After photographing loons on THE POND for many years – film and digital – when no one was there except perhaps Judy, I have been avoiding the crowds that I know have been present in recent years. I don’t believe I have been back to The Pond for over four years.
Yesterday morning Jann and I took a hike that went past a small pond. We spotted a loon family – two adults and two chicks – very near shore. It was too late in the morning for good light, but I couldn’t resist anyway. I waded out two yards and set up my tripod.
I watched and photographed for 15 minutes. The adults dove repeatedly and perhaps 20% of the time came up with a small fish to feed the chicks. Once one surfaced a few yards away from me. The photo on the right showing the loon swimming away is uncropped.
There was a slight breeze which caused the chicks to slowly drift closer to me. Since I was not in a kayak, I did not drift. Several times when a parent would surface after feeding, it would coo softly calling the chicks and then dive almost immediately. The chicks would swim back to the spot where the parents had surfaced. Except for this back-and-forth of the chicks, the family stayed the same distance from me the entire time.
So now I have a secret pond to check out next spring to see if I can get there when the chicks are still young enough to be riding on their parents’ backs.
Here is a brief sequence of one chick getting fed.
If you want to see more loon photos, HERE are the ones that have been published.