Monday, May 11, 2009 6:52am CDT

34 degrees Clear and Sunny Wind Calm

Once again this morning, our loon sits quietly on the nest. Ever faithful in keeping the eggs warm during the cold overnight hours. Even though it is above freezing right now according to the thermometer, it did fall to 31 degrees overnight and there is still frost - or more appropriately frozen dew - on the car.

But the first rays of the morning sun have hit the nest and the loon and will help to warm things up.

Today temperatures should return to more normal for this time of year in Minnesota with highs in the upper 60's. The loons made it through a relatively light fishing opener here (what with the cool weather and winds) and today promises to be a fairly quiet Monday with most people back at work. But you (and the loons) can never be sure what each day will bring.

This year I have noticed more defensive posturing (with the head down) than in past years. Or at least it seems like there has been more of it. This morning there have already been a goose that swam fairly close to the nest and a duck. The loon went into the "I'm hiding" posture until they passed and then was sitting back up again.

But there have been many times that I have seen them in this defensive posture and when I went to look could see absolutely no reason for it. But obviously THEY have a reason and we can only guess.

This morning there is another pair of loons on the lake. So that may be adding to the concern this morning. The male (or at least the loon not on the nest) has gone out to meet them and set up sort of a "blocking move" as if to say "This close and no closer!".

There has not been a fight that I have seen this morning but there will be if they try to approach the nest.

A couple of you have commented and asked about other loons on the lake. Normally we have had only this pair of loons on the lake that have stayed. But several of us around the lake have spotted up to 3 other loons on the lake at times in addition to "our pair" of loons. Are they some loons trying to set up their own territory or are they loons just passing through on their way farther north? I don't know. Only time will tell.

I have wondered if some of the loons that have stopped have been our chicks from previous years. Because the commonly accepted wisdom is that the young loons will not only return north after 3 years but they will RETURN TO THE SAME LAKE THEY WERE BORN ON! Once again one of those wonderful miracles about loons. So it is possible that these are the young from 3 years ago. There is no way to know for sure. Or they could be other loons just be passing through or other loons trying to set up their own territory.

If it is other loons setting up their own territory, we can be assured that there will be fights between them and our loons. We have already seen a couple fights this spring. Let's hope that it doesn't happen because our loons need every bit of strength that they have to raise their chicks. But it is only something that we can watch and wait.

I mentioned in another blog entry that loons main weapon is their long and very sharp beak. They are very effective at using it in a fight. There have been cases know where one loon has killed another loon with that sharp beak in a fight. It is known as a "sternum stab".

One loon will come up under another loon underwater and literally stab them in the breast (or the sternum) with that very long sharp beak.

During a fight you will often see when one loon dives, the other loon will dive as well or at least put its head under water. This is to try to prevent thenselves from being stabbed in the breast by the other loon.

I think I saw it actually happen a couple years ago. Our loons were fighting with another loon when all of a sudden the loon on top of the water literally jumped straight up out of the water. And then the other loon surfaced right by him. Fortunately the "jumping loon" was ok and left the area right away. But I think I had just observed a "sternum stab".

Some of you will remember me telling you a couple years ago about a loon rescue I did. The loon had somehow ended up in a very small pond. Too small to take off from. We are not sure how he ended up there  but he may have been forced down by a severe storm that had gone through the area. But if he was not rescued, he would die.

During the rescue, when he saw he could not get away from me, he came at me. All the time stabbing at me with that sharp beak. I was able to capture him and release him on a nearby lake. As we were transporting him, I became acutely aware that if he ever got that beak loose he would immediately go for my  face or my eyes!  I was surprised at how vulnerable I felt.  And he was doing everything he could do to get loose from me.  They are amazingly strong birds.   Fortunately I was able to do it without either one of us being injured!

So let's watch today to see what new challenges and adventures our loons face.

Questions or Comments or Observations?  Post them here or in the Chat Room or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com

Sunday, May 10, 2009 6:44am

39 degrees     Clear    Wind NW 10

This morning, we are right on the edge of the clouds.  To the south, the sky is completely clear, not a cloud in sight.  To the north, almost completely cloudy.  So we will see which way they move.  The forecast is for skies to clear as the day progresses and for the temperatures to be in the cool 60s for this Mother's Day.

And on the loon nest, a mother loon anxiously awaits the arrival of two new baby loons.

The loons are well into the routine now.  They have already been on the nest for over a week and have almost three weeks more to go.

One can only imagine what is happening inside the eggs.  The miracle that converts simple egg yolk and egg white into an adorable baby loon that is able to breathe and see and move and swim and "speak".  There is no other word for that other than miracle.  The miracle of life itself.

One can only wonder, too, exactly what goes through a loon's mind.  How much do they comprehend.  How much do they understand.  It is obvious that there is so much that it is there.  But how much of it is simply "instinct" (whatever that is) and how much is "thought" (also, whatever that is) and how much is "understanding (ALSO, whatever that is!).  So much of what they do, we do not have a clue how they do it.  And all of that is another miracle.

