Posts in Category: Photography

Tips, advice and philosophy on photography

A Visit to the Westons and Heron Chicks

On May 31, 2026 - Beavers, Herons, Loons, Photography, Turtles, Wildlife Photography

A slower week this past week. I had a chance to visit the Weston loon family on a foggy morning and visited the great blue heron rookery.

I’ll be at the Berkshires Arts Festival at Ski Butternut in Great Barrington, MA on July 3, 4, 5. I’ll be in booth 212 lots of prints and note cards. Stop by and have a look.

Tuesday morning found blue skies over the hill in West Newbury and the Weston’s pond in deep fog.

The Westons weren’t to be found on the main part of the pond. I continued on to the cove where they nest. The off duty loon was promoting a shift change. You can see the loon on the nest at the far right hidden in the brush. I never did see their legs; without seeing the bands – or lack of them – I couldn’t tell who was who.

They did the nest exchange after a few minutes and the loon coming off duty stretched.

And then set out to find some breakfast. Looks like he? came up empty this time.

An outsider loon flew over and called which set the Westons to tremoloing. The outsider flew on and the pond quieted. Very quiet. I paddled around looking for photos. Seems most of the critters had taken the morning off.

After a time, I found a red-winged blackbird out and about.

He alternated foraging with calling out to announce his presence.

As the fog lifted, painted turtles started climbing out of the water to bask.

The outsider loon returned and landed well up the pond. All three loons started calling. The loon on the nest left the nest to join the other home team loon on the main part of the pond. They were well separated from the intruder. I snuck back into the cove with their nest to see if I could see how many eggs they have. I took a quick look to find two and turned around to leave the cove.

Only to find Slappy Gilmore the beaver entering the cove. He? circled the entrance to the cove, slapping regularly. If he’d gotten out of the way, I’d have left……

Here’s his tail making contact for the slap.

And each slap pushes his butt up out of the water. You can see his webbed feet clearly here.

The loons mostly called at each other before a brief skirmish with some wing rowing before the intruder departed.

Thursday morning, I was up early and headed to see the great blue heron rookery. I’ve been inundated with requests for the location of the rookery. I think I’ve answered everyone. I’m reluctant to share locations with folks I don’t know. Most are likely to be responsible, but the internet has more than a few bad apples.

On three of the four nests with herons, an adult was standing on the edge of the nest. The fourth had a heron still sitting.

After watching for a time, chicks started stirring. The three nests with adults standing guard all have at least three chicks. The chicks are still small enough that they can’t be seen when crouched down in the nest. They appear, then disappear fairly quickly, keeping me on my toes.

The chicks are funny-looking gawky birds whose body parts all seem to come from birds of different sizes. I suspect they were designed by Jim Henson.

Here’s a shift change on the first nest. Both herons will birdsit the chicks and bring food. When one returns to the nest, they go through a ceremony where they stretch and bob their necks to each other.

The returning parent brought back a sunfish which would seem to be much too large. The chick in back put it away without effort.

Back at the second nest, the chicks were getting restless…

This guy seems to be thinking that if breakfast isn’t delivered promptly, he’ll have to go get it on his own.

Poking their parent, and pulling feathers, didn’t speed things up.

The mate returned. The parents swallow the chick’s food and regurgitate it for the chicks when they return. As the chicks get bigger, the parents will bring in larger food that they haven’t swallowed.

The parent that had been on duty wasted no time heading off.

The chicks have been fed, time for everyone to settle back in.

And a returning parent feeding the chicks in the third nest.

The fourth and fifth nests had parents return, but I didn’t see any chicks. Guess I’ll have to go back.

And we’ve hosted bluebirds in one of the boxes on our deck again this year. I haven’t been posting, it seems like many people have cameras in their bird houses now. And, something is amiss with mine, the video quality has degraded. But, here’s a clip of the chick’s final few minutes as our guests before they fledge.

If you enjoy my posts, please sign up to get notifications when I add a new post. I won’t sell or share your info. You just get an email from me when I add a post. And you can do me a favor by sharing my blog with your friends by email or on social media. Thanks!

birds, great blue herons, heron rookery, herons, loons, new hampshire wildlife, vermont wildlife

A Busy Week for the Critters

On May 24, 2026 - Foxes, Game Birds, Herons, Loons, Raptors, Shorebirds, Wildlife Photography

With a week with mostly nice weather, I was able to get out and visit both the Middletons and Westons as well as the heron rookery and a couple fox dens.

This week, you’ve got two chances to see my slideshow, Travels with Ian 2025, with some of my favorite images from last year. We’ll see lots of wildlife around New England and lots of brown bears from Alaska – including Brown Bear no. 925 who made ursine history last year. There are even images of a steam locomotive working in the incredible scenery along the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway.

The first show will be at the Bugbee Center in White River Jct. Wednesday May 27 at 1:30 pm. The second presentation will be at the Blake Memorial Library in Corinth, VT Friday May 29 at 6 pm. The Library would appreciate an RSVP sent to khotellingbml@gmail.com. Both are free and open to the public.

