Tuesday, July 15, 2014 3:01 pm CDT

68 degrees F     Mostly Cloudy     Wind 8 mph NW

Sunrise   5:39 am CDT     Sunset   8:58 pm CDT

SUCCESS!!

Last night was a cold, windy rainy night on the lake.  Especially for the middle of July.

But the good news is that we were able to catch both adults of our LoonCam loons as well as both chicks.

My thanks to Kevin and Luke and Steve from the United States Geological Service [USGS] for the wonderful work they do with loons and for allowing an 'amateur' to join them.  They are just great people.

It was not looking promising for our venture for most of the day.

All afternoon there were periods of heavy rain as well as high wind that whipped up whitecaps on the lake.  It is hard enough to see a loon on the lake in the best of conditions, let alone having to deal with the 'white' of the whitecaps looking deceptively like loons at times.

We got started shortly after 9 pm as we did a quick survey of the lake.  We were able to locate our LoonCam pair with the two chicks, all swimming together.  We were also able to locate the pair on the other side of the lake, the ones that had one egg hatch on their nest about a week ago.

And then we sat and waited for dark to come.

In the north, it takes a long time for it to get dark even at this time of year a full month away from solstice and "midsommardagen".

At about 10 pm, we decided to start looking for the loons, even though there was still light on the horizon in the northwest and the northern sky.  We were also in a race before the bright moon that was almost full last night came up.

After some looking, we were able to capture the male from the LoonCam [the one we had banded and put data recorders on in 2012] as well as one of the chicks.  The full moon was now up and hiding in and out among the clouds.  But definitely bright enough to make things more difficult.

It was really surprising to see the chick close up and see how big and strong he is! 

Now it was time to see if we could catch the female and the second chick.

This proved to be more difficult.

When we found them, she took off like a shot splashing and rowing across the surface of the water.  As we followed quietly in the boat with the lights trained on her, she kept going and going with only brief rest stops.  And then she was off again.

I commented that is was as if she said, "You're on your own kid.  I am OUTTA here!"

Her behavior wasn't too surprising since she had been so skittish on the nest all year.  When it was obvious that she was not going to settle down, it was time to return to see if we could find the chick.  

After some time, we finally located the second chick.

But she had taught him well.

He was not going to be taken easily either.

Time after time he dove to get away from us.  All the tricks failed.

We finally had to admit that he was the winner in this game of cat and mouse!

The chicks definitely are doing well!

We brought the male and the chick back to shore where the guys could do the work that needed to be done.

Removing the data recorder from 2012, drawing blood, taking feather samples, weighing and taking other measurements.  When the work on the male was done, he went back in his crate and out of the smaller crate came the chick.

It was very interesting to now see him in full light.  And to see how large he was.  And how feisty!

At one point I commented that it was hard to believe how much he had grown in only 5 weeks.  That his head alone was about the size of the little chick that we saw jump into the water for the first time on that Saturday night.  For it was only 5 weeks ago this last Saturday afternoon that you watched him hatch LIVE on the LoonCam!

He was definitely bigger than our little chick from 2012 at the same age.  The chick who loved the nest!

The chick already has some of his primary flight feathers on his wing coming in as well as some feathers starting to show on other parts of his body.

We all commented at how big and strong he was for only 5 weeks old.  And we agreed that the parents must have been feeding him well.

He already weighs about 4 1/2 pounds!

He got his new bands.  One of the guys said, "Larry maybe isn't going to like the colors of these bands."  I joked, "As long as they are not green and yellow!  [Green Bay Packers colors]".  Ummmm, guess what?

They were mostly green and yellow!

We may need to sneak over to Wisconsin some night and put a bunch of Vikings Purple and White bands on loons as well as Minnesota Gophers Gold and Maroon bands on Wisconsin loons!

Then it was time to take both of them back out to release them about where we had caught them.

We headed over to the other side of the lake so see if we could find and catch the other pair of loons.

I know that they had one egg and that the egg had hatched.

But I had not seen that chick.  Nor had any of the people over on that side of the lake.  They were concerned that we maybe had lost that chick.

But with hope against hope, we went to see if we could catch them and hopefully find that there was a new week old chick with them.

After searching and calling, we finally found the pair again swimming close together..

As we started to approach them, they both took off in opposite directions.  "Running" and paddling and splashing.

This was not going to be easy.

And it wasn't.

We followed one of them for a ways but he was just as skittish as the female had been.   After some trying, it became obvious that we were not going to catch them either.  And it was also "obvious" that the chick must not have survived and was not with them.

As we sat in the dark waiting and listening for them, we heard two loons flying overhead, calling as they flew.  It must have been the pair we had been trying to capture.

We headed back over to the other side of the lake to try to capture the female and the second chick.

We were finally able to catch the female, although almost made it out of the net as she was swung into the boat.  But we got her.

And once we located the second chick, it was a little - emphasis on 'little' - easier to catch him on this try.

So we headed into shore with the female and the second chick from the LoonCam safely in containers in the boat.

