Loon watching at Audie Lake

My first kayak trip to Audie Lake (in the Blue Hills, northern Wisconsin) this summer was magical. I know I have used this word several times in some of my previous blogs but it has been a very special year for me in spite of all what's going on in the world right now. 

It was a very quiet and calm evening and the lake was like a mirror or glass. For the first time I brought my good camera and long lens with me in the hopes of seeing some loons. 

I started out exploring the south west part of the lake and saw two immature Green-backed Herons in a tree which didn't seem to mind my presence. But no loons. As I was heading back towards the campground I saw one loon and got very excited. I watched him or her for quite some time and took several photos but I was too far away (or my lens wasn't long enough!?!? The longest zoom lens I own is 70-200mm, not long enough to get good wildlife photos.) Then the loon disappeared and I was paddling towards another area of the lake and all of a sudden I saw the loon again and a second one was swimming towards him/her. 

They came closer and closer towards me and I just watched. It was the sweetest thing to see how the two met up, greeted each other and spent time together. I assumed it was a pair (unfortunately no chicks in sight). Male and female loons have identical plumage, which makes them nearly impossible to tell apart by sight alone. 

I included the whole series of photos I took of the two as it tells a story. The loons were in the shade so the red eyes don't show but the background was in sunlight and very colorful.  

I found a very good website about loons with sound recordings of their different calls. Check it out: https://loon.org/about-the-common-loon/

Now of course I am dreaming about getting a longer lens, though I am not really a wildlife photographer. 

As always, thanks for viewing and Enjoy! Susanne

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Cell phone photo - perfect reflections

Audie Lake like a mirror 

Immature Green-backed Heron in tree

Beaver house in a floating bog

First loon sighting

The two loons meet

I cropped this image as I was so touched by the way these two looked at each other

Getting closer together

So sweet!!

Magical evening light 1

Magical evening light 2

Magical evening light 3