The chill of early fall was crisp as morning clouds were propelled by a north wind across the clearing blue sky, giving the lake’s water a chop as Andy and I began a late season Northwoods loon photography cruise. On my way to a dinner party the evening before, I checked for any obvious loons on the lake and saw a pair north of our position, so we began motoring in that direction. But when I noted that birds may be positioned along the north shoreline to get out of the wind, sharp-eyed Andy saw the silhouette of a loon in the distance, near the north shore lined with mature trees – mostly maples, oaks, and elms – but our excitement was focused on the loon.
Keeping the sun at our backs, Andy motored silently toward the Common Loon that was obviously diving for fish in the shallows of the lake. I focused on the loon, but had to wait for a line of clouds to pass before mid-morning sunlight illuminated the loon. I began photographing as the loon swam, turning this way and that in the process, and occasionally dipping its face into the water to look for fish. After diving, we waited for the loon to surface, repositioned the pontoon when necessary, and enjoyed the opportunity to observe and photograph the loon.
A flock of Blue Jays passed through the tree tops nearest the shore as I followed the loon’s movements as it swam through a kaleidoscope of light and color reflecting off the water. Through my zoom lens it was especially interesting to see the sparkling sunlight play off shades of blue and gray reflected from the sky and clouds, along with greens and golds reflected from the trees, grasses, and cattails. It seemed that the colors and reflections changed the water surrounding the loon moment by moment, which added to the thrill of the photo experience.
The adult loon was in the midst of molting, most notably on its face and back, giving it a rather unique look, one we don’t see illustrated in popular publications. Fairly soon after we engaged the loon, it switched from its fishing mode to a preening episode, probably facilitated by its ongoing molt. Even as it preened, an occasional small down feather would drop into the water. We could almost imagine the loon was feeling a bit “itchy” as it turned on its side to reach breast and belly plumage, as well as back and rump feathers. I took a few documentary photos as the preening continued, but especially reveled at the 2 chances to photograph the action when the loon raised up and flapped its wings.
As for the technical side of my camera settings, with a single loon before me, I mostly used my preferred f-8 “middle of the road” aperture, thereby providing an ample area in sharp focus but preserving a fast shutter speed to address the movement of the pontoon boat on the water, the loon’s moves, and ready for more action, such as when the loon raised up and flapped its wings. The shutter speeds varied from 1/640 to 1/3200. At times, I used the most magnification provided by my 150-to-600mm zoom lens, but when the loon swam closer, or when the boat floated nearer to the loon, I zoomed out as far as 420mm. All this using my go-to ISO 800 setting and Av (aperture priority) camera mode.
It was a great start to the morning, and as the Common Loon began swimming east, we turned northwest to see if other loons were present. My primary interest was to try to find the young loon we photographed the last day of June, and in mid-July, which would be fully feathered now in its first-year dark-brown plumage characterized by a scalloped edge to individual feathers colored in a lighter tan tone. Unfortunately, the young loon was no longer present; perhaps moving to another lake after fledging, although it’s hard to speculate. We heard a few Belted Kingfishers along the shoreline and saw one fly by. There was an Osprey soaring above one bay, and as I followed it through my zoom lens, the Osprey folded its wings to dive straight down toward the water, but turned upward just before striking the water to grab a fish – exciting nonetheless.
Less active was an adult Bald Eagle that was perched on a tree branch overhanging the lake. Not obvious at first, the eagle took flight soon after I sighted it, and we appreciated seeing its flight, me as I photographed through the camera lens. We also passed by a sunning Great Blue Heron that provided an interesting sunning pose with its breast feathers extended in a circular fashion. I guess it was a one-for morning as we observed just 1 Common Loon, 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Osprey, and 1 Great Blue Heron – plus 1 Giant Canada Goose. Andy and I were the only blokes on the lake, which provided a level of solitude and appreciation for the chance to spend seasonal time on this favorite middle-Minnesota lake.
Standout Swan Families
The rare sighting of a pair of Trumpeter Swans the previous week a dozen miles north of my Dakota office made it especially exciting to see so many Trumpeters on area marshes south of Audubon, Minnesota. In addition to lone 2 pairs of Trumpeter Swans, I observed pairs with 3, 4, and 6 cygnets, full-sized now but feathered in gray plumage for their first year. The swan pairs with cygnets were all located in marshes between Andy’s lake home and my friend Linda’s lake home, so after leaving Andy, I drove toward Linda’s place where we observed the pair with 3 cygnets the evening before.
By that time the blue sky was almost clear, with the sunlight beaming from the west. The first pair of Trumpeters with 4 cygnets was resting on a beaver lodge, the second pair with 6 cygnets was resting on a grassy shoreline, and the third pair nearer Linda’s house was feeding in an area where thick emergent sedges shielded the cygnets from view, with only the adult pair partly observable. The adult male occasionally poked its head above the grassy plants on the lookout. In short, there were no compelling photo ops to be had. Even so, it was such a perfect day with great lighting conditions, I had to believe that at least one of the families of swans would soon become active, so I decided to retrace my route to get a second look at the swan’s activities.
Linda’s swans were still emersed in the green sedges as I passed by, but the biggest family group of Trumpeter Swans had dispersed across their more open wetland, providing an excellent chance to photograph them as a family, in smaller groups, and as a individuals. While photographing the swans, a Belted Kingfisher called occasionally and dived into the water at one point, a Green Heron chased another along an open spot on the shore, and there were a few Wood Ducks on hand, some swimming, some preening on the shore – but none of these birds offered photo ops. That’s OK, I was tuned into swans at that point, and now I was satisfied to get some representative late summer photos of Trumpeter families.
While photographing Trumpeter Swans, the shutter speeds varied from 1/1600 to 1/3200 using the f-8 aperture. Again I used my zoom lens to my advantage, using the 600mm for closer images of single swans, and zooming back as far as 300mm to include more of the family group.
In addition to the birds I observed and photographed on the western limit of the eastern forests, I heard Sandhill Cranes calling, along with Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and even a Pileated Woodpecker, all birds I don’t see in the Northern Plains, which is also true for Common Loons, Ospreys, and Trumpeter Swans (aside from that pair of Trumpeters I saw the previous week near home). Gosh, would it ever be exciting to have Trumpeter Swans pioneer into my home region in the way they have across many areas of Minnesota! Those dreams aside, I sure enjoyed my short visit to the lakes and woodlands of central Minnesota, for social fun and for seasonal Northwoods bird photography. Where will your next birding adventure take you?
Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad
Share your bird photos and birding experiences at editorstbw2@gmail.com