Lone Sentinel

A friend and I went to a little lake just outside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to check on the loons that we have been photographing previously. We wanted to see if the babies survived. Between the fish and bald eagles that prey on them, it is pretty difficult for the loon babies to live through the first couple of weeks.

Jasper Lake was very calm and the water lilies were in full bloom. I held the camera over the side of the boat to get a wide-angle photo of one of my favorite little islands.

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Loon Family 001

I am happy to report that both babies are doing well.

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Loon Family 002

The loon parents were busy catching minnows to feed their hungry kids.

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Loon Family 003

We watched for about an hour and they must have caught a fish every two minutes.

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Loon Family 004

The little ones are growing fast.

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Loon Family 005

When this one surfaced it stretched out its neck giving it a distinct look.

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Loon Family 006

When they were close to shore the green of the shoreline reflected into the water.

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Loon Family 007

Look at the adult’s eye in this photo. See the inner membrane that protects the loon’s eye when it dives. It is like an inner eyelid and in this photo it is partially covering the eye. The loon had just brought its head out of the water.

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Loon Family 008

Here you can see it on the baby.

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Loon Family 009

Most of the fish caught were quite small but this one was all the baby could handle. Sometimes the adult crippled the minnow and dropped it in the water teaching the babies how to fish for themselves. The kids were doing quite well.

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Loon Family 10

Here the adult surfaced right next to us.

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Whitetail Buck in Velvet

On the drive to the loon nest we saw this nice whitetail buck in velvet standing along the road.

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Fisherman's Picnic Fireworks

The week ended with Fisherman’s Picnic in Grand Marais and the annual fireworks over the harbor.

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