Friday, May 29, 2009 6:30am CDT

45 degrees  Clear and Sunny   Wind NNW 6mph

Our loons - all four of them - have made it safely through another night.

Now in the cool morning air with the sun just skimming the surface of the lake, it swims near the nest with its precious cargo of two little chicks tucked safely under its wings.  Two bumps under the wings.  One on either side.  Occasionally a little head and beak will peak out from under the wing.  Just to check to see where they are.

There are a couple calls.  And soon the other loon swims in from somewhere out on the lake,

And then both of them head out into the lake for the day.

But our chicks are ok.  They are active.  And they have made it through one more dark night.

Shortly after dark last night, the loons calls could be heard echoing across the lake.  Wails, and tremolos and yodels.

There are times that I wish that I did not know the difference between the calls.  For when it was just a "loon call", I could enjoy every one of them.  Now the tremolo calls and the yodels cause me concern knowing that they are alarm calls.  And especially in the night when I can't see what is happening.  There is immediately concern for the safety of the chicks.

There are sometimes when I question the commonly accepted wisdom that the tremolo and the yodel are  only used as alarm calls.  There are times when I have seen the alarm calls used and yet see absolutely no reason that the loons should be alarmed or that anything is threatening them.  There is so much to learn about these magnificent birds.

Shortly after the loons left the area, there were HUGE legs standing on the the nest.  Standing on the nest!

It was a great blue heron that had landed on the nest!

It was tall enough that all you could see on the camera was the body and the legs.  I have never seen a heron land on the nest before.  Surely the loons see this as well.  But there is no reaction.  Their bond with the nest has been broken.

Twenty four hours ago there would have been a MAJOR battle if this had happened.  And our new chick would have been in serious trouble.  So just when you think you have seen everything possible, something new like this happens.

The heron stands and pivots around showing its whole body.  Much like a heron model on a heron fashion runway.  Showing off the long legs.  The magnificent body and the unique feathers that lie on top of the main body feathers, just like some fancy evening wrap put on for a night on the town.

After five minutes on the nest, the heron flies off.  With no reaction whatsoever from the loons.

Last night around 7pm, one of the loons came in next to the nest with both babies.  It just floated.  No attempt to get on the nest.  Just content to float nearby.  I was wishing that the camera had been live for you to see it.  For about twenty minutes it floated by the camera for a minute or two and then out of sight.  And then floated back the other direction for a minute or two and once again out of sight.  And both chicks were either on the back or swimming nearby during this time.

I assumed it was the female and that the male was somewhere out on the lake.

Then the loon decided to get back up on the nest.  In one of its characteristic vaults, it jumped up on the nest.  And the two chicks on its back went flying through the air and landed in the water!

The loon sat on the nest this way.  And then it got up and turned that way.  And then got up and turned the other way.

And then came the surprising part.

It made a couple of wail calls.  And then more surprising.  A couple of yodels!

It was the male on the nest and that had been taking care of both chicks.  Not the female like I had been so quick to assume.

But then as if to say "Ok, I am satisfied.  There is nothing here for us.", he got off the nest in  just a couple minutes and swam away with his two little chicks in tow.

This morning you can relax and know that both our little chicks are safe and sound.  And right now are enjoying a wonderful sunny morning on a Minnesota lake.  Just like it should be.  And like the Louis Armstrong song that somebody posted here in the chatroom, "I see trees of green, red roses too...and I say to myself, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD!"

Have a wonderful day in YOUR wonderful world!

Don't forget to stop and look at all the beauty and wonder that God has placed all around you.  And today appreciate it anew with new eyes and new understanding.

Thursday, May 28, 2009 6:12 pm CDT

79 degrees   Sunny   Wind NW 8mph

I know some of you are probably going through "loon withdrawal" right now.

Let me just tell you that the loons are doing fine.

And for whatever it is worth, you have not missed viewing them on the camera because even though they have remained in the area. they have not been around the nest.  I have been relaxing and resting today so I have not watched all the time.  But I have seen only one time late this afternoon when they were close enough to the nest that you could have actually seen them.

So for whatever it is worth, you are not missing a lot of views of our loons.

I will see if there is any possibility that they can turn the webcam on for a little while for you.  I can't promise what they can do but I will at least ask.  I think this morning we "burned out" the fourth and final port on the video server that takes the signal from the cam and processes it so that it can be transmitted over the internet to you.  That is probably why the cam is down now.  The cam itself is working fine and I am watching the picture.  But it isn't getting through all the other stuff it has to traverse to get to you.  I am not sure if it is because of the heavy traffic or what the problem has been that they have burned out several ports.

