Long Lake, Harrison Maine

I spent most of last week on Long Lake, Maine doing a little kayaking, canoeing, sailing, reading, loafing, hiking and some casual birding. There are Common Loons on this lake and I can usually keep tabs on a pair near Cape Monday. In the previous 5 years I've been to this area either the adults did not have any young or they'd been "lost" during the time I was there (usually a week). There is a good deal of power boat traffic..of course the few boaters I've spoken with usually lay the blame on snapping turtles.
The good news this year is the young seemed to have grown to a decent size and both where still doing well when I left on 7/28. The parents seem to be doing a good job keeping the family out of harms way, though a few times both youngsters were off on their own, a few hundred meters from the adutls, but just for a few minutes.

While sailing on the main lake during the week, I saw another pair with two chicks. These 2 chicks appeared to about a 1/3 larger than the birds photographed below, making life on the "big water" a bit easier.

Common Loons with young on Long Lake (Cape Monday area).

While sailing on 7/23 I had a nice surprise seeing an adult Bonepart's Gull flying south on the main lake. I have seen Bonepart's here once before.

The "Scorpion" headed west under the direction of captain MOM, maybe I'll still be sailing at 77.

The rocks (below) are a good place to find loafing Ring-billed and the occasional Great-Black-backed Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Heron and Spotted Sandpipers. The hill on the very right hand side of the picture is Hawk Mountain, No not that hawk Mountain, which has a dramatic view looking south from the cliffs.

Sunset lookig north toward Harrison, Maine

Other birds seen and or heard from the lake area during the week:

Canada Goose, Mallard, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue heron, American Bittern, Flicker, Ring-billed, Grt-blackbacked and Bonepart's Gulls, Barred Owl, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Eastern Wood Pee-wee, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Black-capped Chickadee, Titmouse, White and Red Breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Robin, Hermit Thrush, Catbird, Black and White Warbler, Pine Warbler, Yellow Rumped Warbler, BT Blue and Green Warblers, Cedar Waxwing, Red-eyed and Blue headed Vireos, Song and Chipping Sparrows, Purple Finch, Goldfinch. Soaring Turkey Vultures and Broad-winged Hawk. While I missed Bald Eagle, my folks had one perch (for 3 hours) in large pine in the back yard of the camp the day before I arrived.