33 degrees F Clear Wind 7mph N
Will this be the day?
One of these days, the loon will get on the nest and by the time she leaves the world will have changed.
There will be a loon egg on the nest.
Right now the loons swim nearby the nest. There is a call from another loon flying overhead.
Will she get up on the nest? Will it be more nest building? Will it be mating? Or will this be the time that there is an egg?
We are getting close.
Last night she was on the nest several times and each time she was more and more serious about nest building. So we are closer but how do you tell how close? How do you know which time will be "the time"? The only way is to continue to watch. Be ready to tell your family and friends that "now" is the time to quickly come to the computer and watch.
Here are a few hints of what to watch for.
When she gets up on the nest, she will go about her usual routine of using her feet to dig the nest bowl deeper. And she will pull in more nesting material from around her with her beak.
But she will be more active. More restless. More unsettled.
She may sort of "climb up on the edge of the nest". You will see body movements and 'spasms'. She may spread her wings to steady herself. It will be quite obvious that something different is going on. She is working hard. There is a very large egg moving down through her body.
And then it will happen.
All of a sudden an egg will almost pop out.
This whole procedure may go very quickly. Or it could be quite drawn out.
Many of you who have watched before will remember that she struggled mightily to lay that first egg. And then after she had laid it, she just laid there hardly moving for almost half an hour. I became very concerned that she had possibly injured herself in what was obviously a hard delivery of the egg. But she recovered and left the nest for a swim as the egg remained behind.
When it came time for her to lay the second egg, the whole procedure went very quickly.
What will happen this year?
Only time will tell.
And the only way to not miss it is to keep watching. Tell your family and your friends that we are getting close.
Comments or Questions? LoonCam(at)yahoo(dot)com
Copyright 2012 Larry Backlund