About the Film

A pair of Common loons nest on a small lake (in New England, we call them "ponds"). The parents await the arrival of their chick. I wait nearby in my kayak with my video camera. The chick arrives in early July, and from then to October we experience its first summer.

We'll watch the tiny loon take its first swim, leave the nest and venture out onto the pond. Both loon parents watch over, feed, and teach the chick what it will need to survive on its own by the fall. In its first 2 weeks, the chick often rides on a parent's back. We'll tour the pond with the chick - meeting frogs, cedar waxwings and woodpeckers, a kingfisher, wood ducks and even a bald eagle. We'll watch the young loon struggle to devour a spiny fish and encounter kayakers trying to capture its portrait. We'll see the pond the day after Hurricane Irene hit Vermont. When other adult loons visit, the chick hides. Not all visits are friendly. As the seasons change, we'll watch the chick mature from a fluffy ball of down into a sleek, feathered juvenile as large as its parents.

The story is told through images with a few subtitles and no narration to interrupt your own exploration of a loon chick's first summer accompanied by the haunting flute music of Werner John, classical guitar compositions by Antonio Calogero, and several others.

 

Loon Chick's First Summer now available on Amazon Instant Video.

 

What Viewers Say

"Your film was so expertly shot and edited. It told the story of the loon chick beautifully. In this cacophonous world and particularly this season, you’ve delivered a great gift of beauty, peace and connection to that part of the world we love so dearly."    - John from England

 

About the Film Maker

Gail Osherenko is a long-time environmental researcher, writer, teacher, and activist.

Her earlier films, Dark Side of the Loon and Arctic Expedition are available atwww.filmsfromthenorth.com

Jacket photo by Mary Holland.