42 degrees F Partly Cloudy Calm
We have waited all winter!
And now the time is near.
Our loons are back. They have shown interest in the nest.
They not only have shown interest in the nest.
They have been up on the nest several times and have even mated.
The sun is just coming up. With its first rays dappling the lake, the two loons have come in and are swimming nearby the nest. They have been up on the nest once this morning already. Then out into the lake and now back for a 'swim by'.
Further out in the lake, two pair of geese are trying to decide if they can get along or if they need to confront each other. A couple other pair swim off by themselves but one pair looks like they want to investigate the loon's home. Will the loons allow it?
Soon the loons come swimming back and the geese decide they do not want a confrontation with a loon and they noisily fly off.
The loons are definitely making a statement to any and all comers that "This is our territory. Enter at your own risk."
We continue to try to decide what more we can do with the camera to add an infrared light for night viewing. It is still a mystery why the camera worked in a "no light" situation before when it was tested but is not giving us a good picture at night now.
If we are able to do something, we must do it quickly before the loons actually begin their nest. They may have located a light for the camera and if we can get it, we may try this afternoon. If we are able to do it, we would have to shut the camera down for a little while to be able to install it. But so much depends on what the loons are doing today.
I will try to let you know later if we think we can do something with it.
I think the view that we have with the cam is what we will have for this year. I had also thought with the zoom feature that we would be able to zoom out further to see more of the lake. But it seems as if this is the furthest out that the cam can zoom. Oh well, live and learn. We will have a great view of the loons.
As to the initial positioning of the camera, it is always a guessing game. We have to position it to take in the maximum area of the raft since we never know where the loons will decide to build the nest itself. And that is the important part - that we are able to see the loons. If we see a bunch of the lake and the loons are cut off at the bottom of the picture, no one would be very happy. So we try to make the best guesses but are ultimately at the mercy of the loons.
Like I have said before, for two weeks before the loons actually nest, I become this paranoid person wondering if they will use the platform this year and once again grace us with their presence.
I am starting to relax a little bit now that they are taking more and more ownership of the nest. But it is still a big unknown exactly where on the raft they will build their nest.
The loons do not seem to care much one way or the other about the pansies. And the pansies are looking a little worse for the wear right now. Once the loons get the nest bowl built, the will not be on other sections of the raft as much. So if the pansies survive the loons pulling in material to build the nest, they may survive to bloom another day! Or they may end up IN the nest.
The other plants that are on the nest are irises and daylilies.
Both of these are more hardy than the pansies and able to take abuse and even pulling and pecking and crawling over them.
But it looks like the first drama of the year is 'will the pansies live to see another day'?!
Tune in, same 'pansy time', same 'pansy channel' each day to see the 'nest episode' of "As The Pansy Turns"!
For those of you in Minnesota and Wisconsin, just a reminder that we will be talking about "Amazing Loons" at the Sandhill Center for the Arts in Bethel, Minnesota next Tuesday at 11am. I know they were almost full a couple days ago. But you can get more information at their website. http://www.stfrancisce.com/insight/registry/classinfo.asp?courseID=4834&catID=1045
We are supposed to get thunderstorms later on today. It is sounding like it will be late tonight when they get here. Maybe after midnight. Hopefully nothing will be severe. As of right now, the forecast seems to be putting the more severe parts of the storms well to the south of the loon nest. Let's hope. In fact, let's hope that nobody gets anything severe. But this IS spring in the central part of the United States. And severe weather is just a fact of life.
Have a wonderful day.
Things are starting to get exciting!
Comments or Questions? LoonCam(at)yahoo(dot)com