63 degrees F Cloudy with rain approaching Wind Calm
Sunrise 6:20 am CDT Sunset 8:04 pm CDT
WE HAVE A LOON!
The lake is still more than 80% ice covered. But there is some open water around the edges.
Overnight and today a very gentle breeze has moved the ice sheet and now there is more open water on this side of the lake.
Early this morning my neighbors said that they had heard a loon on the lake!
I did not see or hear anything until about 3 pm today.
I had looked earlier with the binoculars but I did not see anything. Nor hear anything.
Then I saw a dark shape dive in the distance.
I could not be sure what it was. It surfaced and dove several times more. But even with the binoculars I could not get a good view of it. Good enough that I could say for sure it was a loon.
Then it surfaced once more and turned sideways.
There was no mistaking that unique profile of a loon.
THERE WAS ONE LOON BACK ON THE LAKE!
I called to it.
And it answered. Several times.
So now the season starts!
The nest is still under some of the new snow so it is impossible to do more work on it and to get the camera and other equipment working. Which we will do hopefully in the next few days.
Easter Sunday is forecast to be sunny with a high of 70 degrees.
Sheer heaven for Minnesotans who have endured this seemingly endless winter!
But even if we have everything working, we cannot put the nest out in the lake until all the ice goes out. Even though there is some open water here, if the wind should push the ice sheet this way, it would destroy everything in its path.
Especially a nest and a camera.
So once again we wait.
But at least we know that ONE loon has returned!
Comments or questions or just to have your email put on the notification list, send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com
Copyright 2014 Larry R. Backlund