Third week of July, one chick has hatched, mama & papa are still sitting on #2... while hiking the trail around the bog where they nested I crossed a small bridge.

While crossing, I heard a loon hoot nearby and realized mama was getting ready to swim under the bridge. Twice in my life I have witnessed a loon swim under me while standing on a bridge.

The first time I was so amazed I forgot to take pictures, but I swore if it ever happened again I would try to get some...

When I left on the 23rd the 2nd chick had not yet hatched, but I caught a glimpse of the first chick swimming with papa when mama returned to nesting duty after her swim under the bridge...

On the 26th I was able to return to check on them. I paddled north to south without spotting them, so decided to go into The Heath to see if they were still there.

The ropes were down that protected their nest, so I checked and found the nest empty. I assumed from the amount of eggshell that #2 had hatched as well.

On my return trip things had quieted down on the lake, and there were mama & papa tending one chick. As always, I'll never know what happened to # 2, or even the possibility that something had happened to #1 and I was now watching #2...

The boat that pulls water-skiers from the resort, the only motor boat allowed on the pond had stopped for the day, so the noise and huge wake were gone, and the lake was calm and smooth.

People think I spend hours sitting and watching to get the pictures I do, and in the past that was sometimes true. On this evening I spent a total of 5 minutes snapping these shots of mama & papa feeding baby.

Sometimes the conditions are just right and your timing is right on. Through experience I have become able to recognize these windows of opportunity.

At least on this occasion, I was able to capitalize and come away with the pictures I had hoped for without spending too much time at it, thereby allowing the loons the space they deserve to go about their business without my presence to bother them...