And I’ll be exhibiting at the Berkshires Art Festival in Great Barrington, MA on July 3, 4 and 5. I’ll have note cards and prints large and small for sale. Please come by and have a look.

A week ago Saturday, I called on the Westons. One was feeding at the south end of the pond, the other turned out to already be sitting on the nest towards the north end of the pond. I wandered off to see who else might be around.

About the only excitement – if cormorants can be exciting – was this double-crested cormorant who finished breakfast and departed.

Both loon parents share sitting on the eggs. Our off-duty loon finished at the buffet and headed towards the nest for a shift change. This turned out to be Mom. Dad is banded and I could ID him when he came off the nest.
Dad is hidden in the brush. His head is the dark spot in the brush above mom’s head.

Mr. Weston came off the nest and stretched as Mrs. Weston settled in on the nest.

A friend tipped me off to a fox den, I headed down Monday morning to see if I could find it. There are supposed to be seven kits. Mom has been busy. So far I’ve found five of her holes. Without knowing where anyone was, I sat and watched the wrong hole for a time. This guy popped out of one of the holes down the field, and I gave up on what may have been an empty hole.

This sibling joined the first kit and both stretched out to enjoy the sun – after moving far enough back in the brush to keep me from getting more photos.

Tuesday morning, I was on the road early to visit the heron rookery. I missed when they started sitting on the nests. I was hoping for chicks. No such luck, the latest they should hatch is early this week.

It was a warm morning and most of the herons on nest duty were standing up in the nests. Both heron parents take turns sitting on the nest. The last time I visited, the bird on duty at dawn was still on duty when I left about 9:00.

This morning, all of the off-duty birds returned early to relieve their partners. The shift change comes with a “nest relief ceremony.” The partners stretch their necks and/or raise the plumes on their crest. They may preen each other and sometimes exchange sticks. But, the bird that’s just been relieved doesn’t stick around long.

This heron’s mate has just returned to the rookery and is perched in a tree to the left of the nest. The birds stretched and clapped their bills at a distance before a quick exchange at the nest.

The birds reporting for duty all spent several minutes tidying the nest.

When the nests are in order, the birds settle in and catch up with their neighbors.

On the way home, I stopped to visit the foxes again. They weren’t to be found.

The next morning I headed out to see what the Middletons were up to. They’re sitting on their nest. They’ve moved from where the nest has been for several years. They’ve found a new spot on a hummock deep in the brush and are well hidden. I didn’t see the nest until Mrs. Middleton relieved Mr. Middleton.

As Mr. Middleton left his cove, a pair of Canada geese flew into the pond and landed not too far from the loon’s nest. That pair of geese was rapidly challenged by another pair of geese that flew across the pond to object to the newcomers.

The newcomers objected right back and went after the second pair of geese.

It was a serious fight, with geese biting and striking with their elbows – the joint in the wing.

In the midst of the fight, Hank Herron flew in right where the geese were fighting and staked out his position.

One of the geese chased Hank off his log into the brush nearby. Then appeared to go over and converse…..

Mr. Middleton returned, keeping low in the stalking pose. He’s checking the battlefield – notice Hank in the back right.

Mr. Middleton went over to see what Hank was up to. One of the pair of geese got out of the water and stood on the log near where the whole shebang started. Mr. Middleton dove…..

I’m not sure if Mr. M actually goosed the goose, but he made it clear that the goose had to go.

Hank seemed unfazed by the hullabaloo and went off to see what was for breakfast.

There didn’t seem to be anything appetizing nearby, so Hank waded off.

After some more skirmishing, one pair of geese convinced the other to go away. Quiet returned to the cove. Mr. M headed back out to get busy with his day.

And Hank took up position waiting for a meal to swim by. I headed home.

A chilly Friday found me paddling down the Waits River before dawn.

Where I met Mrs. Mallard and her brood paddling upstream.

I had to make way for ducklings as she lead her brood past.

A large flock of sandpipers – called a fling, a bind, a cluster, or a contradiction of sandpipers – was spread along the banks and islands. Most of them were least sandpipers with others mixed in.

Sandpipers eat insects and their larvae, small crustaceans and other invertebrates like snails. They forage in and near the river, happily poking their bills into the muck to find the tastiest snacks.

They forage with rapid movements. And often seem to think the menu is better somewhere ‘over there.’

Here I found a few least sandpipers – the bird on the right – foraging alongside a spotted sandpiper.

One of the least sandpipers heading to the next bit of mud to check out what’s on the menu there.

An osprey circled overhead a few times before looking like he’d spotted his meal below.

A male red winged-blackbird didn’t like the osprey in the area and flew up to challenge him. The osprey spent a few minutes dodging the blackbird before the blackbird gave up. I’m a little surprised that the red wings challenge the osprey. Osprey eat almost exclusively fish (I have seen a video of one grabbing a snake from the water.) Birds usually know who is a threat and who isn’t. Loons can tell the difference between eagles and osprey at a considerable distance. They alert and call at the eagles and ignore the osprey. I wonder why red-wings object.

A common grackle joined the sandpipers looking for breakfast. I can’t identify what the grackle caught. But it wasn’t to his liking. He carried it up on the bank and abandoned it.

