News From the Eastons

There’s great news from the Eastons! I’ve been up to visit them a couple times this past week. They’ve been sitting on their second clutch of eggs. They lost the first clutch, I suspect the nest was flooded, but we’ll never know. Let’s see how their doing. (The Eastons are the easternmost of the loon families I follow. My blog has gotten popular enough that I need to protect the loons’ privacy.)

The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair kicks off Saturday August 3 and runs through Sunday August 11 at the Mount Sunapee Resort in Sunapee, NH. I’ll have lots of new images, from note cards to 20×30″ wall art. Stop by booth 718 to have a look. All the details about the Fair are on the League’s site, www.NHCrafts.org

When I visited the Eastons on July 21, they had a chick and were still sitting on an egg. I returned on July 22 well before dawn and found the same situation.

Common loon
Dad was on the nest and snuggling with the chick.

Common loon sitting on a nest
Mom soon appeared and checked in for shift change. I was watching eagerly when they swapped, but couldn’t see what was going on with the second egg.

Common loon
Dad returned, bringing a fish for the chick.

Common loon sitting on a nest
The chick was eager for breakfast and headed out to meet dad. Watch that first step! Still seeing only the one chick.

male loon feeding his chick near his nest while mom sits on the nest
Dad delivering breakfast while mom looks on. I’m really happy with this image. Does it have sort of a Normal Rockwell feel?

Female loon turning egg in her nest
Mom stood – to turn the egg. You can see it in front of her left leg.

male loon with chick
Dad took the chick about 100 feet from the nest to feed it while mom watched from the nest. Every time dad would dive, mom would sit up and hoot. After a couple dives, she started wailing at dad when he surfaced. Dad dove a few more times, feeding the chick. Each time mom got louder and more strident. Dad started answering back, each wail louder and longer than the last. You didn’t need to speak loon to understand they were squabbling.

Common loon on nest
Dad returned the chick to the nest and everyone quieted down.


I had to head out, hoping the second egg would hatch.

This morning, I headed back, again before dawn.

common loon stretching
While scanning the lake for the family, mom gave a wing stretch, letting me know where they were.

Loon carrying chick on his back
Dad was cruising peacefully, with only one chick showing on his back.

Common loons
For the better part of half an hour, dad kept cruising slowly as mom started feeding the chick.

Common loon with chicks
Only when dad stood to stretch did I see a second chick. Yeah! Both chicks appear healthy – they’re active, feed eagerly and have already grown noticeably.

Common loon feeding chicks
Both parents then got to work bringing food. Here’s dad with a small morsel.

loon feeding chick
And mom trying to deliver a crayfish bigger than the chick’s head. She offered the crayfish to both chicks several times.

common loon feeding chick
Eventually, one of the chicks decided to give it a try.

Common loons feeding chicks
The chick dropped the crayfish several times, with mom retrieving it each time. Here mom has to wait to retrieve it as dad sails by with a fish for the other chick.

loon feeding chick
Crayfish retrieved, the chick gives it another go….

common loon feeding chick
It took some work, but our chick is up to the challenge!

Common loon feeding chick
Success! What’s next mom?

common loon with chicks
Dad headed off down the lake for his breakfast while mom baby sat.

Common loon with chicks
The chicks settled in for a nap on mom’s back.

Common loon carrying chicks on her back
All this eating really tires a chick out, they’re down for a good snooze.

common loon with chicks
After about 20 minutes, the chicks began to stir.

Common loon with chicks
And a good stretch to get going again.

common loon feeding chicks
Dad returned and got to work providing more food.

common loon feeding chicks
Mom joined in, both parents were repeatedly diving and delivering food.

common loon chicks
Both chicks waiting for the next serving.

common loon feeding chick
Dad is back with another fish.

common loon stretching
After many minutes of feeding, mom stopped to stretch.

That was a good time for me to head home. The League Fair will keep me busy the next couple weeks, it may be a time before I can check up on them again.

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15 Comments

  1. Reply
    Marjorie J Hamel July 27, 2024

    This is so exciting for the Eastons!!

    Thank you for the update!

  2. Reply
    Marilyn Blaisdell July 28, 2024

    Thrilled with the news of the 2nd chick hatching!! The Middletons are doing great!

  3. Reply
    Michael Fiske July 28, 2024

    Great!

  4. Reply
    Jackie July 29, 2024

    So happy to see both chicks enjoying a meal.๐Ÿ’•

  5. Reply
    Judith August 1, 2024

    Ian, your connection with these wild creatures is such a gift and so are the fruits of that connection. I’ve so enjoyed having your photographs at VINS these past weeks. Thank you!

    • Ian Clark headshot
      Reply
      Ian Clark August 1, 2024

      Thanks. The loon exhibit at VINS came down yesterday, I’m working on a great blue heron exhibit and a fox exhibit. Stay tuned!

  6. Reply
    Eugenia Parrish August 1, 2024

    Looking forward to seeing how much they’ve grown when you get back. Thank you for a great start to the morning.

  7. Reply
    Wayne Adams August 1, 2024

    Outstanding photography.
    Curious as to what you use for a camera and lens on these shots.

    Thanks

    Wayne Adams
    Salem

    • Ian Clark headshot
      Reply
      Ian Clark August 2, 2024

      Thanks. I’m using Canon gear. These were shot with either an EOS7DII or an R7. Lenses range from 24-70 to 600 F4.

  8. Reply
    Elaine Hawthorne August 1, 2024

    Beautiful pictures. You made my day!

  9. Reply
    Lois Fitts August 1, 2024

    beautiful camera work! So much detail:-) Glad there are 2 chicks:-) Loons are very special~~

  10. Reply
    Judy Payne August 2, 2024

    Oh such wonderful photos!

  11. Reply
    Don Saliers August 2, 2024

    Let me join the chorus: You are teaching us so much about the loon families, and giving us remarkable images. Thanks, neighbor!

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