Update on Our Loon Families

On June 30, 2024 - Loons, Photography, Wildlife Photography

There’s news – good and disappointing – from our three loon families.

I’ll be at the Blake Memorial Library’s Art, House and Garden Tour July 6 & 7. The Library is in Corinth, VT, the Tour takes you around Corinth and Topsham. I’ll be set up at the Topsham Town Hall. All the details here.

I made it up to visit the Eastons on the 25th. They were in the window where their eggs could hatch. Sadly, I found an empty nest. The water was up to the lip of the nest and had probably been higher the days before my visit. The good news is that it looks like they’re going to try again. They were defending an island where they used to nest. I hadn’t realized they’d claimed the island until I attempted to beach my boat to fiddle with my gear. Dad explained that I had to go. So I did.

Update: I visited the pond again Sunday afternoon, there was a loon sitting a new nest.

When I arrived, there was an intruder on the pond. They wailed at each other for a time before the intruder retreated to the far end of the pond. Some time later, he? departed.

The home team cruised peacefully around their pond for much of the morning.

In a recent email, John Cooley of the Loon Preservation Committee mentioned he’d seen loons yodel at low flying aircraft, something I’d never noticed. This morning, mom started wailing for no apparent reason. Shortly afterwards, a light plane appeared.

The LPC is a great resource for loon info. Over the years, John has been very generous answering my endless questions. Thanks John!

The Middletons were out and about when I visited on Friday. The chicks are growing rapidly and appear to be in good health. When I arrived, there was a thick fog on the pond. I had to make two circuits before finding the loons in deep shadows as the sun rose.

They were feeding in shallow water along the shore. The sun was rising behind the trees.

The chicks are now two-weeks-old. They’ve more than doubled in size.

Even chicks can give a nice wing stretch. One was working on diving skills. He? was managing to stay under almost 15 seconds.

A good look at one of the chicks waiting for the next course to be delivered.

The parents kept busy delivering breakfast. They’re dropping the prey in front of the chicks and making the chicks catch it for themselves. The chicks are getting better at it, but still take a couple tries much of the time.

Mom and dad have noticed an immature eagle flying over the pond. The eagle went on his way without stopping.

When I last posted, Mrs. Weston hadn’t been seen for five days and I feared the worst. Later in the summer, it is common for one of the parents to disappear for a couple days. Probably for R&R on a nearby pond. I was concerned as the chicks were very young and it seemed she was gone a long time.

Just after I posted the last time, a friend on the pond messaged to tell me she appeared to be back. When I visited Thursday a week ago, she was indeed back with the family. When I asked where she’d been, she refused to answer. Loons can be like that.

The family spent a peaceful morning, foraging and slowly touring their pond.

The parents took turns hauling groceries to the chick.

Want to help the loon conservation effort? The loon census is coming up on Saturday, July 20. The idea is to get volunteers to check all the ponds at the same time to get an accurate count of all the loons and chicks. All you need to do is go for a paddle around your pond and count the loons. For more details or to volunteer in Vermont, see the Vermont Center for Ecostudies’ site, https://vtecostudies.org/projects/lakes-ponds/common-loon-conservation/loonwatch/participate/. In New Hampshire, check out the Loon Preservation Committee’s site at https://loon.org/census/.

baby loons, birds, chicks, loon chicks, loons

Posts Tagged: chicks

Update on Our Loon Families

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