Yesterday was a relatively uneventful day for the loons.  The weather was very cool and cloudy.  And because of the wind it felt downright cold.  So that helped to keep the number of fishermen and other activity on the lake at a lower level.  And none of them came near the nest, if they were even aware of the nest.  There was one kayaker who caused the loon to go low into its defensive "I am hiding" posture.  But the kayaker turned and went the other way when she had seen the loon.  Fortunately, the loon never left the nest.

Today we will see what happens with fishermen and other boat traffic.

I have yet to see anyone who has been purposely malicious.  There have been a number of people through the years who have been too curious or have loved loons too much and approached too closely.  But I have not seen anyone who has purposely done anything to harm the loons. 

But especially as we approach the summer season and the weather continues to warm, the activity on the lake will pick up.  There is a general rule of thumb that you can use or pass along to anyone you know who is out on a lake with loons.  Especially if you know where the nest is.

Stay at least 200 to 300 feet away from them and they will be perfectly ok.  Closer than that and you may scare them off the nest.  Being scared off the nest one time probably is not going to hurt anything.  But if it happens when you are there.  And then the next person.  And then the next person.  And then the next person.  Well, you can see the obvious.

Loons are surprisingly adaptive.  We associate them with the great wildernesses of the north.  But as the pair you are watching right now have proved for years, they can and do adapt to a lot of people being around.  As long as we "do not love them too much" and try to get too close to the nest.  Or get too close to them on the water when they have babies swimming with them.

So just give them their "space" and you and your grandchildren can enjoy them for many years to come!

And we all can enjoy that wonderful, mournful sound of a loon calling in the morning mist.  Or at twilight.

Comments or Questions or Observations?  Post them here or in discuss them with others in the Chat Room or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com

Saturday, May 9, 2009 5:56am CDT

37 degrees     A few high clouds     Wind  NW 13mph

A few minutes before the sun peeks over the trees surrounding the lake finds our loon hunkered down on the nest, faithfully having protected the eggs from the chill overnight air.

The floating nest gently bounces on what Minnesotans would call "walleye chop" on a day like today.

For you see "a day like today" is almost a state holiday.  In Minnesota, it is what is called "The Fishing Opener".  Or "Opening Day".  It is a day when literally hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans and people from all over head to the lakes to go fishing.  At midnight last night, it became legal to take walleye and northern pike and some of the other gamefish for which Minnesota is so well known. 

In fact, the state's governor and his wife were planning to be out fishing at 3:30am this morning!  And they are joined by so many thousands of others for this annual rite of spring.

For the loons, it means increased boat traffic on the lake today.  Really the first day of spring that boats will be out in numbers.  So we will see what the day will bring for our loons.  Fortunately, many of the fishermen head farther north on the opener.  But even for our loons, they will see more boats than what they had seen so far this spring.

Increased numbers of boats brings two dangers for the loons.  One is curiosity or obliviousness.  The other is wakes.

Since almost everyone in Minnesota loves loons, if boaters spot the loon on the nest the natural reaction is to want to see the loon closer.  And by getting too close, they can scare the loon off the nest.  If they stay in the area, the loon may refuse to get back up on the nest and the cool morning air may chill the eggs too much for them to survive.  Or the fishermen may be totally oblivious to the loon on the nest and approach too close with exactly the same results.

The second danger is large wakes from passing boats.  If the wake is very large, it can literally wash up and over the nest possibly destroying it and washing the eggs out of the nest.  However, the loon will try to stay on the nest and prevent that from happening.  But it is one of the many dangers our loons face.

Since it is "The Opener", let's talk about the loon's diet.

Loons feed almost exclusively on fish.  They may supplement their diet with a few aquatic insects but by far the bulk of their diet is small fish.

When fishing is not good, there are a few fishermen through the years that have blamed loons.  They have blamed them for eating too many fish.

However, studies have been done which largely disprove that hypothesis.  That loons have a deleterious effect on fish populations.

Now that is not to say that loons do not eat a lot of fish!  They do.  However, they tend to eat minnows and smaller fish when there is an overabundance of a certain species.  The case could be made that loons help to cull species that are overabundant and thereby make for a healthier population.

But for some fishermen, the controversy will continue.

An adult loon will eat up to two pounds of fish a day!  Some have calculated that during the course of a season, a pair of loons with two chicks will eat up to a half ton to a ton of fish.  That is a lot of fish.  While most of the fish will be very small, loons have been known to catch and swallow fish that weigh over half a pound.  That would be a largemouth bass that is almost a foot long!  There have been rare instances documented where a loon has tried to swallow a fish that is too large and has actually choked to death.  Fortunately that is VERY rare.

But a loon is made to eat fish.  One of the requirements for any lake to have a pair of nesting loons is that it have an abundance of fish to eat and that the water is very clear so that they can see to catch their prey.  In that way, loons are one of the "indicator species".  If the water in a lake gets too polluted and murky, the loons cannot see to fish and will simply move on to other lakes.  Fortunately for us, the lake that our loons are on has very good water clarity.  And an abundance of small fish.

Today is forecast to be cooler than average with highs only in the 50's.  But our loons are doing well.  And with not too many boats on the lake, hopefully today will be a good and an uneventful day for them as they struggle to hatch two new loon chicks.

