53 degrees F Partly Cloudy Wind Calm
Sunrise 5:32 am CDT Sunset 8:47 pm CDT
15 hours 15 minutes daylight
We are in the middle of the Memorial Day weekend and the loons had a pretty easy day as far as boat traffic.
While there was increased boat traffic, it was not nearly as much as it is many years. I think that is partly due to the fact that Mother Nature just can’t make up her mind about warmer weather.
Today was supposed to be warm and sunny. But it was cloudy and actually chilly. They are promising sunshine and warmth tomorrow - before rain moves back in on Monday. We have had more rain than we need. But that is part of what makes Minnesota such a beautiful green state. Something that we take for granted.
The loons have had other things to concern them today.
This evening the male loon went into extreme hangover and then bolted off the nest.
When I looked to see why he left the nest, there was an ‘intruder loon’ in the area and both of our loons were confronting the intruder.
There was a lot of excited diving and some splashing and a few calls.
But eventually the intruder left and the male came back to sit on the nest.
There were a couple times when the male went into hangover and I could not see anything that was disturbing him. All of the boaters seemed to be very respectful and kept their distance away from the nest. Eagles continue to patrol over the lake and the loons are not happy at all when the eagles are around.
I still have not figured out why the female seems to spend a great amount of her time in hangover. For some reason, she is very skittish. Most of the time when she is in hangover, there is nothing that I can see that would be of concern for her. But she knows what concerns her.
The male tolerates me (and others) being in the front yard or even by the lakeshore. She does not. So when she is on the nest I try to not even be anywhere she can see me.
We have reached the halfway mark of the incubation of the eggs. Can it be that we are that far along already. It was 2 weeks ago this afternoon that the first egg was laid. I always am SO curious to know what is going on inside that egg. The miracle of life itself. A yolk and egg white becoming a living, breathing little loon chick!
A few years ago I did some research on the day by day development of a loon egg. I should find that and repeat some of it for you. I think you would find it very interesting to know what is happening inside those eggs right now.
A holiday weekend like this is a good opportunity for you to remind your fiends and family who may be boating to be aware of the presence of loons and to be respectful and observe them from a distance. There probably is a very slim chance that they will ever see an actual loon nest in the wild since they are normally very well hidden.
But if they do see one, remind them to stay at least a couple hundred feet away from the nest and observe them with binoculars. That way they will minimize the stress on the loons and prevent them from leaving the nest. Or even abandoning it.
I wish all of you a very special Memorial Day Weekend as we remember those who have paid the ultimate price so that we may have the freedom and life that we enjoy!
Copyright 2019 Larry R Backlund