16 degrees Cloudy Calm
It is a winter wonderland here!
Overnight and today we got about 4 inches of new snow and it has decorated every tree and bush.
All the trees and bushes look like the finest flocked Christmas tree that you have ever seen. It is gorgeous. And it is even more gorgeous if you do not need to get out and drive in rush hour traffic.
There is still one very small section of the lake here that has not frozen over yet. It probably would have frozen over except that the weather warmed up ahead of the snow arriving and then we had heavy rain on Monday. The rain melted most of the snow that was already on the ground. But now everything is white again.
As is normal with winter storms like this, there is colder weather that is predicted to come in behind the storm in the next few days so I think the lake will finally freeze over completely.
If you check the loon migration website, you will see that the loons continue to move. There has been a lot of movement over the last few days. The arrival of winter is definitely motivating them to migrate.
Loon #55479 is now on the Gulf of Mexico near Apalachee Bay south of Tallahassee. He arrived on November 29th after making stops on Barren River Lake, Kentucky, Tims Ford Lake, Tennessee and Lake Guntersville, Alabama.
Loon #55489 stopped on Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee north of Chattanooga on Friday, November 26 and that is the last sighting of him.
Loon #55487 has now made it to the Atlantic Coast of South Carolina near Charleston as of Monday, November 29th.
Loon #55488 is still on Albemarle Bay, North Carolina.
Loon #55484 moved to Brookeville Lake, Indiana from Lake Michigan on Friday, November 26. He then flew from there on Saturday, November 27 and arrived on the Gulf off the Florida coast near Loon #55479 on Sunday, November 28.
Loon #55490 moved from Lake Michigan to Lake Monroe, Indiana on Sunday, November 28th which is his last location.
Loon #55480, the loon from Lake Sagatagans in Minnesota remains on Lake Michigan as of Monday, November 29th.
So to summarize, we currently have two loons on the Gulf of Mexico and two loons on the Atlantic Ocean. So far they are supporting the hypothesis that loons from the Upper Midwest go to the Atlantic and the Gulf on about a 50/50 basis. Let's see how that ratio ends up when all of the loons make it to their wintering grounds.
There are 3 of the loons still on Lake Michigan and two that are in their migration....one in Indiana and one in Tennessee.
When and where will all of them go?
That chapter remains to be written so stay tuned and keep checking back.