As I was heading back to the boat launch, I caught up with the mallard family again. Mrs. Mallard had the ducklings out of the water to preen. Dad was paddling nearby.

The ducklings finished preening and settled in for a nap.

Mom kept an eye on them as they huddled – she seems to think the little guy on the right is up to something….

An eagle appeared flying downstream. Mom gave a sharp call and the ducklings took cover under a nearby log. They hid for several minutes before remerging to huddle for their nap. I headed home.

Yesterday I headed back to check on the fox kits.

I quickly found one resting directly on top of the den’s hole.

Something caught his attention and he stood to look things over.

A false alarm! He settled back to nap in the sun.

A ways up the field, another kit was lounging near another of their holes.

This guy was laying in the brush at the edge of the woods.

Another kit was snacking on something near yet another of their holes. He’s finished and is off the the next item on the agenda. The parents will bring food to the den and if the kits aren’t out, the parent drops the food and leaves.

The clouds were moving in rapidly and the light was fading, I headed home.

You can sign up below to get an email when I add a new post. I won’t sell or share your info, all you’ll get is the occasional note that I put up a post. And, if you enjoy my posts, please share them with your friends and on your social media. Thanks!

fox kits, geese, great blue herons, herons, loons

Birds of May

On May 15, 2026 - Loons, Shorebirds, Warblers, Wildlife Photography

A quick post with some of the birds I’ve found out and about in May.

I’ll be giving my slideshow, Travels with Ian 2025, of my favorite shots from 2025 twice before the end of the month. There’s lots of wildlife from around New England and shots from my trip to Alaska to see brown bears and the steam locomotive on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway. Both are free and open to the public. The first show will be at the Bugbee Center in White River Jct. Wednesday May 27 at 1:30 pm. The second presentation will be at the Blake Memorial Library in Corinth, VT Friday May 29 at 6 pm. The Library would appreciate an RSVP sent to khotellingbml@gmail.com.

And I’ll be exhibiting at the Berkshires Art Festival in Great Barrington, MA on July 3, 4 and 5. All the details here: https://americanartmarketing.com/blogs/news/berkshires-arts-festi-val-2025. I’ll have note cards and prints large and small with me. Stop by and take a look.

Back on May 8, I went out to visit the Westons and their neighbors. The Westons slept in and I went looking to see who else might be around.

Warblers are back and there was a good-sized flock foraging along the shore. Most were too high in the trees for good shots, but this common yellowthroat was working just about water level.

This purple finch (Harold, he says my number came up) was eating tamarack seeds.

The Westons finally stirred and one gave a nice stretch before heading off to the far end of the pond for breakfast.

I went back to visit them again the next day.

They were up before the dawn and checking out the real estate looking for a nesting site. They discussed the spot where the nest has been for the last several years but didn’t seem to come to a conclusion. The literature says the male picks the nesting site. But, watching it seems to be a joint decision. Much like how I decided on the colors to paint the kitchen.

One of the birds stretched a leg and showed he was banded. Last year, the female disappeared from the pond in early August and wasn’t seen again. I suspect that wasn’t good news, that’s early for her to have left voluntarily. The male stayed on the pond and faced off against a challenger every time I visited. My first thought was we had a new female on the pond. I reported the banded bird to the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Vermont’s loon researchers. They told me that the banded bird was a male that had landed in someone’s driveway. The Center sent someone to rescue the bird. They banded him and released him in a pond without a nesting pair of loons. We’ll never know if it was Mr. Weston or the challenger that was chased off the pond. I’m hoping this is the same bird that I’ve likely been watching for years.

Mr. Weston gave me a nice stretch. Or he was throwing his wings up in frustration….

Mrs. Weston answered with her own stretch.

Then they resumed the search for a nest site.

It didn’t look like they came to a decision on where to nest. Mr. Weston stretched again and they headed out for breakfast.

The Westons’ pond has a good population of snapping turtles. I’ve had three great looks at turtles in shallow water so far this year. All three turtles were large, but nowhere near the size people claim they’ve seen. They actually top out with a carapace – the upper part of the shell – about 20″. This turtle appears to be basking. Snappers like to stay in the water rather than climb out to bask. They’ll float along with their head and top of their shell exposed.

The tree swallows and barn swallows were back on their favorite perch, waiting for the insects to get out and about.

Eastern kingbirds (Elvis, the King) are back and paired up. They seem to prefer dragonflies for their diet. Dragonflies are scarce in the early spring, kingbirds feed on smaller insects until the dragonflies return or emerge. Some dragonflies migrate, in other species the adults die out in the fall leaving larvae to survive overwinter.

I spent some more time trying for the warblers. This chestnut-sided warbler teased me for several minutes before pausing in the open for his photo.

One of the Westons gave a stretch as I head out for the morning.

On May 11, I put the boat in the Waits River in Bradford, VT to see who might be around.

There were a couple dozen sandpipers around, this least sandpiper was foraging for breakfast in the reeds along the shore.

There were several solitary sandpipers foraging as well.

Another least sandpiper. Least sandpipers are allegedly the world’s smallest shorebirds. They’re often called ‘peeps’ for their size and call.

