Posts in Category: Wildlife Photography

Tips and advice for getting great wildlife photos

Loon Update June 25, 2025

On June 25, 2025 - Loons, Wildlife Photography

I’ve had a chance to check in with all three loon families since Saturday evening. Good news on all fronts.

I identify the loon families with pseudonyms to protect their privacy. Every year, I get dozens of requests to know where I am. While I usually try to help out responsible photographers, it just wouldn’t be fair to these loons to have hordes visiting them. If you’d like to see loons, you can visit most any lake or pond in northern New Hampshire or Vermont (Thanks Vermont Center for Ecostudies and Loon Preservation Committee). Please be respectful and keep your distance. Expect to spend some time to get good photos – I spend something like 200 hours a year on the loons’ ponds to get the shots I get.

This Saturday, June 28, I’ll be up at the Burklyn Arts Summer Fair at the Fenton Chester Arena, 145 College Rd, Lyndon Center, VT (on the Lyndon Institute campus), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I’ll be selling note cards and prints large and small. Come on by and say hello.

Last Saturday morning, I stopped by to visit the Middletons. Mom had taken the overnight shift on the nest. Dad was leisurely cruising his pond.

Dad seems to be enjoying the sunrise.

I love watching the fog lift as the first light hits the pond.

Dad took one last stretch before heading in to relieve mom.

Mom came off the nest and took a couple big stretches.

And another stretch…

Mom settled in for a nap, I wandered off to see who else was out and about.

I passed a Luna moth floating on the water. I turned around to pull him out of the water. He rode comfortably on my knapsack while he dried out.

Eventually, he climbed up the knapsack onto the gunwale – and back into the water. I turned around to pull him out again. I took him to shore and set him on a branch. And he promptly walked back into the water….. I pulled him out again and kept him aboard until I started packing up. This time I walked him a few yards from shore and put him down on some leaves.

Male Luna moths have bigger, bushier antennae than the females. It is thought this helps them detect the pheromones that the ladies give off.

His tail was damaged, he probably couldn’t fly. My bringing him ashore likely postponed the inevitable only briefly. Luna moths live only about a week as moths. They don’t have mouths, their goal is to reproduce before passing on.

Not long after finding the moth, an intruding loon flew in. I’m guessing this is the unbanded female that was seen keeping company with Mr. Middleton earlier in the year. No way to know, but seems a likely guess. After a brief display between Mrs. M and the intruder, the intruder dove. I was a couple hundred yards away from the action and quickly lost track of both loons. After a couple minutes, a submerged loon appeared and swam directly under my boat and popped up on the far side – hidden from Mrs. M.

The intruder looked around for a few seconds before taking off.

And by request, another turtle shot. The Middletons’ pond has a good population of both snapping and painted turtles. This painted turtle was suffering from the bugs. He scooted back and forth on the log and repeatedly swiped a foot over his head to clear the mosquitos away.

Saturday evening was still warm, but relatively still. I headed up to check on the Westons and their chicks. The chicks hatched on June 7 & 8, making the oldest one 14 days old on Saturday.

The Westons live on a quiet pond, I rarely see other boats out on it. When I arrived Saturday night, there were four canoes afloat. I looked and looked for the Westons before discovering they’d retreated to the furthest reaches of the pond. They promptly announced they were uninterested in receiving visitors.

I took a couple quick shots and left to let them be.

Sunday morning I went back up to visit them.

They were back on the main body of the pond, cruising slowly. The parents took turns foraging and providing small meals.

After a time, they found a spot for some serious foraging. Both parents went to work delivering a steady stream of small meals. Eventually, one parent dove and I lost track.

Splashing behind me alerted me to where the parent had gotten to. The loon made a couple of aggressive dives, I thought there was a threat below the surface. But, shortly afterwards, the parent came up with a good-sized horned pout.

The parent making the handoff to the chick….

The chick made a valiant effort…. but putting a half pound of fish into a quarter pound chick is a challenge..

I got this!
Still working on it….
No! Seriously! I got this!

The fish slips away…. When the chicks are very young, the parents swim in and retrieve the lost meal. This time, the parent let the chick do the work to recover the fish.

