43 degrees F Cloudy Wind 7 mph WNW
Sunrise 5:45 am CDT Sunset 8:34 pm CDT
It is a chilly May morning on a northern lake in Minnesota.
This is perfect for loons.
Plenty of lakes. Plenty of fish. And there is still cool weather that it easier on a loon, who is accustomed to cool water. Sitting on a nest in the sun in hot weather takes a toll on a loon.
But what could get more ideal than this?
Cool. A perfect lake. And an egg under the loon!
And hopefully a second egg coming soon.
Last night the female loon left the nest after she had been on it for a while. She stayed in the area but she did not get back on the nest for an hour.
Only when the male loon returned 1 hour and 7 minutes after the female got off the nest did he get back up on the nest and cover the eggs.
As I said yesterday, in my mind I know not to be too alarmed this early in the cycle.
But my heart tells me otherwise and I want the loon to get back to the nest quickly.
The next couple mornings are supposed to be close to freezing. That could damage the egg if they are left uncovered for any length of time.
If this is the new female that was with the male last year, I am wondering if she is young and inexperienced and just learning what needs to be done.
But many questions are unknowable.
So they simply have to remain that - questions.
I want to thank you once again for your patience and understanding as we rebuild so much that was taken out by the lightning.
I with you am hoping that you will have sound soon. I know how much it adds to the whole experience. The good folks at Broadband are working overtime to find out where we are losing the signal. I have sound coming off the nest here. So we know that part is working.
But the thousands of steps along the line, each one of which must work perfectly, each have a potential for being a problem. Sometimes it can be like looking for needle in a stack of needles!
Early yesterday morning when the cam went down for a little while, it turned out to be an encoder - whatever that is.
So thank you for understanding and for your patience.
And today sit back and enjoy the view of our beautiful loons on a nest with one egg already in it.
Comments or Questions? LoonCam (at) yahoo (dot) com
Copyright 2014 Larry R Backlund