Fishing for Loons

Common Loon

Arriving at the lake before sunrise this morning, mine was the third boat out.  With the air temp ten degrees cooler than the water, fog hugged the water limiting visibility.  Seeing the one boat heading north and the other still near the ramp I headed directly towards the western shore and began searching for waterfowl.  With the spring migration nearly over I realized that the likelihood of success was not high. 

As the sun began cresting the eastern mountain I heard the unmistakable call of a loon echoing down the lake loud from the north end.  Immediately I headed that way, passing the boat headed north earlier.  Locating the loon I began maneuvering for photographs.

But this loon had a very low tolerance for boats and dove before I could get to withing good camera range.  Soon it resurfaced and again I tried a slow approach but again it submerged with this pattern repeating until the other boat with two fishermen were close at hand.  With the loon underwater I was motoring slowly in tight circles waiting for the loon to pop up.  The pair of fishermen were intent on casting to the side of their boat when the loon surfaced only a few yards directly in their line of travel.  As they were looking to the side they failed to see the loon but the loon, alarmed by the close proximity of their boat, immediately dove with a huge splash.

Talk about a reaction from the fishermen!  Hurriedly they retrieved their lures and cast into the spreading wake where the loon had submerged.  No doubt they thought that a huge bass had jumped and were wasting no time getting their lures into the strike zone.  With a chuckle I continued to circle watching for the loon to reappear.  A few minutes passed and then it popped up 50 yards or so from their boat and once again dove with a huge splash.  Once again the fishermen heard the commotion but again failed to see the cause, so this time they motored over and resumed casting to the wake, and once again to no avail.

Feeling that the loon had had enough of the boats I only waited a few minutes and when it did not reappear I motored off to do some fishing of my own.   I don't know if the fishermen had a successful day but at least they do have the story of the huge bass that jumped twice but was so lure-shy that neither time could they entice it to hit. 

Loons are very adept fishermen but this encounter is the first I ever witnessed a loon fooling the competition :)

For more Critters

Visit Camera Critters

and join in with a critter of you own

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret: Viera Wetlands, Fl

Cattle egrets seem to be everywhere in Florida.  Whether you are in the wetlands, farmland, or center city the cattle egrets are there. 

In non-breeding plumage they really are not much to look at, but when attired in breeding plumage I find them rather striking.

Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

Sometimes the best shot of the day comes before the sunrise

Pied-billed Grebe with Crayfish

Pied-billed grebe are the most common nesting grebe is the eastern US.  Their range extends from our southern border well into Canada. The pied-billed grebe's diet consist mainly of fish, aquatic insects and crustaceans. 

I photographed this bird at Florida's Viera Wetlands as it attempted to eat a large crayfish

Grasping the crayfish with its stout bill, it repeatedly shook it violently to break its body into manageable pieces.

The grebe's catch attracted the attention of other a group of coots who pursued the grebe attempting to steal the crayfish.  The little grebe responded to their attempts by swimming rapidly away to a more secluded area.

Waterfowl Migration Winding Down

Ring-necked ducks taking flight

With the arrival of May the spring waterfowl migration is winding down in my area.  It all began back in late February with the snow geese and tundra swans arriving at Middle Creek and by early March buffleheads, lesser scaup, and common mergansers were on the local lake.  The mild winter had failed to freeze the lake so there was not the usual ice to impede their early arrival.

By early April these species had moved on and were replaced with hooded mergansers, ring-necked ducks, horned grebes, along with the resident mallards and wood ducks.  Last weekend a flock of ring-necked ducks were still on the lake.  During my visits yesterday and today I failed to spot them.

Common Loons

The loons arrived during the second week of April with the numbers peaking last weekend when I spotted at least four individuals.  I photographed this pair yesterday but today was unable to spot a singe loon.  More loons may arrive yet however I will not be surprised if this is the last I will see them this spring.

