Posts in Category: Wildlife Photography

Tips and advice for getting great wildlife photos

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.

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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!

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

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