Puffins, et al, on Machias Seal Island
Machias Seal Island in the Bay of Fundy hosts large colonies of Atlantic puffins, razorbills and common murres, along with smaller numbers of common and arctic terns every summer. When I first heard about the island, I heard there were 2,000-4,000 puffins that nested there. Later I heard estimates of 4,000-6,000 and 6,000 to 8,000 puffins. The flock of murres was either slightly larger, or slightly smaller than the flock of puffins. This visit, I heard there were 8,000 pairs of puffins. So, I remain confused about how many birds there actually are. But, on a 15 acre (at high tide) island, there are plenty.
You have to visit the island with a tour. There are tour operators in Cutler, Maine and on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. The Maine operator sells his season out in minutes when he starts sales in January. This year, I ventured to Grand Manan with a friend to visit the island.
Puffins, razorbills and murres all live at sea and come ashore only to raise their young. We’re getting late in the season. Most of the razorbills and murres have fledged their chicks and returned to the sea. It was hard to tell how many puffins were still around. We had a hot day and many of them seemed to be in the water around the island. And, when they arrived on the island, they were usually hauling food for the pufflings. They’d land and quickly hop down into their burrow to feed the puffling.
Probably won’t have time for any updates until after the League Fair. I’ll be out to check on the loons as soon as I can.
Battle for the Easton’s Pond
Sunday morning, the sky looked like there was a chance of some sunshine. I headed out to visit the Eastons. There was a light fog with hints of blue sky above when I arrived at the pond. And, it was a very pleasant 55° when I launched. The fog rapidly lifted for a beautiful morning. Our loon family was all together and the parents were both feeding the chicks.
One parent went north, one went south. It wasn’t long before the one to the south sounded an alert. The one to the north went steaming down the pond at a good clip.
Loon Chicks at Five Weeks
The rain let up enough for me to get out to check on all three loon families this week. And, I only got caught in a shower once.
The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair is coming right up, August 5th through the 12th. I’ll be down there with lots of wildlife and other photos. Stop by booth 726 and say hello. All the details for the fair are here.
I visited the Middletons last night. They’re the ones that lost their chick. On the last visit, they showed signs they might be courting again. That was before the heavy rains and flooding. We were spared the worst of the flooding, but did get significant rain. A friend on the pond has kept me updated. She says the loons have had one or two intruders on the pond regularly. When I visited, the hummock where they’ve nested the last several years has been washed away, with no sign of another nesting spot. There was an intruder on the pond, with some circling and posturing but no outright fights.
This morning, the forecast was for rain and thundershowers. When I got up, there were stars visible. I headed out to check on the Westons. One of the adults and two chicks were foraging not far from the boat launch. The other adult soon came down the pond to join them. They were in shadows, I headed up the pond to see who else might be about. The rain held off until I got to the other end of the pond. I had a soggy retreat.
On Wednesday morning, the forecast was mixed and there were a couple stars between clouds when I got up. I took a chance and headed east to visit the Eastons.
Checking in on the Loon Families
Bad weather and too many chores kept me from checking on the loons for a time. When the weather cleared this week, I was quick to hit the water.
I’ll be down at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s 90th annual Fair in Sunapee, NH, August 5th to the 13th. Stop by to have a look. All the Fair details here.
Let’s start with a few pix of the Eastons from the day after my last post. The chicks are two and three days old. This is the pair where dad is banded, allowing me to tell them apart – sometimes.
That evening, I made it over to check on the Middletons.
The next morning, I returned to visit the Eastons. They spent most of their morning feeding the chicks.
The morning of the sixth, I headed west to check on the Westons. Their pond has steep hills on both sides of the southern end of the pond. The family spent most of the morning foraging in deep shadows along the side of the pond. I headed out to see who else was about.
The usual suspects were out and about, kingbirds, red-winged blackbirds, lots of warblers seen not heard. But the best find was a trio of tree swallow fledglings and their parents feeding them.
The Eastons Have Two Chicks
The last three years, the Eastons have hatched their chicks the third Friday and Saturday of June. I’d visited last Friday without any sign of chicks. Monday’s forecast suggested a chance I’d not get rained on. I headed out to visit the Eastons in a thick fog.
The weather improved throughout the day, I went to visit the Middletons in the evening. Our off duty parent was preening for some time before giving a series of four stretches.
I’ll try to keep up with all three families through the summer. If you know someone who might be interested in following along, please share my blog with them.
First Loon Chicks Have Arrived
UPDATE: We’ve got a second pair of chicks that have hatched since I posted this. Lots of pix in their own post at here.
The weather final cleared enough to let me get back out to check on our three loon families. Well, sort of. I got very wet the first evening and made it back to the car with seconds to spare the second.
First, there’s some sad news from Vermont, the oldest known loon in Vermont has died. His age was estimated at 31 years. VT Diggerhttps://vtdigger.org/2023/06/15/vermonts-oldest-loon-dies-at-the-estimated-age-of-31/ has a piece interviewing Eric Hanson, Lead Biologist at the Loon Conservation Project about the loon.