As I floated by, I checked to see how our northern flickers were doing. Only to be surprised to see a tree swallow in the nest the flickers had been working on. There were flickers calling in the area, but I don’t know where the couple from the last post settled.

I beached the boat and watched this solitary sandpiper foraging for some time.

I’m watching the weather, looks like we’re going to have a nice weekend, I’ll be back out early.

If you enjoy my posts, please sign up to get notified when I add a new post. I won’t sell or share your email, you’ll just get an email when I add a post. And you can do me a favor by sharing my blog with your friends by email or on social media. Thanks!

loons, shorebirds, warblers

Rounding Up the Usual Suspects

On April 30, 2026 - Beavers, Herons, Loons, Warblers, Wildlife Photography

The run of nice mornings let me get out several times since my last post. I’ve called on the Middletons and the Westons, visited the falcons and the heron rookery as well as paddled in the Connecticut. This is a roundup of what I saw.

I’m still looking for fox, coyote and bobcat dens. And other mammals bigger than a squirrel. If you’ve got them hanging around where I won’t be in the way photographing them, I’d love to know.

I’ll be giving my slideshow An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon at the Rockingham, Vermont, Library this Saturday May 2, at 11 am. Free and everyone welcome. And I have prints of some of my favorite loon photos hanging in the Library now. Stop in and have a look. Later in the month, I’ll be doing my slideshow of my favorite shots from 2025 at the Bugbee Center in White River Jct. at 1:30 pm on Wednesday May 27 and again at the Blake Memorial Library in Corinth, VT at 6:00 pm on Friday May 27. On to the critters…

I’ve managed to visit the herons twice. The first visit found some herons sitting on their eggs and the others putting the finishing touches on their nests.

They take great care in how they place the sticks. I suppose if you know you’re going to be sitting on them for a few weeks, you want to make sure all the pointy bits are well tucked away.

Finishing up the details on the nest. There’s a heron sitting on the nest to the upper left.

The mate showed up as the first bird was finishing up. You can’t tell him from her by looking, and both birds are involved in building the nest and incubating the eggs.

The member of the pair that flew in as the work was finishing up stretched in a courtship display.

Another heron sat just outside the rookery and provided commentary.

One of the males with a nest in the rookery arrived with the very stick they needed for the nest. The males gather the sticks and deliver them to the nest. The females will nod if they find the stick worthy of being added to the nest.

The female of the pair wasn’t around, so the male stashed the stick near the nest.

He took a few minutes to preen, which seems a challenge standing on a small branch.

The next trip had me visiting the Middletons. There were two loons on the pond. Somewhat embarrassingly, I caught up with them before they finished their ablutions. Mr. Middleton waved his leg, letting me see his bands telling me he was who he claimed to be.

Mr. Middleton greeted me with open wings.

And this appears to be the new Mrs. Middleton. The previous Mrs. Middleton died shortly after being driven from the pond by a female challenging her for the territory. Neither the challenger nor this bird were banded, so we can’t tell for sure, but it is likely this is the challenger from last year.

I typed too soon in the last post when I said there didn’t seem to be many Canada geese around. They’re back in force.

The Middletons finished breakfast and tucked in for a nap. You can see Mr. M’s bands on his leg.

The next couple outings took me to the Weston’s pond. The Westons are often not in the mood for visitors and keep their distance. I try to respect their moods and keep my distance when they want to be left alone. There was a pair of loons on the pond. Mrs. Weston disappeared in early August last year and wasn’t seen again. We probably have Mr. Weston back with a new mate.

There was a flock of about 35 swallows – mostly tree swallows with a couple barn swallows for color. They were using this tree for a perch. They’d – more or less – settle for a bit before something got them going and they’d depart en masse. They’d fly out a ways before promptly returning to the tree. I couldn’t spot what got them going but suspect that one had spotted a tasty looking insect and went to nab it – with everyone following along.

Flocks of birds never completely settle. Someone is always looking for a better spot.

And there were at least a couple of couples intent on making little swallows in the mix.

Mr. Mallard had some place elsewhere he needed to be.

Warblers are back. Here’s the first yellow-rumped warbler (aka butter butt) of the season.

And what appears to be a disapproving palm warbler.

The next trip out was to visit the Middleton’s pond again.

One of the Middletons was up and ready to get going at dawn. They were covering lots of ground while foraging for breakfast. I wandered off to see who else might be out and about.

One of the resident beavers was as busy as himself and was making a quick improvement to the roof of his lodge. He dragged this stick to the lodge and pulled it out of the water.

Carefully adjusting it for the proper pitch and angle.

With his chores done, he stopped for some breakfast. Beavers eat the bark off of branches and trees. That’s why I’ve named this guy – wait for it – Chewbarka.

One of the Middletons gave a good stretch as I was heading out.

The next morning found me checking in on the falcons.

They’re sitting on their eggs, so there wasn’t much going on to photograph. The on nest duty bird did peer out above the lip of the shelf with the nest.

The mate sat in a tree above the nest, mostly preening and snoozing.

