Update: As of January 2024 I posted a sequel to this film, check it out on my channel page or directly here • A Season with the Loons: Healing From...
A Season With The Loons
This video tells the story of my 2022 photography project to observe and document common loons during their breeding season (May and October) in northern New England. It is mostly a natural history story about what it takes for loon pairs to nest and raise chicks to successfully fledge, but also weaves in a personal story. I had intended on doing this project in 2021, but a phone call with my mother while I was on the lake during the first day ended those plans. When I reattempted this in 2022, I was in a place of grieving her and the project took on the added dimension of healing and processing change. The film touches on the personal wisdom I gained on my journey, but the main focus of the video is the story of the loons.
To view a photo gallery from this project, order prints, initiate a professional inquiry, or learn about upcoming nature photography workshop opportunities visit my website: https://www.jwelchphoto.com/loons-lif...
A great book about common loons that I read to prepare for this project, and which I referenced for much of factual material for this project, is James Paruk’s Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters with the Great Northern Diver 2021 https://www.jamesparuk.com/book . I believe it is also available on Amazon. I would highly recommend this book to someone looking for an authoritative deeper dive on loon biology and behavior. It was also highly readable, thanks to Mr. Paruk’s interesting anecdotes from decades of field research with loons. I have no affiliation with this book, I just wanted to share.
*Important: Please read the note below on ethically observing and photographing loons*
*Ethically Observing and Photographing Loon Notes*
Please educate yourself on loon behavior and the ethics of observing loons before attempting to observe them in the wild. ©Some guidelines can be found here. In summary, loons have various state and federal protections, and harassing them can be a criminal offense, carrying fines and even jail time. YOU will be watched on lakes by other boaters and homeowners on developed lakes. While loons are on the nest, they are particularly vulnerable to human disturbance, including kayakers and photographers. I personally chose not to even photograph them at this time, and if you must, keep your visit very brief and from a far distance. Once the chicks have hatched, loon’s tolerance for human presence will vary from individual to individual. Do disrupt their ability to hunt and feed the chicks. General guidelines for how far to stay from them is 100 feet to 100 yards. However, it is allowable for loons to swim up to you on their own (though you must be mindful that you are not drifting into them), which is what happened in some of the close-up footage and photos as two of my loon pairs were very tolerant. Another two of the pairs I observed started to show some signs of agitation, (making calls, etc) even at several hundred feet so I backed off and chose not to return to them for their welfare. In this age of social media photography, I urge you not to turn loons into “the next thing.” Please do not tag or share locations. This will result in having these protected birds mobbed, disturbed, and may prompt authorities to take actions to bar people entirely from observing them, as has been the case with snowy owls, barred owls, and coyotes in New England.
The music was taken from YouTube free library, and is listed below. The distinct adult loon calls at the beginning (and place in a few other places) was a public domain, downloadable, commercial use permitted license and can be found here https://orangefreesounds.com/loon-call/
All photos, video, and audio otherwise © John Welch 2023
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