Common Loon, winter plumage

As the loons pass through our area both the breeding and winter plumage can be seen with birds of both plumages being seen in nearly equal numbers.

Loon in flight

Check out how the loons feet extend well beyond its tail apparently acting as its rudder in flight.  The loons legs are positioned far back on its body; perfect for diving but useless for walking on land.  A loon causes a considerable commotion taking flight as it must patter for well over one hundred yards to gain enough speed to become airborne. 

Seldom have I observed a loon return to the lake once it takes flight.  Typically the loon, once in the air, will circle the lake a number of times clockwise gaining altitude with each pass.  After three to five passes it will be high in the air while I watch it passing over the north end of the lake soon becoming a mere speck above the horizon before disappearing completely.

Red-breasted Merganser

The female and immature red-breasted mergansers are the last to leave.  I have never observed mature males later than mid April however hens and immature males will stay well into May, sometimes as late as the last week.  I photographed this female stretching her wings yesterday after she had emerged from fishing underwater.

Female Red-breasted Mergansers

The mergansers were very actively fishing yesterday and diving frequently.  I enjoy watching these birds when they encounter a large school of baitfish.  The birds will go from swimming with their heads underwater to running across the surface when suddenly the entire flock will dive.  Where moments before a flock of ducks were swimming, only swirls on the water remain.  A few moments later heads will begin popping up some distance from where they dived and the search for fish will resume.

Many of the diving species such as the loons, horned grebes, pied-billed grebes, and redhead ducks will dive to evade intruders however while they dive to feed, the red-breasted merganser when pressed to closely take flight.

While the waterfowl migration is winding down the spring song bird migration is heating up.  Just this week I spotted my first hummingbird, cat bird, and spotted sandpiper for the season.

For more Critters of all Kinds

visit and join in at

Camera Critters

Florida Cranes & South Carolina Gators

Florida's resident population of sandhill cranes provides photographic opportunities year around.  I photographed this sandhill with a dragonfly in its beak at Viera Wetlands during our recent trip south.  While this is a good enough photograph it is a situation where I missed to very best shot.

A pair of sandhill's with their colt were feeding in the wetlands.  The bird pictured in the preceding photo captured the dragonfly and began waking rapidly passing behind a tree.  Just as it cleared the tree and before I was able to regain camera focus it dropped its head passing the dragonfly to the colt.

So while I came away with some nice images of the sandhills, the best image exist only in my memory.  That is wildlife photography, sometimes it just happens like that. 

On the way south we overnighted at Hardeeville South Carolina because of its proximity to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.  After securing a room and dining at the Crippled Crab, (if you are traveling though this area at dinner time stop!  The food is fantastic and prices very reasonable) we spent the evening motoring through the four mile wildlife drive.

Bird life was reasonably plentiful with a number of alligator sightings.  I again returned to the refuge in the morning for a few more photos before jumping back on I95.  While definitely a place I would like to spend more time the most memorable parts of SNWR was the gators and mosquitoes!  The mosquitoes must have outnumber the gators better than a million to one as a swarm met me immediately each time I set foot outside of the car.

A Short Morning Walk

With wildlife all around us even a short walk down a country road may result in capturing some memorable images.  With a little time to kill well after sunrise I tossed the camera rig over my shoulder heading to see what I could find.

Locating this chipmunk sitting motionlessly in the roadside fence row I compensated the exposure slightly to bring out the detail in the chipmunk.  After processing I decided to crop leaving a strand of barbed wire in the photo to tell the story of finding the chipmunk using the fence row habitat as home.  Overgrown fence rows are important habitat for many farm land species but with modern clean farming practices they are becoming a thing of the past. 

Moving to the other side of the tree that the chipmunk was sitting near, at first I didn't think a photo would be possible.  Looking closer I found one small hole I was able to shoot through giving me this close-up photo of the alert little animal.