There is a brave pair of eastern phoebes nesting on the cliff about 20 feet below the falcon’s nest. I’m surprised at the number of song birds in the area. Steering clear of where falcons frequent would seem to be a good idea. The smaller birds in the area must know the falcons are there. The small birds seem to keep low and close to the cliff – making it impossible for the falcon to stop before hitting the ground if it went after them. I thought of J.R.R. Tolkien’s advice, “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.”

And the next morning found me back at the rookery.

All the nests had birds sitting on their eggs. Again not an exciting morning watching birds just sitting. This heron did pop up several times to adjust the sticks in the nest.

Sticks back in their proper place, the bird settled back in.

Someone’s mate came back from his favorite watering hole and stood guard at the edge of the nursery.

The Waits and Connecticut Rivers have been too high for me to be comfortable paddling. Earlier this week, it had dropped enough for me to venture out. When I got out Wednesday morning, the water had dropped to the point where navigating anywhere but the deepest part of the Waits was difficult.

There were several killdeer out foraging along the mud at the water’s edge. There were lots of grackles and red-winged blackbirds and a few ducks around. A murder of crows mobbed a red-tailed hawk every time he dared fly over. With the low water, I saw several large snapping turtles foraging.

A pair of northern flickers were cleaning up a nesting hole. Tree swallows looked like they were going to move in downstairs in the same tree.

The flickers took a break to make little flickers and share a moment afterwards.

There was a bit of a close call when rounding a curve in the river, I surprised a croc basking on the riverbank.

The killdeer were creating a ruckus calling and flying around. After a time, I found four of them in a kerfuffle. I couldn’t figure out the cast. There was at least one female that presented repeatedly. There were at least two that would charge her when she did. Often one or both would take a short flight, often with an attack while in air. Sometimes it appeared the kerfuffle was two on two and sometimes three on one.

Three of the killdeer disagreeing on something.

Someone has just charged the flying bird causing it to take flight. The bird in the back right seems to be presenting.

The midair skirmishes seemed to be mostly threatening, without any actual contact.

The kerfuffle came to some conclusion I couldn’t figure out. The lady that had been presenting throughout took time for a bath and all the birds wandered off.

If you enjoy my posts, you can sign up to get a notification when I add a new post. I’m not going to share your info, I just use it to let you know I’ve got a new post up. And, you can help me out a bit by sharing your favorite posts with friends or on social media. Thanks!

heron rookery, herons, loons

Spring Brings Everyone Back to the Upper Valley

On April 18, 2026 - Herons, Loons, Turtles, Wildlife Photography

I’ve managed to get out a couple of times this spring, finding mixed success. Let’s see who’s out and about.

It is that time of year again where I ask for help finding critters. I’m always looking for mammals bigger than squirrels. I’m still looking for a fox den and would love to find coyote or bobcat dens. If you get a bear showing up daily when they get fully up and around, I’d love to know. Owls and a woodpecker nest are on my list too. If you’ve any of them showing up regularly where I can come and go without disturbing them or you, I’d love to know.

I’ll be giving my slideshow An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon at the Rockingham, Vermont, Library Saturday May 2, at 11 am. Free and everyone welcome. And I have prints of some of my favorite loon photos hanging in the Library now. Stop in and have a look.

Regular readers will know that I’ve been trying to get a good shot of the long-eared owls down on the coast. There have been three of them wintering there for the last several years. They hang out in what can’t be more than half an acre of trees. I’ve made several trips down to try to catch them where they can be seen. To make things worse, every photographer east of the Mississippi seems to have a nice shot of all three posing nicely together in the clear – and they all stop by to show you their shot on their phone….. I tried again in March.

Success again eludes me… One owl was visible through a tiny gap in the trees. The queue of photographers were actually polite about sharing the one spot where you could see the owl. I waited for him to open his eyes…. no luck.

One of the projects I’d like to try is to follow a family of swans through the season. Yes, yes, I know they’re invasive. And aggressive. But they’re here. We either have to live with them or hunt them all down.

I went searching for a likely couple. I ventured down to the Fannie Stebbins Memorial Wildlife Refuge. They’ve hosted families the last few years. There were two swans to be found – and apparently not a couple.

The first swan I found was looking for handouts and wouldn’t back up far enough to get a photo of all of him?

The other swan spent the afternoon swimming slowly around his pond, doing swan things.

Fannie Stebbins may not be where I find the family, I’ve got some other spots to check out.

There was a good-sized flock of ring-necked ducks relaxing on the pond.

The male wood ducks were out paddling their stuff to impress the ladies.

And there were several hooded mergansers, mostly swimming in pairs – but too far apart to get both in a shot.

On the way home, I found two loons on the Connecticut River, a hopeful sign.

My next outing was to check on our local peregrine falcons. They spent most of their time away from the nest on my first visit.

The next time I had a chance to visit, there was a falcon sitting on the nest. And one supervising.

This gives a good idea of where falcons like to nest. Can I name this guy Cliff?

The bolts in the rocks are rock bolts drilled into the cliff to keep rocks from falling.

My next outing was to visit a great blue heron rookery. It is on the small side for a great blue heron rookery – only seven nests. The good news is they’re relatively low for heron nests, we should be able to see the chicks from the ground when the time comes.

