40 degrees F Cloudy Wind 2 mph E Sunrise 6:12 am CDT Sunset 8:10 pm CDT
The ice went out of the lake overnight!
It is always amazing to see the difference in the lake that only a few hours can make.
What had been a sheet of black ice covering the lake is now a sea of liquid. A beautiful northern Minnesota lake. A liquid lake instead of a sheet of ice. A lake always changing and always in motion.
There are swans and eagles and seagulls and mergansers and geese and ducks of every description.
This morning I saw a pair of loons swimming nearby so I think they are already looking for the nest. They are the ones we have been waiting for. They are the ones that really make this complete and make it a northern lake.
Last night there was a lot of calling back and forth across the lake even though it was mostly covered with ice.
The wails and the tremolos echoed through the night air.
Then there was three loud yodels.
I had thought that the single loon I had seen before was maybe a female. But the yodels told me that there was a male on the lake and he was on this side of the sheet of ice!
With his yodels, he was telling everyone who could hear (which was the entire lake) that he was staking out the territory on this side.
That is encouraging to see and hear.
Now we can do some of the final work on the camera and the nest and get it ready to put in the lake.
We are getting close!
And it is getting exciting.
Hopefully the last preparations will come together without any major problems and you will be able to see the LoonCam soon!
Tell your family and friends and everyone else to get ready.
If you have any comments or questions or would like to leave your email address for possibly updates or notifications, send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com.
Copyright 2014 Larry R. Backlund