47 degrees F Clear WInd 3 mph NE
Sunrise 6:23 am CDT Sunset 8:03 pm CDT
The sun will be coming up in about 40 minutes, but already the camera has switched to day vision with the increasing light from the east.
The seagulls are stirring and will soon be leaving for the day.
I don't know where they go but most of them are gone until evening comes again.
Yesterday there were no more than a few dozen on the lake during the day rather than the thousands that are here at night. And those that remain are much quieter during the day than the raucous racket they make all night long.
Lakes are now opening all the way to the Canadian border and soon the Canadian lakes will open as well.
I would expect that as the ice goes out further north, the seagulls will leave us and head north. Only a very few will stay here for the summer.
So I think that over the next few days most of the seagulls will leave us and you will not hear all the seagull background sound all night long.
Last night the loons appeared about 6:30 pm and swam around the nest several times.
One of them got up on the nest and sat there for about 5 or 10 minutes. The mate did not get up on the nest but stayed in the water swimming around. There was no real nest building activity by the loon on the nest. Just sitting there looking around. Maybe trying to decide what color to paint the nursery.
The encouraging part is that they still are visiting the nest and taking an interest in it.
The confrontations with other loons apparently continued last night with numerous yodels and tremolos echoing across the lake. Although it seems to be slightly less than the previous nights. So maybe they are getting things sorted out and can get down to nesting.
I had hoped that this year they would nest early enough that the chicks would hatch before Memorial Day so that for once the kids could use the lake and go swimming on Memorial Day. That is still a possibility but we are getting close.
Whatever the case, the loons own the area around the nest from man or beast.
One of the interesting things that I have never been able to fully understand nor have I found anyone who can explain it, is that the loons here on the LoonCam nest about a month earlier than loons in extreme northern Minnesota or Canada.
Part of that obviously has to do with the difference in ice out dates.
But they also tend to nest earlier here than in New England which also normally has earlier ice out dates. Although this year New England has been socked in because of their heavy snow this winter and their lakes are still frozen.
So we wait for our loons to decide what they want to do.
We must constantly remind ourselves that it is still early in the year and there is plenty of time.
I remember the first year I did the loon nest.
I had decided the previous summer that I wanted to experiment with building a nesting platform to see if they would use it. I had completed most of it the by the fall but it needed some finishing touches in the spring.
The loons came back and I.thought "I have to get that nest finished and put out for them."
So I finally finished and put the nest out.
And the loons just plain disappeared from the lake for almost two weeks!
I thought to myself, "WOW! Not only did I not help them. I scared them off the lake completely!"
But they did return and use the nest that first year and every year since except for one.
So today may be the day that the loons get more serious about nest building.
Do I know that? Nope.
Do I hope that, along with you? Yup!
We can only watch and wait.
Copyright 2015 Larry R Backlund