If you have ever spent some time on a pond or lake here in the Northeast, then you might have been blessed to have seen and or heard the haunting, plaintive cry of the Common Loon. Not many birds will affect you as the Loon will. It's antics of splashing around, then diving for a quick snack under water, popping up far away from where it went under, is enough to keep you enthralled for long periods of time.

I have spent many hours, both sitting in water chest deep on a rock and paddling my 14 foot Old Town Tandem Loon Kayak, http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/index.html, or my fiberglass 14 foot square back 3 seat Bear Creek canoe, just watching and waiting for the elegant Loon to swim over and check me out. Both the kayak and canoe are made right here in Maine, and well worth every penny to invest in, I paid about $600.00 a piece for them, to get you up close and personal to the Loons.

One word of caution here, the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife officers, Game Warden, will not take kindly if you are so close as to be considered harassing or threatening the bird, so be careful when approaching it to photograph. Please see this link, http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/species/index.htm, for more information on how you can help this Federal and State protected bird.

I usually put in on the pond around the time the sun is just breaking over the tree tops and will stay till about 2 ½ hours just slowly working my way over to them. I will sometimes wear camo clothing with a camo hat and face cloth or just dress down in drab cloths. Either way will work. Since the Loon is a black and white, an exposure nightmare if you are not used to photographing this bird, you want the sun behind you and low! I can't stress that point enough. Natural sunlight is best and the sweet golden light of sunrise and sunset is the best light.

I have wrapped my paddle in camo tape so that the glare is to a minimum. And paddle slowly, a few strokes, then look around, a few strokes, then look around. You never know when they dive where they will come up. I have watched them dive about 100 feet from me, then come up right beside the Kayak! If you are not used to that, it will literally scare you. Sometimes they will let out a scream as they come up. It is awesome!

And dropping your 300 2.8 lens attached to a Canon 5D in the water will scare you even more. Some put a plastic bag over the camera, I do not. I always stay in 4 feet or so of water, unless crossing straight over to the other side of the lake or pond. Watch the weather, do not push the limits and stay out in bad weather. When rain approaches, go in. Having a good time has a way of making time fly. Watch the skies.

I have that attached to my Canon 5D, a 2 gig Lexar Pro 133x CF card, and the 2 x teleconverter is behind the 300, although I have not always need it. I usually shoot aperture priority, straight up exposure; this could change to up to 2/3 under before too long as the sun comes up and over. My ISO is at 400 first and goes to 100 as the sun appears more overhead. I rest my camera in my lap, legs stretched all the way out and feet on the foot pegs. I have a thick chamois shirt for cushioning the camera and also to throw over my head to check the shoots when I can to make sure the setting as what I want. Sometimes I bring along my Nikon 10x42 Monarch, waterproof, fog proof binoculars to scout the far shore line.

Keep your camera on and check your settings before you start off. I can't count the times I've pulled the camera to my eye and went to depress the shutter and nothing. Or the settings were over exposed, you name it, I've done it. Practice will make perfect. The more you photograph these birds, the better you will be at it. I have found that encounters with the loons will last from 1 minute of shooting to almost 30 minutes. The most time spent while with these birds will be getting close to them, once again, paddling slowly over to them, take your time.

More loons are found in the state of Maine than anywhere else in the Northeast. Almost every pond has a pair. The Loons arrive here in the spring as the ice starts to go away and the waters open up. All they need is a small hole and they will land. Because they are so vulnerable on land, loons build their nests on the waters edge usually leaving them unconcealed. Here in our neck of the woods, southern Maine, the MFIW has put out floating nest to keep the nest from flooding when too much rain falls, like last year. We lost quite a few loon chicks because of the high water. Loons prefer quiet lakes or estuary's on which to live and enjoy a diet of fish, frogs, leeches, and shellfish. It is believed that loons mate for life. They share nesting responsibilities and they both fish for the kids. The eggs hatch sometime around mid July and they will jealously guard the nest. Please give the kids time to bond with the parents before trying to take their pictures. I will go and watch them from land or far away in the canoe with the binoculars at first.

Once they start swimming around with mom and dad, they will not go back to the nest site; they will stay on the water for good. Watching them go for a ride on the backs of the parents is a thrilling sight. I have photographed them from only 30 feet doing this. Again caution is needed. Go slow with this one.

Two kinds of loons are found in Maine. The red-throated loon is mainly a coastal bird, usually only seen during spring and fall migration. The Common Loon, Gavia Immer, is larger and colored differently than the Red-Throated Loon, and is found throughout the state except along the coast and in extreme southwestern Maine. The Common Loon displays distinctive plumage with black head and neck and white necklace; the eyes are red. The approximate size of a goose, the loon is long-bodied with a thin, short neck and black dagger like beak. In fall, adult loons become gray with white under parts while their eyes change to brown.

Loons are skillful swimmers and divers and can stay underwater for long periods of time. Loons are strong fliers although often needing hundreds of feet of take off and landing space. Loon landings have often been described as "controlled crashes."

Loons are perhaps most noted for their distinctly haunting calls; four main types of loon calls exist. Wails keep loons in contact with each other; only males produce yodels when defending territory. Tremolos are used when loons feel threatened or are defending their chicks; hoots are intimate calls between a pair or a parent and chicks.

Loons are threatened by man in many ways. Shoreline development has resulted in the loss of loon habitat including valuable secluded nesting space. Heavy water traffic disrupts loon nesting, feeding, and rearing of young. Fishermen are not always aware of the damage their carelessness causes to loons. Fishing line, hooks, and sinkers are all dangerous to loons; sometimes loons mistake lead sinkers for pebbles. Water pollution also causes loons difficulty as they must be able to see underwater to fish; polluted lakes do not support fish on which loons depend.

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