Walking on down the road I noticed a back lit bird silhouetted singing from a tree top.  Think that it was probably a mockingbird based upon its shape and the variety of bird songs it was imitating I was surprised when I passed around to its sunlit side to find that it was a brown thrasher.  Brown thrashers spend most of their time in heavy cover, however during the nesting seasons they can sometimes be found singing from the tree tops.

And last but not least were the chipping sparrows.  These little birds were creating quite a stir.  Whatever the cause, breeding activity or territorial dispute the sparrows were in quite a flutter.

Wildlife is particularly active during the spring and many species can be found on just a short jaunt. 

Green Heron: A Rare Encounter

Green Heron's, while common in my area are secretive birds that are seldom seen.

Green herons spend the majority of their time in heavy cover around the edges of lakes and wetlands hunting for fish, invertebrates, frogs, and salamanders.

Normally the first indication of a green heron being in the vicinity is when it flushes from heavy cover uttering it sharp kyowk.  The short flight usually ends when the heron plunges once again into deep cover where it is virtually impossible to get a second look.

However this bird showed considerable tolerance allowing me to approach to with in a few yards with the boat.  After an extended photo session the little heron walked back the log and was swallowed up by the cover surrounding the lake.

Encountering a good friend along the shoreline I handed him a camera to make this shot of me as I normally "hunt" while photographing waterfowl and waterbirds.  The boat serves dual purpose on these outings as the fishing rods are always close at hand.

Ducklings Arrive: Hooded Mergansers

A pleasant surprise awaited upon my arrival at the wetlands this evening; the hooded merganser ducklings have arrived!  I spotted this hen hurring away with her some of her brood in tow. 

 Whereas mallard and wood duck young will stick close to their mothers, hooded merganser ducklings frequently forage by themselves or in pairs.  After placing my pop-up blind I didn't have long to wait until a lone duckling swam by my position.

More singles and pairs passed by as the evening progressed however most stayed behind the bushes ringing the shoreline.  This duckling took a shortcut across a small area of open water.  The reflections of the fresh spring foliage painted a beautiful backdrop aross the water.

This little duckling caught some creature, perhaps a salamander.  The catch was too large to swallow in one gulp and the duckling carried it around for some time as it alternated between trying to swallow and attempting to peck it into smaller pieces.  I don't know how the merganser made out as it was still carrying the prey when it swam out of sight.

Besides the two broods of merganser I also sighted a mallard pair with a large brood in tow however they were much warier and disapeared from view before I could capture any decent images.

Common Loon

Common Loon

Common Loons typically arrive in my area some time around late March to early April.  My first sighting this year occurred on April 14th.  That day I spotted two loons but they were boat-shy and repeatedly submerged while I was still about 100 yards distant; too far for good photographs with any lens.

However my luck changed April 20th when I spotted this lone loon hanging out near the breast wall of the lake.

Stretching its leg

The loon remained calm as I approached to within less than 30 yards.

Loon with eyes underwater

Soon the loon ducked its head underwater and began searching for a morning meal.  I have observed a number of fish-eating birds use this technique.   The loon cruised for a short while until it located a school of shad.

Shad fleeing the feeding loon

I was able to track the loons underwater movements by the eruptions of shad fleeing on the surface. 

Loon moments after surfacing from feeding

Repeatedly I tried to capture the loon as it surfaced but each time I was behind the curve.  The narrow field of view of the 600mm made following the fast paced action difficult.

In previous years I used a Canon 100-400mm lens for all of my boat/waterfowl shooting however this spring I have been using the 600 F4 almost exclusively.  The 600mm is nowhere nearly as handy as the little 100-400mm which can be shot handheld when light levels allow. The 600 is too heavy to support hand-held for long and I have resorted to setting the tripod on the front of the boat.  With a gimbal head it works well tracking swimming birds as long as the water is reasonably calm, however I have found it very difficult to operate the boat and track flying birds simultaneously.  Despite its drawbacks (weight & bulk) the superior range and sharpness of the 600 F4 IS is well worth the additional effort.