With loon chicks hatching it is once again time to request that you give them space if you go to see or photograph them. You may not intend them any harm, but you may distract the parents from seeing other threats. Our new loon chicks were greeted by a circling eagle on their first or second day out. The parents need to concentrate on the real threats, keep back and let them do their job. All the images of chicks here were with a 600mm lens and heavily cropped.
Tuesday evening I got a message from a friend on the Weston’s pond that the chicks had arrived. And that the eagle was eyeing them. Wednesday morning was wet and windy. It gradually cleared a bit through the day. I set out in the evening to check on the chicks. It was sunny when I left the house. On the way into the pond, I had to wait while a doe browsed from the road – with her fawn gamboling about in the road. By the time I had everything in the boat, there were a few sprinkles. Not enough to dissuade in intrepid photographer.
Thursday evening, I went back to check on the Westons. This time with just a couple puffy clouds in the sky.
This morning, I was up and out by 0430, with clouds above and fog below me as I headed to see the Eastons. They’re up in the White Mountain National Forest, they were on their nest by the time the Forest Service got the road to the pond open, so we don’t know when to expect the chicks. But, the last three years, they’ve hatched in the third weekend of June, so soon…..
I’ll be out looking for the rest of our chicks as soon as we get a break in the weather.
Link to the newer post: https://blog.ianclark.com/photography/wildlife-photography/the-eastons-have-two-chicks/
Bluebirds Going for a Second Brood
After the first chicks fledged, I’d see bluebirds around the edge of our field occasionally, but their activities were no longer centered around the house. Monday afternoon, I noticed both mom and dad talking from several perches near the house. Yesterday, mom popped into the box to do some quick upgrades and returned this morning to lay an egg.
We’re watching eastern bluebirds in a nesting box with a camera installed inside to let us watch without disturbing them. The camera switches to black & white in low light. And, the exposure control stinks, that’s why it washes out or goes black as a bird comes or goes.
Checking in with the Loon Families
With the beautiful weather we had last week, I was out morning and evening every day checking in on all three loon families along with their neighbors. The Forest Service road to the Easton’s pond is now passible so I finally got up to check on them.
A raft of new subscribers joined us this last week. If you found me from the Paradise City show, thanks for stopping by. For the new visitors, to protect the loon families, I don’t publish their location on the web. Not everyone on the web has wildlife’s best interests at heart. The three families I follow are the ‘Eastons,’ on the easternmost pond I frequent, the ‘Westons’ are on the westernmost and the ‘Middletons’ are in the middle.
The first visit to the Eastons was last Tuesday evening. There was a strong wind kicking up the occasional whitecap. On my first lap around the pond, I didn’t spot any loons and last year’s nesting site was untouched. After time, one adult loon appeared, foraging lazily. The chop was too much for photos and the black flies had decided I was the buffet, so I called an early quit and headed home.
Wednesday morning, I headed out to see the Westons.
Wednesday evening, I dropped in on the Middletons. It was well into the 90s. In previous years, the nest was fairly exposed to the afternoon sun and the loon with afternoon nest duty often sat in full sun for a couple hours. I headed over to check on the nest. On my way, the resident osprey took a fish from just a few yards in front of me. Of course, I didn’t see him until he was just a few feet above the water, I had to watch instead of taking photos.
Thursday morning I headed back to visit the Eastons, hoping both had returned. There was no wind, it was a perfect morning just to be out on the water, even better for photos. As I headed down the pond, I quickly spotted a loon sitting on the bank a couple hundred feet from the previous nesting site. Studies of banded loons suggest that if they are successful in hatching chicks in a nesting site, they’ll reuse the site. The literature says the male picks the site, I hoped our male had returned (I want all my critters to live long happy lives before retiring to Boca Raton.) The male on the pond the last few years was banded, I wanted to get a look at their legs.
Friday morning, I packed up the Loon Preservation Committee’s nesting sign and headed back to the Eastons.
We’re Expecting!
The weather kept me from visiting the loons for several days. I was out to see the Middletons last Thursday, May 18. I didn’t get back until last evening. And I had a chance to visit the Westons this morning. Let’s see how they’re doing.
I’ll be at the Paradise City Art Show in Northampton, MA this coming weekend. Stop by and say hello. I’ll have lots of prints, from small to large, and note cards with lots of critters. All the show details here.
Last Thursday was another chilly morning, with a little bit of fog on the water.
I returned yesterday evening, much to the delight of the black flies.
This morning I headed off to check in on the Westons. It became a beautiful morning after a chilly 38° start, with lots of nice fog on the water. The last few years, the Westons have been about a week behind the Middletons in mating and nesting. They must have a new calendar this year.
This handsome fellow was out celebrating World Turtle Day today. As good a reason to go wild as any!
It will be next week before I get a chance to get back to check on them. I’ll let you know what I find. Enjoy the holiday weekend and please remember the U.S. military personnel who gave their lives to protect us
We Say ‘Good Bye’ to The Bluebirds
All four chicks fledged within a few minutes of each other this morning. Unfortunately, the network dropped not long before they did and we didn’t get any video. This video is within the hour of them fledging. I’ve got a new camera and router to install if I can get to it before they try a second brood.
I was able to get out to visit the Middletons this evening. There was a loon sitting on last year’s nesting site. An update post shortly.