Once again, weight and measurements and bands.

The female was a different one than the one we had banded in 2012 and she was not banded.  So she got her new set of bands.  And the chick also got his new set of bands.

The second chick was just as big and strong and feisty as the first chick.

It was so gratifying to see them so big and so strong and doing so well, especially with the reminder that we have apparently lost the little chick from the other nest.  And knowing that they have already faced such dangers and survived them.

Now it was time to take them back out onto the lake and release them.

It was now after 3 am.  And it was time to call it a night.  

So you can be happy today that the little chicks that stole your heart a few weeks ago are strong and thriving and doing well.

They are well on their way to 'being loons'!

Questions?  LoonCam at yahoo dot com

Copyright 2014     Larry R Backlund

Sunday, July 13, 2014 9:43 pm CDT

61 degrees F     Clear     Calm

Sunrise   5:37 am CDT     Sunset   8:59 pm CDT

I just wanted to give you a quick update.

Just today I received word from the United States Geological Service that they are planning to be here tomorrow night to try to capture the loons and to remove the data recorders.

Those data recorders have been recording everywhere the loon has been since July of 2012, or however long the batteries lasted.

It will be a massive amount of data that will add to our understanding of loons, especially what they do and where they go during the winter.

In the months ahead, the USGS will undertake the massive amount of work in downloading the data and analyzing and interpreting it.

We will start shortly after dark.

The moon is almost full so we hope that will not hamper the capture.  But it very well could cause problems in catching the loons.

In addition to removing the data recorders that were placed on the loons 2 years ago, we will band any unbanded loons that we catch - including, hopefully, the two chicks that you watched being born on the LoonCam this year!

I will give you an update of what happens and how it went.

Questions?  LoonCam at yahoo dot com

Copyright 2014     Larry R Backlund

Saturday, July 12, 2014 5:39 am CDT

66 degrees F     Hazy     Absolutely Calm

Sunrise   5:37 am CDT     Sunset   9:00 am CDT

There is a haze hanging in the air.

The far shore of the lake is softened by a whitish bluish brush stroke from the humidity paint.

There is not a ripple on the lake.  Every detail is perfectly reflected in the absolutely calm water.

That is no ripples except for the line of ripples caused by something swimming out towards the middle of the lake.

A straight line from east to west.

Our loon family is out for their morning swim!

Mom, dad and the two not-so-little chicks.

This afternoon, one of the chicks is already 5 weeks old!  And the other will be 5 weeks old tomorrow afternoon.

Can it be?

Can it have all gone so fast?

It has.  And both chicks seem to be doing well.  They have grown so much.  They are now in their 'teenage' stage.  Their down looking a little more tousled.

They still eagerly accept minnows and fish from mom and dad.  But now they are able to eat fish that are a little bigger than minnow size as well.  The will, however, eat absolutely anything that is offered.

They can now dive with a little more ease but they are still almost totally dependent on their parents to supply their food.  Soon they will start catching more and more of their own food.

But what is that?

There is another single adult loon swimming out on the lake.

And over there to the left is a PAIR of loons.

Loons loons everywhere you look loons.  We are more than blessed.

A couple days ago I was out in the canoe looking to see if I could find the new chick that was hatched on the other nest on the lake.  I was very surprised to see 5 adult loons swimming together.  FIVE!  I never did see the new chick.  But I wondered if it was sheltered under the wing of one of the 5 loons.  Even that did not make sense that they would be swimming with other loons if they had a new chick with them.

I have no explanation.

More questions than answers.

In talking with someone who lives over on that part of the lake a couple days later, he said he wondered if that chick had survived or not.  He had seen the pair of loons but he had not been able to see a chick.

I know that a chick hatched because the remains of the eggshell were on the empty nest.  But we will have to wait to see if we see the chick or not.  Hopefully he is alive and well.  There are SO many dangers in those first few days and weeks for a tiny little loon chick.

This next week the USGS is planning to come up here to the lake.  We are hoping to catch the loons that we banded and put data recorders on  two years ago.  

For the last two years, those data recorders have been recording everywhere the loons have been and what they have been doing.  A WEALTH of information that will add so much to what is known about loons, but especially add to our knowledge about where they are in the winter and what they do.  That whole part of a loon's life has so little knowledge that we know for sure.  And this will add to that big empty space of knowledge.

But we have to catch them first to retrieve the data recorders.  And then the USGS can download the mounds of data and analyze it.  A daunting task for sure.

We know that the male on the LoonCam is the one we banded two years ago.  But the female is new and with any luck, we hope to catch her and band her as well.  AND to band the two new chicks from the LoonCam.

And then we will see if we can catch the other FIVE loons and see who they are.  And band them as well, if necessary.

It will be a LONG night.

We will go out on the lake shortly before midnight and work until the first glint of daybreak appears in the eastern sky.

I don't know for sure which night it will be until the USGS is able to finalize their schedule.  But they are hoping to be up here on Monday or Tuesday night.