The nests are all in dead trees over a small pond.

Most of the herons spent their morning standing in the trees near the nests.

Sometimes they seemed to be chatting with the neighbors.

The heron on the right has just returned to the nest. The herons did some head bobbing and weaving in a quick courtship display.

One bird found time to make some nest improvements.

While the mate sat nearby pretending to be busy.

I’ve been checking on the Middleton’s pond – usually the first to ice out in the spring. Last Saturday afternoon there was a loon snoozing on the pond. I went home and got the boat ready to go.

Dawn on Sunday found me on the pond. But no loon. It was probably on a scouting mission to see if his pond was open and he’d just stopped off to rest a bit. Other pond residents were out and about.

The morning started off foggy, but pleasantly warm for an April paddle – 28° when I launched. A wood duck posed as I headed down the pond.

I did find several ring-necked ducks promenading on the pond.

There was a pair of eagles that sat watching the pond. I suspect they were thinking that duck would make a good breakfast.

A loon showed up again on the Middleton’s pond on Wednesday. I made it out this morning.

I soon found a lone loon on the pond. I think I saw a flash of color from his bands, but never got a really clear look at his legs. My guess is Mr. Middleton is back.

Hank the great blue heron was working the reeds for breakfast.

There seem to be fewer Canada geese on the pond this year. But the ones that were around were happy to make noise and fly around.

The red-winged black birds seem fewer also. There were several males and the first female I’ve seen this year out foraging.

And as the fog lifted, painted turtles started appearing on every handy log along the shore.

Back on the home front, Charles, our resident whistle pig has reported for pillaging duty.

You can sign up below to get notifications when I add a new post. I’ll never share your info, you’ll get the new post notifications and nothing else.

heron, loon, swan, turtles, woodchuck

Cedar Waxwings Snacking

On April 16, 2026 - Cedar Waxwings, Wildlife Photography

Happy spring! Here in the Upper Valley, I’ve seen turtles basking and the noise of the peepers is deafening. There’s a loon back on both the Weston’s and Middleton’s ponds. And our pair of bluebirds is building nests in both our boxes.

I’ve got a couple quick posts to catch up on what I’ve been seeing.

First, I’ll be giving my slideshow An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon at the Rockingham, Vermont, Library Saturday May 2, at 11 am. Free and everyone welcome. And I have prints of some of my favorite loon photos hanging in the Library now. Stop in and have a look.

I managed to get to the coast a couple times since my last post. The long-eared owl still bedevils me. One trip found a flock of cedar waxwings and a couple robins feasting on crabapples in Parker River.

In the winter, waxwings travel in flocks, searching out fruit trees. When they find some, they usually make quick work of the fruit. This flock has found several crabapple trees and set to work.

Even if the fox couldn’t reach the grapes, the waxwings could reach the crabapples….

birds, cedar waxwings, song birds, waxwings

2025 Loon Review

On December 28, 2025 - Loons, Wildlife Photography

The end of the year is a time for lazy photographers to sneak in a couple extra posts looking back at the year. Who am I to buck tradition? Let’s take a look back at how the three loon families fared this year.

On Sunday, March 22, at 2:30 pm, I’ll be presenting my slideshow about visiting the puffins, et al, on Machias Seal Island off of Cutler, ME, at the Tenney Memorial Library in Newbury, VT. Free and everyone welcome.

If you’re new to my blog, I follow loon families on three ponds. To protect their privacy I’ve named the loons on the pond to my east the ‘Eastons.’ The pond to my west hosts the ‘Westons.’ And the pond between those two hosts the ‘Middletons.’ On to the loons.

The Westons

And later in April one of our adults heading out to fly some errands.

The morning the chicks left the nest was chilly with very thick fog. I hadn’t realized the chicks had hatched and spent a couple cold hours parked in the brush watching for other critters. This was as bright as the sun got that morning.

Another morning without sun. The chicks are two weeks old.

Feeding time for the two and a half week old chicks.

One of the chicks tackling a horned pout almost as large as the chick.

By the end of July, Mrs. Weston had disappeared. Dad was still around and occasionally faced off against an intruder. Mom wasn’t seen again. I could ID the remaining loon as Dad as he would yodel at the intruder.

The encounters with the intruder were brief, but intense. Here’s Dad lunging at the intruder. The intruder left the pond shortly afterwards.

In the third week of August, the chicks were working hard to get airborne.

Success! Soon after they learned to circle the pond, they’d disappear for days at a time, apparently scouting the other ponds in the area before returning to spend a few days on their pond.

Both chicks fledged, but I fear we lost Mrs. Weston.

The Middletons

Both of the Middletons were banded in 2024. Dad returned to the pond on schedule – but was keeping company with an unbanded loon. She stuck around a couple weeks. Between my visits, Mrs. Middleton reappeared and stayed to hatch and raise one chick.

An intruder regularly flew in to challenge Mrs. Middleton. The intruder wasn’t banded but it seems a safe assumption it was the female that was on the pond early in the spring. On this early June morning, Mrs. Middleton has driven the intruder from the pond. And the escape route took her close to my kayak.

