I made it up to visit the Eastons Tuesday morning and met their chick. Wednesday found me back visiting them and yesterday I dropped in on the Middletons.
The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair is coming up quickly. We’ll be at the Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, NH from Saturday August 2 to Sunday August 10. I’m in tent seven with note cards, my 2026 calendar and lots of prints. I’m busy printing new images including loons, herons, owls, a lighthouse and more. Stop by and have a look.
The Eastons got off to a late start this spring. The Middletons did too. I wonder if all the rain delayed their plans? The Eastons hatched their chicks the third weekend in June for several years. Last year, they lost their first clutch of eggs, the second clutch didn’t hatch until the third week of July. This year they laid two eggs, one didn’t hatch.
When I arrived, mom was foraging near the boat launch. She disappeared while I was unloading the boat.
The intruder hid behind my boat for a few moments before diving. Dad dove too and I lost track of both of them. Over the next half hour, I got brief glimpses of both surfacing – staying low – stalking each other. They hadn’t come to any conclusion by the time I had to leave.
Yesterday’s forecast was for thunderstorms at dawn. When I got up and looked out, we had clear skies with some fog down in the valley. I headed out to call on the Middletons. I found the family foraging in their favorite breakfast cove well before sunup.
Mom dove. I thought she was just foraging. She popped up outside the cove. That was a bit unusual.
The clouds were moving in and the wind came up. I headed home to get to work.
Back on July 3, Chris Roberts, who runs the great Vermont birding – PLUS Facebook group, offered to show me some of his favorite spots along the Connecticut Shore. They were all well west of what little Connecticut Shore I’d explored.
Chris is a serious, hardcore birder. Meaning he’s nuts. I offered to drive and asked how early we’d have to leave to get to the shore for sunrise. He was game for me to pick him up at 0300. That’s cool, unfortunately I was going to pick him up some 80 miles south of me. Hitting the road at 0130 to be on location for sunrise isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Along the way to pick him up, I got my closest ever look at a black bear. I didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I’d have liked, I was too busy standing up on the brake pedal. The bear sauntered onto route 91 and stopped in my lane to see what was coming. I managed to stop with 20 or 25 feet to spare. The bear had a good look at me and continued on his errand.
We arrived at the beach as the sun rose and set out to see what we could find.
At the next spot, we found a pool with several herons and egrets. Chris spotted a tricolored heron, I saw a clump of brush. We moved on.
Lots of interesting critters to watch and photograph. I’m looking forward to getting down there again for a longer stay.
OK, a long overdue update on the Eastons and Westons. My apologies, I set a new record and managed to disable all three of my PCs at once. It has been a long week….
The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair is coming up August 2nd to the 10th at the Mount Sunapee Resort. I’ll be there with prints, cards and 2026 calendars. I’m in Tent 7, stop by and have a look.
Want a quick and simple way to help our loons? Every year, the loon conservation organizations conduct a census of the loons in their area on the third Saturday of July. The idea is to get observers on every likely loon territory at the same time. The more territories observed, the better the accuracy of the count. The census is taken between 8 and 9 am – a fairly tight window to keep from over or undercounting loons that travel. You can help by volunteering to check a lake or pond that needs an observer. If you’re volunteering in New Hampshire, see the info on the Loon Preservation Committee’s site here. Vermonters can find information on the Vermont Center for EcoStudies’ site here. Other states will be participating. If you’re interested in helping and can’t find your state’s info with a web search, let me know, I’ll try to track it down. The LPC is also hosting their Loon Festival after the count – starting at 10am – at the Loon Center, 183 Mill Road in Moultonborough, NH. Free, family friendly and open to everyone. Info here.
I spent several hours with both the families last weekend, but came away with few photos. Mr. Easton was still sitting on the nest. Mom spent the morning leisurely cruising and foraging around the pond. There were a number – something like six or eight – beavers working late into the morning.
The next morning, I ventured out to visit the Westons. The Westons usually ignore me in the early part of the season. Once the chicks hatch, all mammals are persona non grata on their pond. Just after the holiday weekend, they were less sociable than usual. If you’re out trying to photograph loons, pay attention to their mood. There are days they’re comfortable with people about and will go about their business – often close to someone sitting still in a boat. Other times, they don’t want to be near anyone, please respect their wishes.
I’ll be heading back to check on the families again as soon as we get a couple nice mornings.
Early on the Fourth of July, I got up, looked out and saw lots of stars. And some fog down in the valley. From above, it didn’t look very thick, I set out to visit the Middletons and their chick. (As my naming scheme would suggest, I’m calling the chick ‘Littleton’)
An update on the Eastons coming soon!
Monday morning was clear when I got up, but with some fog hugging the Connecticut River below us. I figured it would lift quickly enough and it was worth a trip to check on the Middletons.
The videos of the tree swallows in the nesting box stopped after the chicks came to a sad end. The kestrel returned and took the last two chicks. Tough to watch, but that’s the way nature works. The wrens are raising their chicks in another box about 24 feet away from this one. I was surprised to see a second family of wrens claim the tree swallow’s box within the hour of the kestrel getting the chicks.
When I arrived at the Middletons’ pond, it was still in a thick fog – visibility was limited to something like 100 feet. I set out looking for the loons.
They weren’t so lucky – as I was pulling the boat out I heard dad yodeling and lots of wing rowing as the intruder came back.
Intruders will try to kill the chick or a parent if they can. The fight is for the territory. With a chick the home team has great incentive to hold onto the territory. If they lose it or a mate, they may give up and relinquish the territory. I expect we’ll see more skirmishing with the intruder.
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!
Sad news today, we lost either two or three chicks. Just after last night’s post a kestrel was trying to get into the box. The swallows chased him off, only to have him return. They successfully drove him off and all the chicks were fine when I went to bed last night.
Today, the chicks are hiding under the feathers that the parents brought in to cover the eggs and chicks. I can’t decide if there are two or three chicks left.
The chicks in the box seem to be doing well, they’re moving around under the feathers and pop up when a parent delivers a meal.
We’re watching our nine-day-old tree swallow chicks in their camera-equipped box. We had another very hot day today, the chicks spent much of it squirming, apparently trying to get comfortable. We just a had a brief thunderstorm which has cooled things down a bit. Several meals were delivered and the chicks have settled in for a nap.
Our tree swallows had a hot day in the box today. The thermometer in the car said it got to 97° this afternoon. The box is shaded from late morning on, sparing the the worst of the day. All five chicks seem to be doing well.
A good look at our seven-day-old tree swallow chicks this evening. We’re having a hot afternoon here in West Newbury, the chicks are sprawled out trying to cool off.
The cameras are mounted inside the box letting us watch without disturbing the birds. The cameras have their quirks. They record in color when there’s enough light and switch to black and white and turn on infrared emitters in low light. They’re slow to adapt to the change in light as the swallows come and go.