly after, Littleton flattened out – a chick’s defense against threats.

Looking up, I saw an intruder coming in for a landing. Mom and dad went out to challenge her. I’m assuming this is the same female that was keeping company with Mr. Middleton early in the season. Assuming it is her, she has come in to challenge for the territory each time I’ve visited. The Middletons – the two on the right – circled her and stared her down.

The intruder retreated, wing rowing away down the pond. The Middletons followed, swimming after her.

Before the Middletons caught up with her, she departed.

Dad took time for a celebratory stretch as the intruder circled the pond one last time calling as she went. Both of the resident loons are banded, allowing me to tell who is who.

Both Middletons headed back to catch up with Littleton, who swam out of the cove to greet them.

Dad decided first breakfast was over and it was time for a nap. Littleton went along with the plan.

But, Littleton soon decided he had other priorities. He gently nudged dad to remind him it was time for second breakfast.

A gentle nudge wasn’t sufficient to get dad moving. Littleton upped his game and nipped dad’s neck.

Dad woke up and explained that he’d provide breakfast when he was good and ready. Then tucked back in to nap.

But Littleton was insistent, as loon chicks are. He nudged and pushed dad for a bit. Dad stayed tucked in, and Littleton pushed him in circles for a bit.

Littleton circled around to see if pushing on dad’s other side would get some action.

Littleton eventually took the hint and wanted to climb aboard. He’s too big these days, he only got his head under dad’s wing.

Dad eventually gave in and headed off to round up mom to get more breakfast. Littleton tucked his head under dad’s other wing and let dad tow him along.

Mom stretched as they approached. The parents set to rounding up some breakfast.

The clouds were moving in and the wind came up. I headed home to get to work.

birds, loon chicks, loons

Along the Connecticut Shore

On July 13, 2025 - Shorebirds, Turtles, Wildlife Photography

Back on July 3, Chris Roberts, who runs the great Vermont birding – PLUS Facebook group, offered to show me some of his favorite spots along the Connecticut Shore. They were all well west of what little Connecticut Shore I’d explored.

Chris is a serious, hardcore birder. Meaning he’s nuts. I offered to drive and asked how early we’d have to leave to get to the shore for sunrise. He was game for me to pick him up at 0300. That’s cool, unfortunately I was going to pick him up some 80 miles south of me. Hitting the road at 0130 to be on location for sunrise isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Along the way to pick him up, I got my closest ever look at a black bear. I didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I’d have liked, I was too busy standing up on the brake pedal. The bear sauntered onto route 91 and stopped in my lane to see what was coming. I managed to stop with 20 or 25 feet to spare. The bear had a good look at me and continued on his errand.

We arrived at the beach as the sun rose and set out to see what we could find.

There were a number of piping plovers with chicks ranging from just a few days old to near-adult sized juveniles. There is already at least one chick under this parent as two more tuck under.

We found seven northern diamondback terrapins out on the beach looking for a spot to lay their eggs or already laying eggs. They come ashore at high tide to make sure their nests will be well above water level. They’re listed as a vulnerable species and this was my first sighting of them. They live in the brackish tidal marshes along the east coast.

Another northern diamondback terrapin along the shore. I didn’t get close enough to tell if she was laying eggs or just sitting.

American oystercatchers were on my to-see list. I haven’t seen any since I got serious about wildlife photography, these are the first photos I’ve gotten of them.

Oystercatchers are cool looking birds. Their orange eye adds some pop to the photos. Whoever is in charge of banding Connecticut’s oystercatchers is doing an outstanding job. Almost all of the oystercatchers we saw were banded. Likely recently, we found several breeding pairs with consecutively numbered bands. Here’s ole N51 who, along with N52, had a nest on the beach.

As you’d guess from their name, they feed on oysters, along with mussels, clams and other invertebrates. They search for shellfish with their shells partly open. When they find one, they stick their bill inside and severe the muscle that lets the shellfish close their shell. (I had to go look up the difference between clams, muscles and oysters. They’re all ‘bivalves,’ meaning they have two half shells they can close to protect themselves. Learning maybe more than I needed, bivalve comes from the Latin “bis” – meaning two – and “valvae” from the leaves of a door. The differences are their shapes, their type of habitat and their flavor, which I didn’t take time to compare.

Watching the piping plovers, we saw a parent doing the ‘broken-wing’ display. They’re like killdeer and when they sense a threat to their chicks, they feign injury and make a big deal about it. The idea is to get the predator to chase them and lure the predator away from the chicks.

A small flock of gulls had landed on the beach near this bird’s chicks. The chicks had frozen in place and were hard to spot. The parent tried to draw the gulls’ attention away from the chicks. It worked this time.

This section of beach was covered in a few feet of abandoned shells. This proved to be very good camouflage for the plovers. When I’ve seen plover chicks on the sandy beaches in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, I’ve often wondered how any of the chicks survive, they seem to stand out clearly on the sand. They’re much, much harder to see against the shells.

The shells are several feet deep along the beach.

A parent and chick blending in nicely against the shells.

The plover chicks scoot along in short bursts, constantly changing direction.

Another chick, this time on a sandier spot.

This chick went right down to the water’s edge before heading back up the beach.

Our buddy N51 reappeared and started down to the water.

N51’s mate, N52, showed up and went foraging along side. I’ve reported the bands and when I get the confirmation, we may be able to tell who is who from that. There’s no way for people to tell by looking at them.

