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.
Another delivery, more thrashing.
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.
Very 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 found a steady supply of crayfish.
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…..
OK, we got this!
We’re up! This time it’s gonna work!
Look dad! No feet!
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.
Exciting chick flight photos, and a delightful group shot of deer! Maybe the ‘extra’ doe was an ‘aunt’… in our experience maybe. This summer we have plenty of Black bear instead, not our idea of a good time!
Another great post, Ian. I enjoyed the deer adventures particularly. I was on the Weston’s pond this evening and worried because I didn’t see the younguns. I hope they were just hiding out elsewhere.
Thank you for the update even the sad news.
Exciting chick flight photos, and a delightful group shot of deer! Maybe the ‘extra’ doe was an ‘aunt’… in our experience maybe. This summer we have plenty of Black bear instead, not our idea of a good time!
You do a wonderful caring job of following the wildlife in your area. Kudos.
Thanks
I love all of your loon stories, but the deer were an extra special addition. Sad to hear about Mrs. Loon.
Thank you!
loved these pictures, and the deer were a bonus, beautiful.Was sad to hear of mama loon`s passing, dad will bw a busy loon.
Another great post, Ian. I enjoyed the deer adventures particularly. I was on the Weston’s pond this evening and worried because I didn’t see the younguns. I hope they were just hiding out elsewhere.