Baby Loon's First Ride
This
image was a month in the making. I wanted to share
an image of a loon chick’s first hours of life
with my viewers. I first had to determine the 1st day
on the nest, then count the incubation period and start
checking near the end of the 25-28 day wait. This is
the loon’s first ride, and the bonus was
the little guy looking right over at me on their
way past.
Loon
with Day-Old Chick
I’d
like to point out that I spent two full years without
a camera in the kayak sitting
with these loons
from a distance just observing and establishing
a trust of sorts. On the third year, I started
photographing
and captured this image of this parent with
her day old chick in a quiet cove of an area
pond.
Loon with Week-Old Chicks
This
loon parent has just finished feeding her chicks
and has settled in for a cruise
around the pond. The
chicks are 7-8 days old here and
only one can still fit on parent’s back at this point. “Back riding” only
lasts 7-10 days depending how fast
the chicks grow.
Loon and Chicks at Sunrise
It’s
5:45am and sunrise. This loon has her two new chicks
with her and
it off for a morning
cruise in
the sun. She is calling her
mate to come relieve her so she can probably go
get some
fish for
breakfast for
herself.
Loon
and Chicks at Dawn
Peaceful moments like this are
part of what I enjoy
sharing with folks. These
two little chicks
are only 2 days old
and are sticking very
close to the parents for sure. This is dawn
at at a favorite
local pond
near my home.
Loon Chicks on Parent's Back
I enjoy sharing images
of loon chicks on
parent’s
backs but this one is somewhat unique. Usually, the background
is either bluish or green depending on the angle of the
sun…But for this
image there was a nice
golden look
that is not
often
seen.
The Wing Flap of the Loon
Some
folks think
the loon
is taking
flight when
they see
this type
of photo. Actually
loons need a
long “runway” of
a couple hundred
feet at least to take flight.
This
loon
has just finished
preening and
fixing her feathers after
many dives
for fish.
They then flap
their wings
like this
to rearrange
the feathers
into place.
Loon Chicks Being Fed
Loon
chicks are fed fish and
crayfish almost
immediately after
hatching. I have
observed then being
fed tiny insects
at first….but for the most part, they get bigger
meals right away. In today’s digital world….I
am able to
shoot this
from a safe
distance
and then
crop down
to show
the detail
of the feeding
session.
