A Lone Loon

Second attempt to paddle the Prairie River headwaters resulted in another miss. This time more logging and I didn’t want to get in the way or be a nuisance, so I turned tail and headed out. Bummed, but since I had a Plan B already in mind, off I went to Horn Lake.

Usually I paddle here at least once during the season, but I’ve also visited to see what’s up with the Bald Eagle nest located on an island. It is a small lake, a bog really, and is connected to another lake via a small strip of water. With all the rain we had, it was the easiest I’ve ever been able to thread from one to the other, but that wasn’t the best part.

Nope, that was this guy –

A single, solitary Common Loon. When I was unloading the kayak, the noise may have spooked it because I heard a really big splash and when I looked, it was paddling not far ahead of where I planned to launch. What a great surprise! I’ve never seen a loon on this lake before. Probably because of the eagle nest, but possibly because it is a bog and those are not known for being great habitats for fish. They are notoriously low in nutrients and the plants and animals need to be specially adapted for highly acidic water with pH values between 3 and 4.

Since I didn’t notice any eagles or fledglings while I was here, it could be the nest site didn’t work out for the pair. Last year they worked on the nest, but seemed to have abandoned it early on. If they aren’t around, loons might feel safer since Bald Eagles will take a baby loon every chance they get. Isn’t this one a beaut? Not that there are ugly loons.

It’s probably still young to be mated and breeding, but seems to have achieved adult plumage. I didn’t see or hear another one on the lake, but maybe it can sing one over to join it or will be sung to another lake to find its partner.

By staying quiet and paddling slowly, it allowed me quite close (all the better to keep an eye on me) and went about its usual hunting and preening behavior. I just love the floofy butt feathers in the first three photos. These next two were taken a little while later and with different lighting and its tail is all smooth and under control – phew. Amazing iridescence in the collar in this next one. I don’t think I’ve ever caught it quite so well before. Like all iridescent feathers, the angle to the sun has to be perfect for it to show. I wish it had turned a bit more toward me, but that flash and some water on the bill made up for it.

When hunting, loons spend a lot of time looking down for prey. It’s pretty funny –

Not wanting to cause it more stress, I paddled away and found some more birds to freak out –

This RWBB father was trying to get a meal to the peeping babies in the nest directly below him, but was really not happy with my presence.

Neither was mom. When I maneuvered over here, it was for something else and I didn’t realize how close I was to their nest of little ones. Mom tried to distract me by acting helpless in some nearby bushes. I love how you can see her little red epaulettes, normally concealed when she is relaxed. And check out that little raised foot!

Eventually I backed off and left them to it.

One thing I’ve said I need to work at photographing better are nurse logs and stumps, like this one with its little tree and ring of plants at its base.

One of the big difficulties in shooting these separating them from their surroundings. Often they are close to the shoreline and if there isn’t a distinct light source, as in the one above, it can be frustrating to shoot them because they just blend in. I have so many images where everything is flat and indistinct. They are captivating little worlds and it’s amazing what you find on them, but oh man are they hard to photograph well. With this next one, I used A LOT of masking to even out the highlights on the log itself and more to blur the shoreline in the back. It was very shady there in comparison to the bright sun on the log and so I needed to preserve that without it looking too crazy. Success? I don’t know.

If you can find one in a more open spot, separation isn’t a problem, but sometimes things encroach like that bunch of green plants on the left. I tried removing it in Photoshop, but it looked weird so I gave up, left it in and used some masking to reduce brightness and saturation. Also blurred the far shoreline a bit and also brought the saturation down a little. The reflection of the sky on the bottom helps keep attention in that part of the frame rather than wandering off and the texture and prominence of the log itself is enough I think.

When I got closer, check it out, Sundew! I wish this one had that flower open, but it didn’t and none of the other photos I took work. Too hard to focus this close in a kayak that is constantly moving. But now I know they are here, I can always try again next year. If you aren’t familiar with Sundew, they are one of many carnivorous plants that thrive in low-nutrient bogs. Because they do not take up enough sustenance via roots and photosynthesis, they have evolved different ways to trap insects to make up the difference. In Sundew’s case it’s those little liquid balls on that cover the leaves that resemble sundew. They are sticky and contain enzymes that break down the hapless bugs. When an insect is trapped, the leaves usually fold over to envelop the prey even more. They’re so cool and have such interesting shapes and textures. Unless you’re a bug, that is.

There weren’t many opportunities to photograph dragonflies because they just wouldn’t sit still all that much, but I did get this Belted whiteface on last year’s flower.

So you got more than just one Loon and so did I. Here’s hoping it sticks around and attracts a mate to this little lake.