With yesterday's beautiful weather, I dug the kayak out of the basement and headed out. Spring has arrived. 

I wasn't the only one taking advantage of the sunshine. The pond had a full battalion of painted turtles out basking. It seemed like every log and hummock had at least one, usually many more. 

Painted TurtlePainted turtles basking

Painted TurtlePainted turtles basking

Someone had put some seeds out on a broken off log. A chickadee paused to ponder the selection before digging in. Black-capped chickadeeBlack-capped chickadee

Sunflower seeds seemed to be the favorite for a red-breasted nuthatch.  Red-breasted nuthatchRed-breasted nuthatch with a sunflower seed.

And, a loon has returned! The loon tipped its head back and opened its mouth without vocalizing many times. I can't decide if it was stretching, yawning or something else. I've emailed the Loon Preservation Committee asking what they think its up to. BTW, the LPC loves to have people report notable statistics about New Hampshire loons. On the Vermont side of the river, Eric Hanson of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies collects data on Vermont loons. They like to know when loons first arrive in the spring, when they mate, when they build their nest, how many eggs they lay, how many chicks hatch and if any of them die. If you notice any of these, just send a quick email with the date, what you saw and which pond you were on. And, if you find a dead loon, they'd like to collect it to do a necropsy. 

Common loonCommon loon, North Haverhill, New Hampshire

The loon took a few minutes to preen. 

Common loonCommon loon preening, North Haverhill, New Hampshire

And, no visit with loons is compete without them stretching their wings.  Common loonCommon loon, North Haverhill, New Hampshire