68 degrees F Sunny Wind NW 3 mph
Sunrise 5:40 am CDT Sunset 8:38 pm CDT
Today has been a wonderful day in so many ways!
It started out chilly but it has been sunny and warm the rest of the day. Last night there was a frost advisory in the area. But we only got down to 36 degrees over night.
This morning started out with the lake absolutely calm and mirror-like as the sun came up.
But the most wonderful thing is that the LoonCam is back live and you can watch our loons.
Tell all of your friends and neighbors and kids and family and teachers and everyone that they can once again see the loons. For those of you who are active on Facebook and twitter and other social media, now is the time to spread the word.
These days with the loons on the nest are so short and they go so fast. The eggs will hatch in about 4 weeks from the time they were laid. And then the little chicks will leave the nest within about 24 hours. Never to return. Except for our little guy in 2012 who seemed to love the nest more than anything else!
It is interesting to see the difference in behavior of the two loons.
The female is seems to be very shy and skittish. Almost anything will send her into hangover mode.
On the other hand, nothing seems to bother the male. He sits with his head held high almost all the time, no matter what is going on around him.
Yesterday there were 3 eagles that stayed in the area and sat in the trees on shore for a good share of the day. They did not seem to be overtly interested in the loons and they were not targeting the loons at all. But it was enough to send the female into hangover mode over and over.
The male simply craned his neck to keep an eye on them.
With the reaction of the female, I have been wondering if she is a relatively young and inexperienced female. That would probably also explain why the loons did not nest last year if she was very young and inexperienced. And it would explain why she seems to be so skittish this year. She still is not fully comfortable with the nest or the whole process.
Let's watch to see if her behavior changes over the next few weeks as she becomes more comfortable with nesting and being out of the water.
Let's review - we have two eggs on the nest. That is the "normal" number. Rarely loons will lay 3 eggs and occasionally they will lay only one. But two eggs is the normal number.
The FIRST EGG was laid at 5:17 am CDT on Monday, May 12, 2014.
The second egg was laid sometime between late Tuesday evening, May 13 and Friday afternoon, May 16. My best guess is that the egg was laid sometime on Wednesday or maybe Thursday. There is no way of knowing for sure since the LoonCam was down and we could not enjoy this wonderful and educational view.
Based on those dates, I would guess that the eggs could hatch as early as Friday night, June 6 or as late as Wednesday, June 11.
So now we have our goal in mind. Now we know what we are aiming for.
But a lot can and will happen between now and then. For those of you who have watched before, there is no predicting what will happen next. As you have already seen this year.
I have noticed the loons already dealing some with black flies.
They are not bad yet, but as the weather warms more and more they will be an increasing problem for the loons. We will maybe talk more about the black flies in the days ahead.
For now, enjoy the loons.
Enjoy the nest.
Enjoy the eggs.
And look forward to two new little black downy loon chicks!
Comments or Questions? LoonCam (at) yahoo (dot) com
Copyright 2014 Larry R Backlund