Käyttäjän lauralcb havainnot

Swimming bird on Bruce's Pond in Hudson, MA. The bird reminded me of a cormorant - it could dive fully under water and stay for a few seconds. However, this is an inland fresh water pond and not near the ocean. It also had a pointier looking beak than a duck. It was largely black with a white neck.
I was not sure what kind of bird it was, but looked at options on the bird app Merlin, and the Common Loon seemed the most accurate. Plus, there had been very recent sightings of a loon in towns close to the east and west of the town I was in on inaturalist, so it seems a likely fit.

Mother bird in nest and 1 juvenile bird in it as well that I could see. The nest was built up high in an open window in the remains of the old castle on Gibbett Hill. Very fitting for a raven's nest! We were there in the afternoon, and there were other birds squawking nearby. The male raven may have been near warning off possible predators? Other than the mother raven, I definitely heard another raven near the nest.