Mrs. Middleton stretching on another beautiful spring morning.

But the intruder kept returning to challenge Mrs. Middleton. Here’s Mrs. M. explaining, once again, the intruder should go away. The challenger grew more persistent as the season progressed.

Both of the Middletons are attentive parents and shared equally in taking care of the chick, ‘Littleton.’

Littleton riding along on Mom’s back. This never gets old.

OK, I’m anthropomorphizing but, come on! – tell me that doesn’t look like a proud parent.

Loon pairs often preen at the same time. Rarely do they finish and stretch at the same time. And I’ve never seen both stretch at the same time close enough to get both birds in the frame before.

Littleton is now about four weeks old and too big to climb aboard Dad’s back. But he’s isn’t ready to adult. He tucked his head under Dad’s wing while Dad was trying to nap. Littleton was kicking slowly, spinning the pair in a lazy circle.

Here, Littleton is about five weeks old. He can find food for himself and his parents are encouraging him to do so. But, like teenagers everywhere, he still wants his parents to feed him. Grabbing Dad’s neck is a subtle hint he wants to be fed.

In August, the intruding loon drove Mrs. Middleton from the pond. She landed on a paved road near the pond. A passing motorist knew about the Loon Preservation Committee and reported it. LPC sent a biologist out to capture and examine her. She didn’t appear to be injured and was relocated to a nearby unoccupied (by loons) pond. Sadly, she died a few days later.

Littleton continued to grow. Dad moved on in the first week of September, leaving Littleton on the pond.

In the second week of September, I found Littleton foraging and practicing his flying. I spent the morning watching him and exploring the pond to see who else was about. There’s a tiny cove on his pond. I pulled in there to see who might be in the reeds. When I headed in, Littleton was a few hundred yards down the pond on his own. I spent several minutes checking things out in the reeds – without finding anything. When I turned to head back out on the main part of the pond, Littleton was sitting just a few feet behind my boat. I sat still and he spent some time foraging in the shallow water. He tried on these weeds, but seemed to decide they were too ostentatious.

After Littleton moved away enough to let me move my boat, I headed back to the main part of the pond. With Littleton following.

It was getting time for me to head home. I took one last look around the pond with my binoculars. While I was doing that, Littleton dove and swam under my boat, making a couple loops directly under the boat. I carry a GoPro video camera, hoping to get a chance to film a loon underwater. The GoPro was still in my backpack and I kicked myself. A few minutes later, Littleton again dove and swam under the boat – with the GoPro STILL in my backpack. I gave myself a good cursing. And took the GoPro out…..

This time I was ready….

Over the years, I’ve had a few occasions where the loons approached my boat much closer than you’d think they’d judged safe. Littleton was certainly deliberately interacting with me. Was he lonely? How would you tell? Is there another reason? Littleton had gotten airborne and did a lap around his pond earlier in the morning. This was the last time I saw him.

The Eastons

The chick that hatched – who became ‘Leaston’ – didn’t have any feathers on his? chest and belly. The chick spent most of the time just sitting on Dad’s back. I worried about him, he seemed lethargic and didn’t fidget much. I suspect it was cold in the water. Mom was good about showing up and feeding Leaston while aboard Dad. Over a couple weeks, the feathers grew in and Leaston became more active and otherwise seemed to develop normally.

This time Leaston is aboard Mom and Dad delivers.

As his feathers grew in, Leaston started spending more time in the water.

Although Dad carried him a fair bit even after he was getting too big to ride.

While Dad babysat, Mom wandered off for her own breakfast and a stretch.

Dad handing off a horned pout almost as long as Leaston.

A couple times over the season, the Eastons had to drive an intruder off the pond. Here the intruder is wing rowing away from a very annoyed Mr. Easton.

Another round of being chased by Mr. Easton took the intruder close past my boat. Shortly after this, he departed the pond.

Mom on her own again while Dad babysits.

And again on yet another morning, Dad is tending Leaston while mom takes time for herself. My suspicion is that she’s a young, really pretty loon…..

By the end of August, Leaston was more or less tending for himself. Mom scooted for the year sometime around the first of September, Dad several days later.

Leaston cruising along his pond at sunrise on the last morning I’d see him.

So, not a great year for the families. Three families fledged four chicks, and apparently we lost two adult females. Let’s hope for a better year for them in 2026.

And I missed one of the characters in my last post.

I’ll get one more post up in the next couple days with my favorite non-loon images. Hopefully before New Year’s…. but in case I’m late, Happy New Year!

More Silliness with Names

On December 19, 2025 - Wildlife Photography

Let’s try some more fun with critter names. Much to my wife’s dismay, many of you sent kind words on the last post rather than trying to discourage me. Allow me to introduce a few more of my friends from my travels.

I still have a few of my 2026 Wildlife Calendars. If you order this weekend, they should still arrive before Christmas.

On to the critters, in no particular order….

Clarence Sparrow says you’re a monkey’s uncle.

Captain Jack Sparrow, perhaps the worst sparrow you’ve ever heard of. But at least you’ve heard of him.