The chick managed to catch the fish and bring it back to the surface. The chick continued to try to get it down. Eventually the chick dropped it and the parent spent a few moments with his head underwater. The fish wasn’t seen again, I suspect the parent made it a meal.

I poked around the pond some, without finding anyone out and about to be photographed. As I headed in, one of the chicks gave me a nice wing stretch. I like this guy!

Yesterday I was back to visit the Middletons. I didn’t see when they laid their eggs, so I’m not sure when to expect them to hatch. It is likely several more days. They had the first quiet morning I’ve seen this season. Dad was floating not far from the nest when I arrived. He went out for a quick breakfast before returning to take over nest duty.

Mom came off the nest and posed nicely for me. I looked around a bit. The red-winged blackbirds are coming and going with groceries to their nests hidden in the reeds. The kingbirds were busy catching dragonflies. Everyone else seemed to be high in the canopy. I headed out to get some errands done.

This morning the forecast was for a few clouds giving way to sunshine. When I peeked out at 3:15, there was a ribbon of fog over the Connecticut and just a few clouds to the east. I thought I was in luck and headed to check in with the Eastons.

Mom was sleeping in on the nest. I set out the LPC’s sign to warn people away from the nest. She woke briefly to see what I was up to and promptly went back to sleep. The few clouds I’d seen were in perfect position to block the morning sun.

I waited a bit for the sun to break through. After a time, I gave up and headed for the boat launch. And the sun came out. I turned back and headed down the pond in time to see dad show up and take over the nest.

I swung by to get his photo as it started to rain lightly.

I turned to leave again. And the sun came out again, looking like it was out to stay. I paddled to the far end of the pond before it started to rain slightly. Then steadily. I put the boat on the car in a downpour. By the time I got back to the hardtop, I was wearing my sunglasses. Gotta love New England weather!

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10-day-old tree swallow chicks, June 25, 2025

On June 25, 2025 - Tree Swallow Cam, Wildlife Photography

Sad news today, we lost either two or three chicks. Just after last night’s post a kestrel was trying to get into the box. The swallows chased him off, only to have him return. They successfully drove him off and all the chicks were fine when I went to bed last night.

Today, the chicks are hiding under the feathers that the parents brought in to cover the eggs and chicks. I can’t decide if there are two or three chicks left.

The chicks in the box seem to be doing well, they’re moving around under the feathers and pop up when a parent delivers a meal.

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Nine-day-old tree swallow chicks, June 24, 2025

On June 24, 2025 - Tree Swallow Cam, Wildlife Photography

We’re watching our nine-day-old tree swallow chicks in their camera-equipped box. We had another very hot day today, the chicks spent much of it squirming, apparently trying to get comfortable. We just a had a brief thunderstorm which has cooled things down a bit. Several meals were delivered and the chicks have settled in for a nap.

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Eight-day-old tree swallow chicks, June 23, 2025

On June 23, 2025 - Tree Swallow Cam, Wildlife Photography

Our tree swallows had a hot day in the box today. The thermometer in the car said it got to 97° this afternoon. The box is shaded from late morning on, sparing the the worst of the day. All five chicks seem to be doing well.

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Seven-day-old tree swallow chicks, June 22, 2025

On June 22, 2025 - Tree Swallow Cam, Wildlife Photography

A good look at our seven-day-old tree swallow chicks this evening. We’re having a hot afternoon here in West Newbury, the chicks are sprawled out trying to cool off.

The cameras are mounted inside the box letting us watch without disturbing the birds. The cameras have their quirks. They record in color when there’s enough light and switch to black and white and turn on infrared emitters in low light. They’re slow to adapt to the change in light as the swallows come and go.

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Four-day-old tree swallow chicks, June 19, 2025

On June 20, 2025 - Tree Swallow Cam, Wildlife Photography

Our tree swallow chicks are now four-days-old and look to be doing well. Mom and dad are keeping busy bringing in groceries and explaining to our dogs that they need to stay on the far end of the deck.

The cameras are mounted inside the box letting us watch without disturbing the birds. The cameras have their quirks. They record in color when there’s enough light and switch to black and white and turn on infrared emitters in low light. They’re slow to adapt to the change in light as the swallows come and go. But, hey, they were cheap.

