32 degrees F Cloudy Wind NNW 7 mph
Sunrise 6:08 CDT Sunset 8:15 am CDT
A cold wind blows out of the north.
Icy waves bounce the loon nesting platform.
Rain has been mixed with some snow and ice. But it has been mostly rain. Well over an inch of rain in the last day or two.
But none of that bothers our loons. They are used to this. And worse.
A short time ago the male was up on the nest and spent almost 10 minutes there. He definitely was checking things out. Watching his eye movements, he even was checking out the camera and the willow branches on the nest.
But the female still seems to be a little more reticent to readily get on the nest.
Yesterday they were on the nest three different times throughout the day. Both of them were on the nest two of those times. But there was no mating that I saw.
They swam around the nest for about 15 minutes earlier this morning but did not get up on the nest.
As impatient as we sometimes get to see them lay eggs, so far there is no reason for concern that I can see. Although I must admit that I also go through this paranoid stage where I wonder if they are going to use the nest this year.
But I think it is quite obvious that the loons have very much taken ownership of this nest this year.
And I think it is only a matter of time until we see the nest building activity.
And THEN .... EGGS!
Patience my dear. Patience.
Copyright 2017 Larry R Backlund