Common Loon Chick

[Bill Dix]

I had timed my trip to Maine in hopes of getting the classic Loon chick-on-parents-back shot. (It was also the only week my sister could put us up in her house on Mt. Desert Island, so I didn't have a lot of choice.) Alas, the lone chick on this particular pond was well past the free-ride stage, and appeared like a large brown ball of fluff. He/she had learned to dive, and was getting only occasional fish from the lone parent in the pond. Still, it was a treat to sit in my little canoe, tucked against the shore of a small island amidst water lilies, and watch parent and chick almost within paddle's reach, for the better part of an hour. This is the offspring of the Loon that I posted the other day.

D500, Sigma 150-600C @ 550mm, ISO 1250, 1/4000 @ f/6.3 manual.

(ps, looking at this as posted, I wonder if it could have used one degree of CCW rotation.)

[Wayne Niz]

Hey Bill

Cute bird, nice low angle shot and colours from the lilly pads. For me the bird itself seems a touch to bright and there is quite a halo around its head. Still a great shot TFS

[Jay Ing]

I love the colors/leaves in the foreground - but find them distracting in the bkg. Just me I guess... TFS.

[gail bisson]

Looks like the light was getting quite harsh.
I like the colors in the water as they frame the brown chick nicely.
And yes to a bit of rotation!
Gail

[John Mack]

You handled the overhead light very well. The lily pads in the water add some nice color. If those are lily pads.

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all. When I put the boat in the water there was a nice morning cloudy-bright sky. I knew the loon family was somewhere on the pond, but by the time I paddled around the whole pond and finally found them behind a little island, the nice light had become harsh overhead. Wayne, you may be right about the chick looking too light.