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A quick look at our swallow chicks

On June 17, 2025 - Tree Swallow Cam, Wildlife Photography

Tree swallows claimed one of our nest boxes with a camera installed inside. Their five chicks hatched Sunday, here’s a quick look at the two-day-old chicks from Tuesday evening.

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Updates on the Loons, Swallows & Foxes

On June 15, 2025 - Foxes, Loons, Tree Swallow Cam, Wildlife Photography

Happy Nature Photography Day! Seems like a good time for an update.

A couple days ago, the tree swallows nesting in the box on the deck declared us persona non grata and have been defending the yard. This morning, they’ve been chattering away more than usual and both parents are popping in and out of the box regularly. Just a few minutes ago, I got the first glimpse of the chicks:


I stopped in to see the Middletons on the fifth. I found only one loon on the pond at daybreak. I went looking to see if the second was sitting on the nest. I looked in in the places they’ve nested before, without finding a nest.

I did find one of the herons foraging in the brush in a cove.

When I came out of the cove, I found two loons wing rowing across the pond. It turned out that Mrs. Middleton was chasing an unbanded loon from the pond. Here’s the intruder departing the pond.

A little more looking and I found Mr. Middleton sitting on a nest in a new spot, well hidden by the reeds. I put the Loon Preservation Committee’s sign out to warn people away from the nest.

Last Sunday, I visited the Westons. The forecast called for a sunny morning. It was clear here on the hill when I woke. The Weston’s pond was socked in with fog. We were at the beginning of the window where the chicks might hatch.

The fog was thick enough to make it hard to tell what was going on around the pond. I headed down to the entrance of the cove where the Weston’s nest.

Both loons were near the nest – I couldn’t see them through the fog, but they were both wailing. Soon, four otters appeared from the direction of the nest. Otters are a real threat to chicks and eggs and I’ve seen a video of one attacking an adult loon on a nesting platform. One of the otters came over to have a look at me.

One of the parents appeared and gave a foggy morning stretch.

The off-duty parent headed out of the cove and some time later reappeared – carrying a fingerling. They must have a chick!

I moved to let me see the nest. There was a chick taking one of its first swims – under close supervision. There was a still a second egg in the nest. Friends told me the second chick hatched later Sunday. I had to head out before the fog lifted.

On Wednesday, I had a chance to visit the fox den again. The last two trips, I’ve seen only one kit at a time, I’m not sure if they’re taking turns out of the den or if we’ve lost the second kit.

The kit that was out and about wasn’t fooled by my being in the blind and spent some time watching me.


And paying attention to anything that made noise in the brush.

Which proved to be a tiring business. Look at that tongue, maybe I should do a Tongue Out Tuesday post.

Friday morning, I headed up to see the Eastons. They’re behind schedule. Their chicks usually hatch the third weekend in June, but they hadn’t laid their eggs by my last visit.
There was a family of geese with six goslings foraging in the shallow water.


I heard a commotion – lots of splashing and then a wail. The Eastons were rousting an intruder. After a little more kerfuffle, the intruder departed.

On my previous visits, I hadn’t been able to see any loon legs, so I wasn’t sure if Mr. Easton had returned. This time, I got a good look at both legs, this is the same male that’s been here for at least five years.

After preening a bit, he gave a good stretch and went to join Mrs. Easton in real estate hunting.

They checked out last year’s nesting site and discussed it at length. Before I left the pond, I caught them mating on the site, looks like they just got a delayed start this year.

Another family of geese stood guard by the boat launch as I headed out.

Looks like more rain the start of this week, I’ll be back out when we get a decent morning.

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Shorebirds Courting, Nesting and Chicks

On June 6, 2025 - Shorebirds, Wildlife Photography

Early this past Tuesday morning, I again started questioning my sanity. Getting up and around to be on the road by 2:30 just doesn’t seem to have the thrill I once thought it might. At least traffic was light until I got into Massachusetts. I headed down to look for shorebirds and whatever else might appear. My timing proved to be pretty good.

A little housekeeping before we get to the photos. Several of you have emailed with tips or sightings. It looks like I’m having trouble getting messages through to Gmail addresses. I’m working on figuring out why. I try to answer all the messages I get. If you use Gmail and sent an email that didn’t get a reply, I’m sorry. I was able to track down a few people by phone, but couldn’t find numbers for everyone. If you didn’t get a reply, please send another email with a way to contact you that isn’t Gmail.