In one of the future blogs, I will be sure to give you a report of what we found and how it went.

But for this morning, rest assured that "our" loon chicks are thriving.  Growing.  And getting big.

What could be better than that?!

Questions?  LoonCam@yahoo.com

&copy Copyright 2014    Larry R Backlund

Friday, July 4, 2014 10:28 am CDT

75 degrees F     High Clouds     Wind   5mph S

Sunrise  5:30 pm CDT     Sunset 9:04 pm CDT

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY to all of you!

And for those of you who to not live in the United States, today's celebration of our Independence Day has picnics going on all across the country and people going to the lake.  And then later tonight, the skies will light up with fireworks in all directions.

With all the boats on the lake today and this whole weekend, it will be a busy time for our loons.

What you want to know the most is that our two loon chicks are still alive, healthy, active and growing!

They can now dive with some ease.  I am not sure how deep they can go yet but I have seen them make dives for up to  15 seconds at a time.

They are truly becoming loons.

Just a little while ago I watched one of the chicks rise up out of the water and flap his little wings with his white breast exposed, just like mom and dad.

They look like they are at least 6 or 7 inches long - maybe even more.  It is hard to tell from a distance.

Tomorrow afternoon the first chick will be 4 weeks old and on Sunday afternoon the second chick will be 4 weeks old.  My how the time has flown.  From those tense days of waiting for the eggs to hatch, always wondering if they would hatch.  To those first couple weeks when the tiny chicks are SO vulnerable to so many dangers.  From above and below.

So to now see them at this stage is such a joy and a relief.

They have survived many of the dangers of being a little loon chick.

The greatest danger to the chicks right now is a bald eagle.

And several eagles regularly patrol the lake looking for food.

A large snapping turtle could do damage to the chick, especially its legs.  But even a snapping turtle is becoming less and less of a danger.

But the loons know that the eagles are still danger.  

Whenever an eagle flies over, the loons will start calling.  And the chicks usually hurry to get close to mom or dad for safety.

We had another chick hatch on the lake just this last Saturday!

I was surprised because I had been told that the other pair was nesting.  But I had not seen the nest myself.  I was finally able to get over there last week and sure enough, there was a loon on the nest.  I really thought with the loon still on the nest this late in the season that the eggs would not hatch.

But the one egg hatched this last Saturday.  There was only one egg on that nest this year.

I have not seen that new chick yet but I assume it is somewhere on another part of the lake.

Hopefully healthy and doing well.

With all the boat traffic, it will be much harder for that chick on this holiday weekend.  With him being only a few days old, he is not able to dive at all yet to get out of danger.  Not that a boater would purposely run him down.  But such a small chick is very hard for a speeding boater to even see, let alone avoid.

So if you and your loved ones are out on the lakes this weekend, encourage them to be on the lookout for loons and for tiny little loon chicks that are so vulnerable.  Especially in northern Minnesota and on up into Canada as well as in New England, this is the prime hatching time for new loon chicks.

If we all help our loons, we will be guaranteed that our kids and our grandkids and their kids will be able to hear that haunting call of the loon for generations to come!

Questions?   LoonCam at yahoo dot com

Copyright 2014    Larry R Backlund

Monday, June 23, 2014 11:38 pm CDT

63 degrees F     Clear     Calm

Sunrise   5:25 am CDT     Sunset   9:05 pm CDT

We have now officially entered summer.

And these are the longest days of the year.

But the rain just will not stop.  Today is one of the first days in sometime where we had no rain.  The lake is high.  Rivers are over their banks.  Flooding, mudslides and roads and fields under water are the rule of the day.

We would gladly send some of our water to areas of the country that are battling drought.

But our loons take it all in stride.

They could care less if the lake has risen or if the water is under them or coming down on them from above.

There were several days that I did not see the loons at all.  When I don't, my level of concern always goes up.

But today I have seen them several times.

The chicks seem to be doing well.

They are active and growing.  

They look to be at least 5 or 6 inches long.  And they are ever ready to hungrily gobble every minnow that their parents bring to them.

It was two weeks ago this morning that the second chick fearlessly jumped from the nest into the water.  And they haven't looked back since.  They are now truly birds of the water.

A couple days ago I watched as the chicks are now able to dive.  They are short dives but they are actually able to stay underwater for a little bit.

The more the are able to do that, the safer they will be.  They will be able to dive out of the way of danger.  But they still are not able to dive like an adult loon and they are still vulnerable to danger.

The chicks are now big enough to be safe from most fish except maybe the largest northerns or muskies.  But they still are very much vulnerable to eagles.  There is a reason that loons are so aware anytime an eagle is around.

This week I will be teaching at a "pioneer school" - a one room, old-fashioned country school with six grades.  I very much look forward to spending time with these kids sharing about loons.

As you and your families are out on the lakes this summer, be aware of loons and keep a wide berth.  Give them the space they need.

Questions?  LoonCam at yahoo dot com

Copyright 2014     Larry R Backlund