Mothers (or fathers) and babies can be adorable. Loons certainly fall into this category. There seems to be something about this ancient species that is very attractive to many of us. The photos in this blog were taken on Lake Mascoma July 3 and 4, 2017.
Jann and I took an early morning hike near Lake Mascoma July 3rd. Near the end of our walk we heard a loon call. Peering through the shrubs between us and the lake we spotted a loon carrying a chick.
We hustled home and by 7:30 AM I had launched my kayak. I was carrying a camera with a long lens. Normally I prefer to stop photographing loons by this time in the morning as loon photos are best when the sun is very low. But I came to take photos, so that is what I did for the next 30 minutes. Here are a few from the first morning with the chick.
On July 4th, I launched my kayak in the early mist just after 5:30 AM.
The light was low so I paddled up and down both shores for 20 minutes before photographing my first loon. The warm light of dawn and the mist on the lake gave the first photos I took a soft quality.
The second parent arrived, and I was able to capture a feeding sequence. Whatever the chick got was quite small.
A few minutes later when the sun broke through, the character of the light changed dramatically.
One parent departed. I think they did a switch but I couldn’t be sure. I drifted with the parent and chick for 20 minutes taking a number of photos.
When the second parent returned it swam right by my drifting kayak. I got two photos of it 3 seconds apart with very different light and reflections.
But it would be another 25 minutes before the chick was fed again. Meanwhile the chick waited patiently on its parent’s back.
Finally a parent arrived with a fish. Unfortunately, the parent circled the chick and fed it out of sight. Oh, well…
It was a great two mornings — quite unexpected.