Want to learn to take your own wildlife photos? I’ll be speaking to the Upper Valley Camera Club at the AVA Gallery, 11 Bank Street, Lebanon, NH next Tuesday, June 10 at 6:30 pm. The talk is aimed at folks with a 35mm camera with interchangeable lenses. The wildlife we’re going to talk about is almost all within reach of a day trip from the Upper Valley. Sorry, no lions, tigers or elephants. Hopefully, I’ll have lots of useful tips. Free and everyone welcome, but they request you register beforehand at https://avagallery.org/event/june-monthly-meeting/.

And one more, I’ll be at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair a the Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, NH  August 2-10, 2025 with lots of new prints, cards and 2026 calendars. I’m planning on traveling for much of the fall and will miss many of the shows I usually do. The League has a number of amazingly talented craftspeople, the Fair is worth a visit just to gawk.

OK, OK, you want photos.

One of my goals for this spring is to get some cute photos of cygnets – baby swans. With all the rain, I’m ever more behind tracking critters down. I hoped to find some swan families on this trip.

I found two swan families that stubbornly stayed well out in the marsh. I’d left the boat at home, they seemed to know exactly how far to stand off to keep me from photographing them.

Next I went looking for piping plovers. Their chicks start hatching along the New England Coast early in June. I got lucky and found two families each with four chicks that had hatched the day before.

Piping plovers are handsome shorebirds, they’re roughly as big as bluebirds, albeit stockier. They’re endangered – estimates range from about 7,600 to 8,400 piping plovers left. They nest in the grass just above the sandy part of the beach and forage in the grass and along the beach. The chicks weigh something like one-fifth of an ounce (less than three dimes) when they hatch and stand about 2 inches tall – about the size of cotton ball. The little buggers are fully prepared to forage on their own. They scoot along the beach, stopping for just a couple seconds before scooting off several feet or yards in any direction at something like 25 mph.

Both parents tend the chicks, such as they do. The parents watch the chicks as they scoot about and call them to take shelter under either parent for warmth or protection. If the chicks aren’t tucked under and the parent senses a threat, the parent will display like they’re injured. They flare their tail and walk clumsily while peeping to attract attention away from the chicks. This brood has four chicks and there are already at least two tucked under this parent.

This is a very rare photo of a chick taking cover under a parent. My extensive research has proven that 99.99% of the time, they disappear under the parent with their butt towards the photographer.

Some sources online suggest you can tell mom from dad by the size of the black stripe on their head, with the male’s being longer and thicker. Other sources suggest the female is drabber. Others say they’re indistinguishable. So, with that solid reference, this may be mom.

And this may be dad. Or I might have them backwards.

When the coast is clear – literally – the plovers will go down to the water’s edge to forage in the debris the tide left.

The chicks seem very tiny on the open beach. They’re easy to lose track of as they scurry about. Being flat on my belly trying to follow them with a long heavy lens is not the ideal way to keep track of them.

I’m amazed any of the chicks survive – they can travel better than 100′ from the parents and would seem to be an easy meal for anyone walking or flying by.

When they pop out from under a parent, they head out to explore the world. They’re smart enough to know they have to find their own food, but it takes a while before they learn what is and what isn’t edible. Dried reeds went in the not edible category.

Here our chick has scooped up a fly of some sort. This would seem to be in the edible category. But not so fast….

The fly manages a double-reverse back flip and gets out of the chick’s mouth…..

Our chick seems to be pondering this turn of events……

I think it was the fly’s lucky day. It was last seen riding the chick’s bill as the chick zipped away.

And a few more shots of the chicks as they explored, just because they’re adorable.

Exploring in the grass at the edge of the beach.

Pausing and plotting a new course.

Star Wars fans may see the design of the Empire’s walkers in the chick’s build.

The long legs seem to take some learning before they’re mastered.

Still looking a bit wobbly.

The plovers share their nesting area with least terns. They’re also handsome birds, longer and sleeker than the plovers. They’re inclined to go about their business directly up sun from photographers.

They aren’t great at building fancy nests. They lay their eggs in a shallow depression in the grass at the edge of the sand.

