Last week I had a chance to visit with the Middletons on a foggy morning, here’s a brief update.
And, I’ve gotten a slew of new subscribers in the past week. Welcome. I follow loons on three ponds every year. To protect their privacy, I don’t share which ponds. But the loons on the pond to my east are the ‘Eastons,’ the loons to my west are the ‘Westons.’ The pond in the middle hosts the Middletons.
This coming weekend, I’ll be at the Artrider Fall Crafts at Lyndhurst Show in Tarrytown, NY. Stop by and say hello. All the details about the show are on Artrider’s site https://www.artrider.com/fall-crafts-at-lyndhurst-2024.
Next, I’ll be teaching a workshop, Photographing Your Student Athlete at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester on September 28. This is designed for parents with kids playing in Little League through varsity. We’ll be working with cameras with interchangeable lenses, if you’re shooting with a phone, this may not be for you. All the details on the Currier’s site https://currier.org/class/photography-in-motion-with-ian-clark/.
Just a couple more…. I’ll be giving my slideshow An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon at the Town Hall in Richford, VT, Saturday, October 5 at 10 am and again at the Hartland, VT, Public Library on November 6. Still working to find the exact time, but it will be something like 5 pm. I’ll post when we get it finalized.
On to the loons… The Middleton chicks were 11-weeks-old when I visited last week. They look like they’re doing well. Dad (he’s banded) was the only adult on the pond. This time of year, it is likely that mom took some time off and is resting on a nearby pond. You’ll see why she needed a break below.
The chicks are pretty independent and are perfectly capable of foraging for themselves. That doesn’t stop them from demanding food from the parents. Here’s one of our chicks resting as the sun rises.
Dad appeared out of the fog and gave a nice stretch.
He was quickly joined by one of the hungry chicks.
I love watching the sun filter through the fog and trees. It makes getting a good shot challenging, but when it works, it’s wonderful.
One of the chicks gives a nice stretch.
The other chick tracked dad down and started pestering him for a meal. The chicks will poke at, and pull feathers on their parent when they want a meal. They usually aim for the parent’s neck or breast. And they’re persistent. This time of year, I often see parents hand off a meal and almost immediately dive again to get away from the chick. Dad wasn’t interested in diving and suffered the consequences. The first photo I have of this chick getting in his face was at 07:42, the chick was still at it when I left at 08:30. I’m convinced this is why the parents are the first to leave the pond in the fall.
Dad turned away from the chick and tried to stretch his leg. The chick was content to give it a good tug.
Back around front, the chick tries poking dad’s chin.
Then the chick tries a little lower….
Dad still isn’t getting the hint but our chick isn’t giving up….
Dad tries to put some space between him and the chick. But the chick isn’t having it….
The chick tries dad’s neck again…. Look at the chick’s upper bill, you can see he’s gotten under dad’s feathers.
Dad is slow on the uptake this morning and the chick gets in a good poke. Dad is probably deliberately ignoring the chick to get him to forage on his own.
A closer view of the next pinch…..
The chick moves around to the back of the neck again – he’s got a good bite of dad.
En garde!
Dad still isn’t taking the hint, the chick tries the left side of his neck…
As I was getting ready to head out, our chick gave a nice stretch.
I hope to get back out to visit the families again next week, will update when I can.
Nice, as usual
Thanks
I feel like I have an extended family. I look forward to seeing you in Hartland.
Thanks, see you in Hartland