During a late evening while lounging at a New Hampshire lakeshore cottage, a heron suddenly arrived and perched on a tree top in front of us. Grabbed my phone and captured the bird through porch screening and dwindling light. The bird stayed, swaying on the light branches for a few minutes and departed.

While spending a weekend on Lake Contoocook in New Hampshire, we heard the amazing chorus of loons every evening and on some mornings. They were never seen until a sudden surprise visit near our cabin occurred near the end of our visit.