This nest was built about halfway between the high tide mark and the grass, out in the open on the beach. Audubon has volunteers that patrol the beaches trying to keep people away from nests and chicks. There were stakes and a rope fence set up around this nest and along the grass for protection.
And, they’re fiercely protective of their territory – which seems to include all of New England according to them. They’re quick to dive at whatever they think is a threat. They’re fast and agile fliers. There are always a few in flight over the colony. They chatter constantly about whatever needs to be said.

Sometimes the colony comes to a consensus and many of the adults will fly off to the water’s edge together. There’s no way to tell how many remain hiding in the grass, but there were several dozen in flight several times.
Courtship consists of the males delivering fish to a lady. Meet Leroy, the world’s most socially awkward tern. He has a fish and has worked his courage up to present it to this pretty lady.

She finds him attractive and turns away from him to present – encouraging him to mate.

Leroy didn’t seem to have thought his plan through to the point of figuring out what do to should she accept him. He spent better than ten minutes waving the fish around while circling her. She patiently kept turning to urge him to get on with it.

He finally got the hint and got down to business.

He delivered the fish as they carried on with the matter at hand.

The guys don’t seem to have a lady in mind when they set out with their fish. They land near a lady and offer the fish. If the lady isn’t interested, she’ll rebuff him – often chasing him off. The guys seem undeterred and move along to the next lady. It turns out a lot of the chatter is actually ‘come here often? Can I buy you a fish?’

When the guys arrive to present the fish, they’ll often make a nifty swoop and fluttering landing.

This lady emphatically declared she was not interested, thank you very much. Buzz off creep!

Here, a couple of guys have spotted a pretty lady and are racing to get to her first.

They also do a little dance together while courting. They flare out their wings, circle each other and mirror each other’s posture.

And around we go….

And a fish for you, my dear.

There was also a small flock of semipalmated sandpipers that were traveling along a large stretch of beach.

Two more semipalmated sandpipers foraging in the debris.

Our tree swallows are holding onto the box the wrens drove the bluebirds from. Mom is sitting on five eggs. The wrens must be sitting on eggs too, but I don’t have a camera in their box. They enjoy perching just outside my window. Wrens never, ever, ever stop chattering. I’ll admit I’m not finding it as cute as it was a couple weeks ago. I’ve been collecting video of the swallow’s box and promise to get around to editing and posting some.

I got out to visit the Middleton loon family yesterday and will post an update on them shortly as well.

If you’re enjoying the blog, please consider passing the link along to some friends. Thanks!

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Update on the Loons and Some Cute Fox Kits

On May 31, 2025 - Foxes, Loons, Photography, Wildlife Photography

Memorial Day, May 26, looked promising when I got up to check the weather at 3:30. The dogs weren’t convinced and slept in. Lee & I set out to see if the road to the Easton’s pond was passable. This was my first visit to see them this year.

The road was passable, but the fog had settled over the pond and there was a chilly breeze. There was a pair of loons traveling together on the pond. Mr. Easton is banded, I couldn’t get a good look to see if he’s returned. A quick check of the nest site from the last several years found no sign of activity. Fortunately, it remains well above high water level. We headed out early without any photos.

By this time last few years, the Eastons had been sitting on the nest by now. Assuming they don’t have a nest I didn’t find, they’re at least a week behind the previous years’ schedule.

Tuesday morning I visited the Middletons. The pair of loons on the pond were banded last summer by the Loon Preservation Committee. On my earlier visits this year, Mr. Middleton was traveling with an unbanded loon.

After a quick search, I found the pair of loons just finishing up making little loons, then they headed out to settle in for a long nap.

While I waited for the loons to wake up, I checked around to see who else was about. There was a handful of spotted sandpipers out foraging in the marsh.

Loons usually take fairly brief – 15 or 20 minute naps. This morning they extended that to about 45 minutes, giving me time to get some shots through the fog. One has woken up and is flexing his? neck.

Eventually, they both woke up and one gave a nice wing stretch in the fog.

They set sail to explore the real estate options for their nest.

Mrs. made her case for reusing last year’s nest site again. Mr. tried to explain that it was under a couple inches of water and not really feasible.

She wasn’t buying that for a second. She continued to sit and they discussed it with low hoots.

Mr. Middleton ended the discussion by simply swimming away.

