Category Archives: common loons

For the Birds: Camping trip yields quality bird sightings

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A great blue heron stalks the edges of North Pond in Pillsbury State Park in New Hampshire.

A recent camping trip with my son to Pillsbury State Park yielded a slew of quality wildlife sightings.

It started right away as I made my first entry to our remote camping site on the edge of North Pond, one of the smaller ponds at the park. A greater yellowlegs, a relatively large shorebird often seen at freshwater ponds and lakes during migration, worked the shallow water around the rocks looking for morsels.

Three half-mile walks to the car and back later, I headed out for my first canoe ride. It proved to be a bit of a challenge to launch, as the extremely dry weather in New Hampshire had the pond as low as it’s been in years, according to the park ranger.

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Loons up north

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Photo by Chris Bosak – Common loons in Pittsburg, NH.

I took a trip to Pittsburg, NH, near the Canadian border over the weekend. I’ve been going up there for more than 30 years now, although the frequency of my visits has dwindled in the past few years. While the moose sightings have decreased dramatically in the last 10 years or so, the other wildlife never seems to disappoint. Here is a shot of a loon pair I got one extremely foggy morning from my canoe. More photos will follow in the coming days.

Common loon bonanza, part 7

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Photo by Chris Bosak A common loon swims at May Pond in Pillsbury State Park in New Hampshire in June 2019.

Stop posting photos of loons, said no one ever. So, to celebrate Father’s Day, BirdsofNewEngland.com presents a common loon bonanza. Every hour on the hour, a new loon photo will post. All photos were taken earlier this week at Pillsbury State Park in New Hampshire. Happy Father’s Day. Enjoy the loons.

Father’s Day loon bonanza, part 6

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Photo by Chris Bosak A common loon swims at May Pond in Pillsbury State Park in New Hampshire in June 2019.

Stop posting photos of loons, said no one ever. So, to celebrate Father’s Day, BirdsofNewEngland.com presents a common loon bonanza. Every hour on the hour, a new loon photo will post. All photos were taken earlier this week at Pillsbury State Park in New Hampshire. Happy Father’s Day. Enjoy the loons.

Not a turkey, but a nice Thanksgiving sighting

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound in Darien on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27), 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound in Darien on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27), 2014.

I took my boys Andrew and Will on our annual Thanksgiving Duck Hunt (actually a watch) on Thursday. Time was short this year so we hit only a few of our regular spots and no true freshwater ponds, so the number of duck species we found was way down. Our goal each year is 10 different species. This we only got five: Hooded Merganser; American Wigeon; Black Duck; Mallard; and Bufflehead. It was our worst effort in the eight years we’ve been doing it, but again, time was short and the time spent together is the main goal. So mission accomplished in that regard.

We did get a nice surprise at Weed Beach in Darien when a Common Loon made an appearance much closer to shore than usual. Loons are much more drab in the winter than they are in summer, but it’s a thrill to see this iconic bird regardless of the season.

Here are a few shots of the loon — a big, powerful bird — taken on a very gray day.

Oh, by the way, we did see a flock of turkeys on someone’s front yard.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound on Thanksgiving Day, (Nov. 27), 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound on Thanksgiving Day, (Nov. 27), 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound on Thanksgiving Day, (Nov. 27), 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound on Thanksgiving Day, (Nov. 27), 2014.

 

A few more northern New England photos

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon at a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014. This loon is transitioning between summer and winter plumage.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon at a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014. This loon is transitioning between summer and winter plumage.

Here are a few more shots from my recent trip to northern New England. I’m already looking forward to getting up there again.

I call this one “The one that got away.” I was canoeing on a pond in New Hampshire and focusing so heavily on the loon pictured above that I wasn’t aware of the rest of my surroundings. Suddenly I noticed a Bald Eagle flying away from scene. It had been perched on the top of a pine tree and I completely missed it — well, almost completely. I managed this quick shot of it flying away.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Bald Eagle flies across the autumn scene in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Bald Eagle flies across the autumn scene in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Finally, here’s an American River Otter. There were two of them and it was the first time in years I’ve seen otters while I was canoeing. Unfortunately, this particular morning was very dark and gray, hence the not-so-good quality of the photo.

Photo by Chris Bosak A River Otter looks around a small pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A River Otter looks around a small pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.