Posts in Category: Turtles

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

My 2025 Favorite Photos

On January 1, 2026 - Bears, Foxes, Herons, Owls, Shorebirds, Turtles

Here’s a roundup of my favorite photos from my adventures in 2025.

I’ll be showing my slideshow on visiting the puffins on Machias Seals Island at 2:30 pm on Sunday March 22 at the Tenney Memorial Library, Route 5, Newbury, VT. Free and everyone welcome. And, stay tuned, the Piermont, NH, Library wants me do a slideshow of the best of 2025. We’re checking the dates the hall is available. It should be one of the first three Sundays in March.

And it is last call for my 2026 Wildlife Calendar. I’ve got only a few left, you can get yours on my site here. There are lots of images available in many sizes from note cards to wall art.

OK, the critters….

Last winter, I took several trips to the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts coasts. The goal was to find owls.

This is Leo, the long-eared owl. He’s on my list. There were three long-eared owls living in about half an acre of trees alongside a parking lot. Even in that small a hideout, they were discouragingly hard to find. I spent about 40 hours waiting for them to move out to sun themselves. Without success. And, it didn’t help that every photographer east of the Mississippi would stop by to show me shots they’d taken of all three owls sitting together in perfect light in the open. This was the clearest shot I could get.

There were several snowy owls around the coast. They all seemed to have found perches that kept the crowds at a distance.

There are a couple screech owls that have gained fame with the photographers. They were more kind, snoozing in openings of their nests.

Another screech owl snoozing in his doorway.

My first few excursions out in the spring found the early ducks returning. Here’s Mrs. Mallard taking a bath.

And Mr. Mallard got a little too rambunctious while bathing…..

Wood ducks are always a treat to photograph.

Another screech owl, this time peering out as he gets ready for an evening out.

Another trip out found another wood duck.

Sometimes you don’t even need a cute critter to make a nice photo.

In early June, I retuned to the shore, just in time to catch the first piping plover chicks hatching. These chicks are one day old.

The chicks hide under their parents for protection and to keep warm.

But they’re capable of foraging by themselves. This chick attempted to nab a fly. The fly was lucky, and managed to climb atop the chick’s bill. The chick wore the fly around a bit before the fly took off to live to fly another day.

The chicks are only about the size of cotton ball and don’t seem to fit their legs. They’re capable of short bursts of speed but often look awkward when they’re walking.

He’ll soon get the hang of this walking stuff….

The chicks scoot along the beach using the grass as cover.

The beach also had a large colony of common and least terns. They’re constantly coming and going. And, they’re not shy about dive bombing anyone that disturbs them. The males carry fish around to present to the ladies. If the lady accepts the fish, they become a pair for the season.

This may be the world’s most inept male tern. He presented the fish to his lady and she showed she was receptive. But the male didn’t catch on for some time, with the female presenting and chirping away until he figured it out.

Here’s a pair of common terns doing a synchronized dance as a courtship display.

And completing the dance just before mating.

On one of my early trips out in the kayak, this veery showed up as I was loading up. He? sat on a branch that was overhanging my car, just about at eye level. He was unperturbed when I put the boat on the roof, and soon was foraging almost underfoot. I took the hint and got the camera back out.

Male red-winged blackbirds are early arrivals. They’re easy to spot before the reeds grow up. This guy was finding small bugs in last year’s cattails.

And, just when I thought I had my ducks in a row…..

I watched a fox den for a time in the spring. There were two or three kits, but usually only one would come out at at time.

A little later in the summer, I explored some of the beaches along the Connecticut shore and found more piping plover chicks.

And several northern diamondback terrapins out laying eggs above the high-water mark.

There were several pairs of American oystercatchers on the beaches. The oystercatcher banders are good at banding – I couldn’t find one that wasn’t banded.

Hank heron made himself scarce in the spring, but by early summer he was back at his post along the loons’ pond.

One foggy morning, I took just a couple photos of the loons through the thick fog. I pulled the boat out and had it atop the car when I noticed these deer had come out of the brush along the shore. I’m amazed they hadn’t spotted me in the open. I ducked behind the car and had about 20 minutes watching them forage and frolic before they finally did spot me.

I think the fawns are twins, and a second doe was traveling with the family.

Another morning finds Hank again posing nicely.

In September, I visited southeastern Alaska. I took the ferry from Juneau to Haines before going on to Skagway. The scenery from the ferry is amazing. Here’s the Sentinel Island Lighthouse we passed north of Juneau.

The attraction in Haines is the brown bears. I was able to spend four days – four rainy days – along the Chilcott River watching the bears fishing for salmon.

This is a first-year cub. One of a litter of four, a real rarity for bears.

This is brown bear 925 to the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Department’s biologists. Her friends call her Lulu. She’s the mother of the four cubs.

There were several families around, Lulu with her four cubs, another mother with three second-year cubs and at least three mothers with twins. This is a second year cub. Still traveling with mom, but getting ready to head out on his own.

One of the mothers chasing down a salmon in the river.

And one of the mom’s with her catch. I double-dog dare you to try to take it away from her.

One of the second-year cubs chases after a salmon.

Lulu enjoying her catch while sitting in the river. I love that the fish is big enough that she has to use her back leg to help hold it up.

And one of the moms in action in the water.

Moving on to Skagway, I spent four days photographing the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. The have a working steam engine, 2-8-2 no. 73. No. 73 is a three-foot gauge Baldwin, built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 1947. The railroad put on quite a show for us. Here we’re in Pennington, British Columbia, along Lake Bennett.

Still on the WP&Y, this time in Bennett, BC.

The next day, again at Bennett, BC, with Lake Bennett in the background.

This time in Fraser, BC with Teepee Peak and Jack Peak in the background.

And back in Skagway, crossing the East Branch of the Skagway River.

And no. 73 clinging to the Mountain at Inspiration Point in Skagway.

And in a classic shot, we’re back in Skagway with the train coming out of a tunnel and crossing a beautiful trestle.

Heading back to Juneau and my flight home, the ferry passed passed Eldred Rock Lighthouse.

And we had a beautiful moonrise not long before we reached Juneau. There was a great display of the northern lights later that night – so I hear. With an early flight out, I was tucked in bed.

Back in Vermont, I again headed to the coast to hunt for owls.

Leo had just returned for the winter. He still wouldn’t cooperate. I’m not giving up….

Happy New Year! Best wishes for 2026!

brown bear. screech owl, long-eared owl, owl, snowy owl

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

Along the Connecticut Shore

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

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

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

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

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