The Eastons have a very productive territory – the loons on the pond have been very successful at fledging chicks. Other loons in the area have taken note. And want to take the territory over. Mrs. E has been fighting off an intruder that has repeatedly come in to try to force her off the pond. My previous visit found a male intruder also interested in the territory. I made it up to check on them last Friday. And I’ve made several trips to the Waits River to see what Hank Heron, et al, have been up to.
The Vermont Handcrafters have an exhibit opening at Court Street Arts in Haverhill, NH on Friday, August 28. The reception is from 5 to 8 pm at Court Street Arts (Alumni Hall). We’re getting ready for our Open Studio Tour over Columbus Day Weekend, October 10 & 11, 2026. I’ll have a couple pieces at Court Street Arts and will be set up at the Martin Farm right on the Bradford – Fairlee line for the open tour. Sue Martin, who creates beautiful stained glass is kindly letting me have space near her studio. Stop by to check us out.
Friday morning was a beautiful, if chilly morning. It was 48° when I put the boat in. I kinda wished I’d thought to bring a sweatshirt. The Eastons were feeding the chicks when I arrived before sunup. After watching a bit, Mr. E alerted to something. He lowered himself in the water and headed out stalking something.
After a moment, I spotted a quartet of otters frolicking while they foraged. Otters are threats to the chicks and possibly the adults too. The Easton parents headed up the pond to encourage the otters to go away.
Just as the otters were convinced that they wouldn’t have any peace in the neighborhood, an intruder flew in.
Mr. Easton quickly took out after the intruder. He passed close by my boat on his way to deliver a whooping. After a brief round of wing rowing, the intruder departed. Mr. E took time for a victory stretch.
But the excitement wasn’t done. Within a couple minutes, the female intruder arrived. Mrs. E had to go after her. On a couple of my previous visits, Mrs. E seemed overmatched. The intruder was able to deliver several hits with her wing. But Mrs. E is still winning the war – she hasn’t been forced off the pond. Another shot of Mrs. E going after the intruder.
Friday evening, I went down to the Waits to see if I could get the herons without all the fog. I paddled downstream. As soon as I passed under the railroad, there were great blue herons flying everywhere.
Hank overtook me flying downstream. As he disappeared around some brush, another great blue heron came low upstream. Followed closely by yet another heron. And after a moment, another heron crossed the river ahead of me. When the skies cleared, I took some time to get shots of a handful of least sandpipers foraging on the bank. There’s been a green heron foraging on the east side of the marsh for several evenings. I went to see if he might be around. He was on station, but refused to come out in the open. Herons can be like that. There were several painted turtles taking advantage of the beautiful afternoon. Another turtle basking.
I went back Tuesday evening. The sky was clear of herons on my way downstream. After some looking, I found the green heron in the shadows under a tree. I settled in to wait for him to come out closer to the water – and hopefully into the light. He headed inland. After a few minutes, the heron and a wood duck hen I hadn’t seen both squawked and came hustling out of the brush. My guess was they’d surprised each other moving around.
There was some rustling in the brush and this raccoon came out. He spent several minutes foraging in the open. And here he’s staring me down like I caught him rummaging through the trash….
I went back twice yesterday. I was out in the thick fog before sunup and returned late in the afternoon.
Hank was foraging in the shallows. The wood duck was unimpressed. A full-grown duck is probably too big for a heron to swallow. But if I were a duck, I wouldn’t trust a heron not to try. This duck just sat there. There are working fields nearby. It sounded like someone dumped something from a dump truck. The gate clanging closed got everyone on the move. Hank looked like he was heading upstream. He had only a couple hundred yards to go to one of his favored foraging spots. I had to paddle about half a mile to discover he had gone to breakfast elsewhere. After a little searching, I found one of the green herons foraging in the weeds. The breakfast selection wasn’t great in the weeds, the heron moved out into shallow water. And started stalking a meal….. A quick strike and he came up empty billed. A quick fluff and shake to dry off. Followed by a good head shaking. After a time searching the shallows, he decided to try someplace else. I headed home. The skies were again heron free as I headed downstream in the afternoon. The turtles had reclaimed their perches and were busy taking the sun. The heron wasn’t to be found under his usual tree. A little further along the shore I got my first glimpse of him. After watching a while, he walked down the shore, close enough for a headshot. He tried for a couple meals and came up empty. Then he found a large tadpole – probably a green frog or bullfrog tadpole. It was a sizable meal and took some maneuvering to get down. But he was heroically up to the task.
If you enjoy my blog, please help me out by sharing it with a friend or on social media. Thanks!
Once again the Little Green heron takes the day! Such great shots, very entertaining.
Thanks!
Sharon~
Thank you for the update.
Great imagery Clarkie!