Sparrow Agnew complaining about the nattering nabobs of negativism.

You’ve never heard of Millennium Falcon? He’s the bird that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs!

Johnny Pesky Squirrel is famous for defeating the foul pole at Fenway.

This seal didn’t stick around very long. You picked a fine time to leave me, you seal.

You can usually find Popeye by Olive’s side.

Australian train buffs will recognize Puffin Billy.

Puffin the Magic Dragon lives by the sea.

Woody Herman seems too colorful to have the blues.

Steven Seagull says this fish is Marked For Death.

Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me that’s Peter Seagull.

Tommy and Moe Hawk going at it. It seems Tommy called Moe a ‘Kittyhawk.’

The Notorious RBG seems to be judging you.

Robert The Spruce is ready to repel England from his homeland.

I′d wrestle with a lion and a grizzly bear
It’s my life, baby, but I don’t care

Ain′t that tuft enough?
Ain′t that tuft enough?
Ain′t that tuft enough?
Ain′t that tuft enough?

I was lucky to have a chance to visit the Grand Old Osprey.

Introducing Annette, everyone’s favorite titmouseketeer.

I hope I shall never see
A vulture in a tree
Reconnoitering the remains of me…..

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit” — Aristurtle

Don’t try to change your story with this guy, he has turtle recall.

You can’t make fun of this guy even if he is a mock turtle.

With apologies to The Who….

You butter you butter you butt, ooh
You butter you butter you butt, ooh
You butter you butter you butt, ooh
You butter you butter you butt, ooh

James Brown Bear says “Ooh! I feel good!”

OK, that’s probably enough of that. I’ll do the lazy photographer thing and do a post of my favorite shots from this year sometime before 2026. Until then, Merry Christmas!

A Canada goose landing on a pond with a perfect reflection.

Some Silliness, Part One

On December 14, 2025 - Wildlife Photography

Winter has arrived here in West Newbury. A variety of things has kept me stuck at my desk, with lots of hunting through my photo archives. I’ve been setting photos aside for this post for some time, now is as good as any to get to it.

As I’ve spent hours and hours with the wildlife, I’ve gotten to know many of the cast of characters. With way too much time on my hands waiting for them, I’ve been able to find the names of many of them.

I still have a few of my 2026 Wildlife Calendars available. And, there is still time to order prints for Christmas – but hurry, anything I have to send out for printing is getting very close. Please take a look at my site: https://www.ianclark.com/.

Sadly, many of my references while fresh in my mind now seem somewhat dated. Hopefully they’ll provide a few chuckles.

Great blue heron on a foggy pond — We’ve met Hank Heron many times over the years. Let’s visit some of his lesser-known relatives.

This is Hank’s cousin, Heron Burr the green heron.

Meet their Irish cousin, Heron go Bragh the black-crowned night heron.

Crow Dimaggio is a regular visitor to my yard.

And Crow Magnon is one of his ancestors.

Atticus Goldfinch is also a regular yard visitor.

And this is Harold Finch, also known as the Finch That Stole Christmas.

Yitzhak Robin has been known to stop by now and again.

Shakespeare the barred owl lives up in the woods behind the house – but I’ve yet to find him in four years.

Thurston Owl III was briefly stranded in Newbury, VT several years ago.

Owl Capone peering out from his hideout.

I often encounter Theodore Cleaver in my travels.

Quill Smith out and about. How do you find Quill Smith in the snow? You look for the fresh prints.

Don Kingfisher is an elusive resident of the loons’ ponds.

And Martin Luther Kingfisher has a dream.

Blue Jay Edgar Hoover keeps a file on everyone.

And O Canada Jay stands on guard for thee.

Major Hawkstetter wants to know WHAT IS THIS MAN DOING HERE? (I know NOTHING!)

Margaret Thrasher warns me not to let my camera go wobbly.

And Goosey van Pelt says the psychiatrist is in.

Like so many girls
Jenny Wren could sing
But a broken heart
Took her song away

Felix the Catbird always has a bag of tricks.

Thelonious Chipmunk is always improvising.

Morton Downy Woodpecker comes to the house to talk trash.

Duck Rogers has successfully protected us from the Martians since 1953.

And Duck Norris as Squawker Texas Ranger keeps us safe.

Harry Hoodini, the hat-haired merganser is the master of escape.

And Wren Dee has stormy eyes
That flash at the sound of lies
And Wren Dee has wings to fly
Above the clouds above the clouds
Above the clouds above the clouds

My name is Indigo Bunting. You filled my feeder. Prepare to dine.

Paging Doctor Killdeer, paging Doctor Killdeer….

Dove Chappelle is best known for founding Famous Dove’s BBQ.

And meet Moose Ilaukee. Vermonters may know him as Moose Alamoo.

Went to a field, a camera I did wield
Saw Bob O’Link so I thought I’d take a chance
On Bob O’Link , Bob O’Link (bob, bob, bob, bob, Bob O’Link)
You take my hand (bob, bob, bob, bob, take my hand)
You got me rockin’ and a rollin’ (ho-oh), rockin’ and a reelin’

A very happy Hanukkah and a merry Christmas to all!

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

Older Entries