It was time to head on to the next location and we headed back to the parking lot. There were several horseshoe crabs in the shallow water. A flock of gulls had dragged this on up on the beach and were trying to flip it over as we approached. We spooked the gulls and the crab headed back to the water.

At the next spot, we found a pool with several herons and egrets. Chris spotted a tricolored heron, I saw a clump of brush. We moved on.

Next up was another oystercatcher. Meet N00. We soon found N99 and I suspect they were banded in relatively quick succession.

There were a few willets foraging in the shallow water.

Our timing was right to watch the Atlantic sand fiddler crabs emerge from their burrows. They live in colonies with each male claiming a territory. When the tide recedes, they come out of their burrows. And display their large claw – both to warn off neighboring males and to attract females. Only the males have the size difference between their claws, females have two similarly sized claws. There were several dozen males waiving their claws around.

They have interesting markings on their backs.

And they look like they mean business if you try to interfere with them.

There was also a colony of least terns along the beach. A small flock came down to the shallows to preen. And to have the guys carry fish around to impress the ladies.

Turning around from the last photo, I discovered a piping plover had crept up to me while my back was turned.

There were more piping plover chicks that couldn’t have been more than a week old out foraging on the beach.

Another plover chick that stopped briefly to look around.

Well above water level, the beach is roped off to protect the plovers and terns nesting spots.

This guy is a little late in the game. He was still looking for a lady to commit his entire season to. He was industriously displaying his fish to the passing ladies.

Here’s a tern stretching. I think. He might be showing off his disco moves to attract a lady.

We were able to spot a couple of young chicks. They were well hidden chicks hiding under some plants.

There were three juvenile oyster catchers foraging on the beach just above the waves.

And a parent delivering a meal to one of the juveniles.

Lots of interesting critters to watch and photograph. I’m looking forward to getting down there again for a longer stay.

birds, fiddler crabs, piping plovers, terns, turtles

An Update on the Eastons and Westons

On July 13, 2025 - Loons, Wildlife Photography

OK, a long overdue update on the Eastons and Westons. My apologies, I set a new record and managed to disable all three of my PCs at once. It has been a long week….

The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair is coming up August 2nd to the 10th at the Mount Sunapee Resort. I’ll be there with prints, cards and 2026 calendars. I’m in Tent 7, stop by and have a look.

Want a quick and simple way to help our loons? Every year, the loon conservation organizations conduct a census of the loons in their area on the third Saturday of July. The idea is to get observers on every likely loon territory at the same time. The more territories observed, the better the accuracy of the count. The census is taken between 8 and 9 am – a fairly tight window to keep from over or undercounting loons that travel. You can help by volunteering to check a lake or pond that needs an observer. If you’re volunteering in New Hampshire, see the info on the Loon Preservation Committee’s site here. Vermonters can find information on the Vermont Center for EcoStudies’ site here. Other states will be participating. If you’re interested in helping and can’t find your state’s info with a web search, let me know, I’ll try to track it down. The LPC is also hosting their Loon Festival after the count – starting at 10am – at the Loon Center, 183 Mill Road in Moultonborough, NH. Free, family friendly and open to everyone. Info here.

I spent several hours with both the families last weekend, but came away with few photos. Mr. Easton was still sitting on the nest. Mom spent the morning leisurely cruising and foraging around the pond. There were a number – something like six or eight – beavers working late into the morning.

The closest we came to excitement was when Mrs. Easton alerted to something. She looked around for a few moments before relaxing and going on with her business. I never figured out what caught her attention.

At one point, Mrs. Easton cruised not far from me and took time to check me out. Shortly afterwards, one of the beavers started slapping repeatedly.

A young buck had come down to the waterline to graze. The beaver apparently thought the snacks should be his and started the slapping.

I must have been clearly visible and there wasn’t much wind. I was surprised the buck didn’t object to my being there. He spent almost half an hour grazing along the shore, looking up occasionally to keep an eye on me. He ignored the beaver.

Dad seemed content to sit and watch the world.

Dad eventually tucked in for a nap. Look above him to the right of the brush. All those black spots are insects of some sort. Biting insects. You can see a few on dad if you look closely.

The next morning, I ventured out to visit the Westons. The Westons usually ignore me in the early part of the season. Once the chicks hatch, all mammals are persona non grata on their pond. Just after the holiday weekend, they were less sociable than usual. If you’re out trying to photograph loons, pay attention to their mood. There are days they’re comfortable with people about and will go about their business – often close to someone sitting still in a boat. Other times, they don’t want to be near anyone, please respect their wishes.

I was still looking for the family when one of the parents came up for a stretch.

The family was cruising along slowly, with the parents checking the basement for breakfast.

They were in fairly deep (for a New England pond) water when I found them. They weren’t having any luck foraging and moved up the pond into shallower water. I headed off to see who else was out and about.

There was a raven squawking overhead. A pair of eastern kingbirds were unhappy the raven was in the area – ravens are a threat to eggs and chicks. The kingbirds were harassing the raven to get him to move along.

The kingbirds were insistent. The raven was crossing the pond with nowhere to hide.

It looks like one of the kingbirds has plucked a raven feather. The kingbirds chased the raven across the pond where it took cover in an evergreen. The kingbirds circled for a long time to keep an eye on it.

Another pair of kingbirds were hunting dragonflies along the water’s edge.

One of the loon parents needed to fly some errands and headed out. I figured that was a good time for me to head home and get some things done.

I’ll be heading back to check on the families again as soon as we get a couple nice mornings.

birds, common loons, kingbirds, loons

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