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.

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

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.

Sunday morning I went back up to visit them.

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.

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.

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.

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!