Mrs. abandoned her effort to convince him and swam off the nest site. As she passed my boat, she stretch her leg – giving me a good look at the bands she wears. The rightful Mrs. Middleton is back! This is the female that LPC banded last year. She must have chased the other female from the pond.

The Middletons are also at least a week behind previous years’ schedule for laying their eggs.

She gave a nice wing stretch before heading off.

All was not well, an intruder appeared on the pond. The Middletons went to face off with the intruder. They were still circling and diving aggressively some 45 minutes later.

Wednesday morning found me visiting the Westons. When I arrived, I found one loon sitting on the nest – well above water – and one resting nearby. At first I assumed the loon in the water had shown up to take a turn on the nest.

An immature bald eagle appeared low over the marsh – escorted by a small flock of grackles, kingbirds and red-winged blackbirds. The eagle perched in the tree with the smaller birds taking turns watching him. The grackles and kingbirds were mostly content to sit in the tree and call. The kingbirds favored more direct action, swooping in to try to hit the eagle in the back of the head. There remained a stalemate all morning with the eagle not retreating. The loon in the water may have been standing by to defend the nest.

A representative of the local beaver colony swam by to explain to me I wasn’t welcome.

I’d been waiting for the sun to get high enough to light the nest to get a photo. When it was lit, I got this shot and headed home.

Friends in Newbury called to tell me they have fox kits and were kind enough to let me set up my blind to watch. While setting up the blind, I was watched by two kits sitting near their den.

Monday I was able to sit in the blind for a time. The fox kits not only didn’t seem bothered that I was there – they’d sat and watched me walk in and hide – but seemed almost bored by me.


The den is on the edge of a planted field. Workers made a noise in the field that alerted this kit.

Soon enough, the kit relaxed and went back to practicing to be cute.

Tuesday I returned to watch the kits again.

The were snoozing near the den. Soon that became too strenuous and they retreated back in the den for a longer nap. I gave up before they reappeared. The highlight of my time was what was either a phoebe or a kingbird chased some insect into the blind, nabbed it and quickly departed.

Thursday I tried again with the kits.

This time, both kits were out and wrestling in front of the den.

I’d arrived just in time for the end of wrestling. The kits had a good look around outside the den before disappearing back inside.

Friday morning’s forecast didn’t look promising when I went to bed. When I got up, the forecast had improved to showing a couple hours of ‘mostly cloudy.’ I decided to give the kits another try. Which was the correct choice as the low clouds cleared and it was soon sunny enough to heat the blind enough to slowly roast me. An added benefit was what seemed like the entire population of mosquitoes and ticks had taken shelter in there with me. The phoebe or kingbird made a reappearance, zooming into the blind, around my head and back out in less time than it takes to write about it. No idea if he’d nabbed a meal.

Only one kit was on duty Friday. She came out of the den to nap in the sunshine.

She finished her nap with a stretch and a big yawn.

She dug some improvements on the spot she likes to nap.


Before settling back in to test it out with another nap.

Fox kits are like cats in that you can tell the temperature from the length of a sleeping kit.

After a time, she got curious and explored in the brush near the den.

Then she settled back in before I had to head out.

The cameras in our bluebird boxes are working again, albeit with some kinks. Bluebirds explored the south box for a time and gave up. A few days later I noticed them around the north box and fiddled with the camera to get up and running. They seemed to have claimed the box. There’s third box nearby that has been claimed by wrens. The wrens were successful at driving the bluebirds out. A pair of tree swallows has now claimed the bluebird box and are being very vigilant about the wrens. The wrens seem much less aggressive towards the swallows. Bluebirds would be a direct competitor for food, both bluebirds and wrens foraging along the grass. Swallows hunt in the air. Is that enough of a difference for the wrens to accept swallows as neighbors?

I’ll get around to editing some of the footage of the story so far and start to follow the swallows’ progress with some posts soon.

Want to learn to take your own wildlife photos? I’ll be speaking to the Upper Valley Camera Club at the AVA Gallery, 11 Bank Street, Lebanon, NH next Tuesday, June 10 at 6:30 pm. The talk is aimed at folks with a 35mm camera with interchangeable lenses. Hopefully, I’ll have lots of useful tips. Free and everyone welcome, but they request you register beforehand at
https://avagallery.org/event/june-monthly-meeting/.

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