Heads or Tails: Haystack Mountain, Westmore, Vermont

Haystack Mountain rises above Long Pond in Westmore, Vermont (8 miles from my house) on the August morning that I went to watch the loons.

Technorati tags: Haystack+Mountain Long+Pond Westmore Vermont

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Loons (Gavia immer)

Click on all the photos to view them large in a new window.

On our second loon expedition on Saturday morning, we found a family of five: three adults and two babies. They live on Long Pond in Westmore, Vermont. This is the first time I have ever seen a loon. I have heard many of their distinctive calls. Loons live three miles from me on May Pond but the access is poor. Long Pond is perhaps six to ten miles from me with access to two sides of the pond for viewing.

When the babies are very small, the parents will carry them on their backs. That is why the loon population is so fragile. Motor boats are an especial danger to them and the state will prohibit access to loon nesting sites. The island these loons nested on can no longer be reached because they live there.

Loons can barely walk on land because of the placement of their legs on their bodies. It helps them swim very well, but not to walk. They are extremely vulnerable on land.

These photos were taken with full digital zoom. They are not as good as I had hoped. But they are my first! I'll get better. You can see all twenty-two of my loon photos in my Flickr: Loons set.

As if it couldn't get any better, we also saw two peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) hunt and attack a bird fly with a young falcon in the sky on the north end of the pond. The sequence of the attack wasThey were flying so quickly that my camera had no time to focus. We saw two endangered and protected species in one day. Can it get any better?

Technorati tags: loons Gavia+immer peregrine+falcons Falco+peregrinus Long+Pond Westmore Vermont

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Wildflower from Long Pond

I will update this post with an identification when I get it.
vtpeacenik on Flickr identified this as Turtlehead (Chelone glabra).

Do you know what it is?

Technorati tags: turtlehead Chelone+glabra

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Long Pond, Westmore

Cedar Waxwing

We left for Long Pond in Westmore at 6 AM today in order to view loons. While waiting for the loons, I took these photos. The weather was beautiful, cold and clear. The mists, shadows and reflections were a joy to photograph.

Haystack Mountain

Spotted Joe-Pye Weed

Trail sign for Haystack Mountain

Technorati tags: Haystack+Mountain Long+Pond Westmore Vermont cedar+waxwing Spotted+Joe-Pye+Weed

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Spring Song

Scenes and sounds from spring in Barton, Vermont.

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A Beautiful Day

Long Pond, Westmore, Vermont

Sunday: we went looking for peregrine falcons on the cliffs of Mount Pisgah and then drove to Long Pond to find some loons. We found nothing except beauty. Ice-out has not occurred on Long Pond yet.

Concentric Circles

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