I find it fun watching loons. This parent had babysitting duty while the other parent was at another section of the lake in the Adirondack Mountains.
The loon below is power napping. It ate a few fish in the middle of the lake and then it then swam to the side of the lake with the parent. The parent kept watch while the baby napped.
The parent needs to keep watch. After I started kayaking away, the parent started giving a distressed call. I looked up and the eagle circled and landed in a tree nearby. Then it decided to fly off to a tree on the opposite side of the lake. On my few trips to the lake I have now seen the eagle multiple times either chase an adult loon flying or circle and get close to the baby and parent causing the parent to go into alert mode. I hope these loons make it through their time at the lake without the eagles getting one of them.
I made almost a week long trip to the Adirondack Mountains in New York. I am not kayaking as far as I did last year. Luckily I do not have to go far to see loons on the lakes I visited. All the pictures below are from one lake. These were over two days. Some were in the evening and others during the morning.
Parent cut off a piece to give the baby.Spitting out waterPatiently waiting for someone to bring it a fish.Riding the waves.
Slow down and enjoy nature. Sometimes you do not have to go as far as you think.
I saw an egret coexisting for a short while with a heron on a tree. Is this a little blue heron or a tricoloured heron?
These are not the best shots because of the direction of the light and cloud cover. I could not go elsewhere. It was facing land and I was in a kayak.
Looks like the heron is smaller than the Great Egret here.
Still looks smaller than the egret.
The great egret was not bothered by the heron sharing the tree.
In the above picture the heron appears to have a white underbelly. It looks like maybe a bit of a stripe down from its neck to its chest, but not the best angle to see. The eye seems reddish with yellow around it. The feathers around the head appear to be mostly grey with more purplish tones in the back of the head. The sun poked out from the clouds and we have a better view of its colours.
I am guessing this means this is a tricoloured heron. Correct me if I am wrong. What do you think? Either way it is the first time I have seen a tricoloured or a little blue.
Sometimes you lucky out with sunlight, and sometimes you don’t. One this morning after the fog lifted you could witness some great colours on the water. These are just two of many I got that morning.
What is on or near the shore affects what colours you see reflected on the water’s surface. It could be boats, boat covers, kayaks, SUPs, etc. Also if the sun happens to be behind your back or at an angle can affect how you see the colours.
Articles on our near shore can add to the photo in ways you may not have originally expected. Get out and enjoy the summer between the rain. If your weather is like New York, we have downpours almost everyday.
There are a lot of great egrets at Assateague. You can many times see them just as you cross over the bridge onto the island. From the island side if you look on both sides of the road at the marsh areas you usually see a few on each side after the bridge.
This is in front of the building right next to the National Park boat launch on Ferry Landing Road.
These were all taken on the bay side of the island from a kayak.
Near one of the nature viewing areas.
I mostly saw egrets standing on trees, or standing next to the water in the grasses. They pose great for pictures!
Not all bad light days make for bad shots. The morning I took these this past clouds were covering the sun and the lighting conditions were not optimal. I got some good feeding shots regardless and shots of the parents with fish.
Will the baby take it or not? Many times I see the baby not accept it and swim in another direction with the parent following.
These pictures were all taken at a distance with zoom lens.
The hand offTrying to fit it in.Going down the hatch.
A cloudy day does not always ruin your chance at getting good photos. Go out and enjoy nature even when it is not sunny.
I have had loons swim under my kayak before. This time a mother loon called to her mate. The mate came swimming back to watch the baby loon. The mother promptly went under water and popped up above water on the other side of my kayak. In its mouth was a big fish.
She then went under the water and I could locate her by the light coloured fish she had in her mouth going under my kayak. She then popped up on the side she was originally on, but close to my kayak. I thought for sure she was going to share it with her mate. Nope! I can’t believe she ate the whole thing herself!
Was she showing up her mate by catching a big one so fast? Was she showing off to me? Nature is better than TV. Loons are pretty cool birds. As always keep your distance. If they approach you, let it be on their terms.
There are lots of opportunities to see wildlife at Assateague Island in Maryland. Besides getting up close views of pelicans at sunrise via paddle board you can also go out on a kayak or paddle board for trips through the marshy areas on the bay. One of the many birds you can see is a green heron.
Green Herons like to hang out at the water’s edge to bring in fish or catch dragonflies. They are small in comparison to great blue herons.
This heron seemed to be quite successful at catching fish.
This one proudly paraded around in the grass with a little fish it caught. There are many things to see at Assateague while on the water. When you go to Assateague don’t ignore the bayside, you may miss out on a lot.
There are a lot of different kinds of wildlife to see at Assateague Island and the surrounding area. No telling where this American Bald Eagle’s nest is. It could be on the mainland or somewhere on the island. I only saw the eagle one day when I was there, so like the Adirondack eagles it probably travels a lot within the bay area.
These pictures were all taken from a kayak. It is hard to be steady when on a kayak. You can’t use a tripod.
This is an adult eagle. They get the white feathers totally in around their head by the time they are five. After they are born and fledge they mostly have brown feathers as juveniles.
When I saw it look down I was hoping it would swoop down and catch a fish. Not to be this day. I would like to see an eagle catch a fish.
After a while it flew away to another dead tree in another part of the bay. After three trips to Assateague, this was my first time seeing an eagle there. I felt lucky.
The best places to go are on the bay side of the island and some areas along the mainland side of the bay. Some areas near beaches or access points near the bay may be picked over by others before you. If you can go by kayak, canoe, or paddle board, it may be better to put in on the mainland side of the Verrazano Bridge. You can see the boat launch on the upper middle section of this map.
National Park Boat Launches
There are good places to launch on the National Park land. Follow the signs after you cross the bridge and travel on Bayberry Road. There are a couple of places with obvious areas with a lot of extra stone on the shoulder roadside to park and launch before you get to the park tollbooth. These are free spots on the right. I recommend also launching from Old Ferry Landing Road launch. This is after the tollbooth, so you need to pay. There are paved parking spots at the launch and one restroom. If you are a veteran you may be eligible for a free lifetime National Park Pass. I believe there is also a pass for seniors. Otherwise, it is over $20 to enter the park for day use. I believe this covers multiple days though.
What Do You Need?
To make it easier, there are certain tools you can bring to clam. Some people bring a rake to scrap or dig up the clam. Many times just by rubbing your foot along the bottom while standing you can feel where they are. The rake can be used to loosen them. Others use a rake with a basket where they can scoop up the clam. Kids however seem to enjoy swimming down to grab them. Bring buckets to hold them clams in with water as well.
Sometimes other things come up with the clam.A combination rake with basket.Sometimes you can find multiple clams in the same location.He liked to dive under the water to bring them up.She was very happy to find some on her own and add to the effort.He found a lot of large clams in chest deep water.
Notice in all the above shots clams were not found in shallow water. Sometimes you can find them there but also look in deeper water sometimes as well.
Official bucket holder and clam collector.Heading back after collecting 120 or more clams.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience. We all returned after about an hour and a half out on the water on our kayaks and paddle boards. Sometimes finding your own food is an adventure.