Questions or Comments or Observations?  Make them here or in the Chat Room or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com

Friday, May 8, 2009 5:38am CDT

39 degrees     Clear Sky       Calm

First light brings a view of a loon patiently sitting on the nest and protecting its eggs in the cool morning air.

The sun hasn't even peeked over the horizon yet, but in a few minutes its warming rays will begin to also warm this loon and stir all other life into action.  Not that the loon needs warming.  They are very well protected against the cold by its feathers.  After all it is no problem for it to swim in waters that still have ice in them.  And as it dives to great depths in search of food, it dives below the thermocline, that invisible boundary between cold water and warmer water, into very cold water.

So even this morning in the cool air, our loon still once in a while breathes with an open beak which allows it to get rid of excess body heat.  When it does this, some of you may think that it is calling.  It is simply regulating its body temperature.

Loons seldom call while they are on the nest.  Most of the time they are silent.  At some point, we do want to put a microphone on the nest so that you can hear all the sounds.  The wind.  The waves.  Maybe even bugs flying by.  Or boats going by.  Or people.  Or the myriad of sounds that make up so much of our world.  But only very rarely would you hear the loon calling from the nest.

I am not sure why they remain so silent while on the nest but I can believe that part of it may be so that they do not alert predators to their location.

This nest is very much out in the open.  There is no cover over it.  And that is true of most  "natural" nests as well.  They are open to the sky and very visible to predators from overhead.  Eagles are the big threat.  And loons and eagles obviously have a very long history together.  Because loons hate eagles!  And an eagle is one of the few predators that will actually be able to kill an adult loon

(Right now the loon is reared up on its legs and once again turning and adjusting the eggs...the action that you have seen so many times.  Somewhere out on the lake, its mate fishes and swims.)

You will remember a couple years ago I told you about an eagle specifically targeting the loon on the nest.  The eagle dove towards the loon.  The frightened loon bolted off the nest and dove underwater.  When it came up, the eagle once again swooped down at it.  So it dove under water again.  The eagle circled overhead, watching for the loon.  When it came up, the eagle once again dove at the loon which immediately dove under water to escape.  This game of cat and mouse continued all the way across the lake.

And it was during this time that the loon was frightened off the nest that 3 huge waves swept over the nest and filled it with ice cold water.  I thought for sure that we had lost both eggs.  But miraculously, one of the eggs survived and a healthy chick was born a couple weeks later and grew up to fly south in the fall.  But the other egg did not make it.

When we x-rayed the egg, the x-ray showed a chick inside that had started to develop.  But by its size, we could tell that the chick inside the egg had stopped developing probably exactly at a time that would fit with the cold water filling the nest.  It was more than the chick inside could take.

And so loons have a long history with eagles.

At the very sight of an eagle, they will begin their alarm call.  And they will often leave the nest at the first sight of an eagle.

There have been times when I have been outside working and have heard the loons calling excitedly and I have wondered what is bothering them.  I have gone to look to see if a boat has gotten too close to the nest.  Or if something else has upset them.  On several occasions, I cannot see anything that should be bothering them.  No boats.  No people.  No eagles flying overhead.  And then I have spotted it.

A small black dot circling high in the sky.  So high up you  can hardly make out what it is.  But sure enough, it is an eagle circling overhead.

And even though it is so high you can hardly see it, the loon has seen it.  The loon has identified it as an eagle.  And the loon has identified it as a threat and is calling one of its alarm calls.  There are almost no other birds to which a loon will react in the same way.

A great blue heron (which is huge and comparable in size to an eagle) will fly over and the loon hardly notices.  An osprey, which is related to an eagle,  will fly over and the loon hardly gives it a second look.  But let an eagle fly over, and the loon goes wild and becomes very concerned for its safety and the safety of its eggs.

It is a conundrum when there is a contest between loons and eagles.  Because both of them are protected species.  The eagle being our national symbol.  And the loon being the Minnesota state bird!  But I have to admit....while I like both of them and they both are beautiful and majestic, I am partial to the loon.  That probably does not surprise you.

So now as the first golden rays of the sun are hitting the nest and our loon, enjoy watching them today.  The day is forecast to be a wonderful spring day.  However, there is the possibility of thunderstorms later this afternoon or evening.  When a bad storm comes through, there is always concern for what the wind and the waves and hail might do.  So let's watch and see what today brings for our wonderful loons.

Questions or Comments or Observations?  Post them here or in the Chat Room or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com.

Thursday, May 7, 2009 7:12am CDT

Unfortunately, this morning's blog entry  from an hour ago somehow got "eaten" by the great internet!  And also unfortunately, I do not have time to rewrite all of it before I must be on the road for a meeting out of town.  (I must say that it was probably the BEST blog entry that I have ever written!  lol)

So I apologize.

I will try to write something tonight.  But for now suffice it to say that the loons are doing well.  It is a spectacular spring morning on the lake with bright blue skies and sunshine and no wind.

A perfect day for our loons.

Once again I apologize that the blog disappeared into space someplace between "here" and "there".

Comments or Questions or Observations?  Post them here or in the Chat Room or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com.