But it may give you a chance to wean yourself off your loon addiction without having to go "cold turkey".  Or in this case would that be "cold loon"!?

But just know that both chicks are healthy and active.  Both loons have been feeding them little minnows.  And the chicks have been alternately swimming and riding on the adults back.

So thank you once again for your wonderful support and interest in the loons.  They are doing well and enjoying a spectacular Minnesota spring day.

Thursday, May 28, 2009 5:18am CDT

40 degrees Clear Wind NNW 3mph

First of all, for those of you are checking in this morning to see if we have a chick...or two

WE HAVE A SECOND BABY LOON!!!

As of about 8:50pm last night, the loon let us see a new second chick just emerging from the egg. Still wet! But struggling to move and be active. But a new chick. As new as new can get!

So all of the loons patience and faithful care of the eggs has paid off with yet another chick!

This morning is a moody morning on the lake.

Banks of fog drift across the lake in the cool early morning light. What Sigurd Olson used to call the horses of Lac la Croix because they looked like the flowing manes of galloping horses. So this morning the loons are seeing the "horses" of their lake running in the chill morning air.

But all is well.

There is a healthy second chick under the loon on the nest.

And the other loon floats nearby with its charge, the first chick, tucked safely under its wings.

Once again one can only wonder, does it get any better than this?!?!

As the first rays of the rising sun now touch the loon on the nest, the second chick peeks out from under a wing. What is going through its mind as it sees the sun for the first time? And feels its warmth on its downy black body? A body so small and vulnerable. But so active.

Or does anything go through its mind? Oh to know the answers to the great imponderable questions!

But all that is really important at this point is that we have two loon chicks. Two healthy loon chicks.

Two healthy and active loon chicks.

And our second chick is getting his first look at all that is new and wonderful and scary in this new world. Almost as if it is too much to take it all in, he scrambles back under the safety of the wing. Only to reappear a few minutes later for another look. Trying to take it all in. Once again to disappear back under the wing. The only place that he has really known over the few short hours of its life during the dark of night.

This is what the loons have put all their attention and effort into making happen. It is what so many of you have invested countless hours watching the webcam to see. Now it is here. Now it is successful. Now we can relax. Or can we?

For now begins the most vulnerable and dangerous time for our little chicks. The first two or three weeks are the weeks that they remain at risk from so many dangerous things in this big new world that they have entered.

But for us, we can just revel in the fact that we have two beautiful little chicks. Healthy and active. Something out of nothing.

So enjoy these moments. Enjoy them to their fullest and remind yourself what a wonderful world we live in. And how we have been given the gift of special moments like this ifwe will only pause long enough to see them. To see what is really important in life. To see life itself!

All other things fade into insignificance.

You might want to watch for one other thing today. It may be one of the last times you get a chance to see it this year while the loons are still on the nest. In the bright sunshine that is forecast for today, look especially at the coloring of the loons head and the black collar around its neck.

At first glance they appear just jet black.

But watch. As the sun strikes them just right, they are not a simple black at all. Notice that the head had a distinct green iridescence to it. The light has to be just right to see it. But if you watch you will see it.

But even more amazing, watch the black collar around the loons neck.

In just the right light, it is a spectacular turquoise green! Not black at all but a stunning turquoise! A turquoise necklace befitting royalty.

People wonder why loons are so special. And why this LoonCam has become such a worldwide phenomena. Would there be the same interest and wonder if it were a camera on a duck nest. Or a turkey nest. It seems that there is something about the loons that is so special that it stirs something deep inside us. Even people who have never seen a loon before. Or especially heard a loon. What can ever wipe from our memory the sound of a loon call echoing across some still northern lake at night.

I mentioned in the blog last night about preparing yourself for the almost inevitable fight between the chicks. The establishment of the "pecking order". I hope it won't happen because it is hard to watch. But I know that there is a high probability that it will happen. And I just want you to be prepared for it. It can be jarring.

Here we have the perfect picture this morning. All is well with the world. The sun shines brightly. We have two healthy chicks. Can anything intrude on this picture of perfection. And then the fight starts.

I would guess that it will happen if the first chick gets up on the nest and realize that it has competition for mom and dad's attention. Or when the second chick gets in the water for the first time next to the first chick.

They will probably fight and fight and fight. It will look like they are going to tear each other apart. And there is a slight danger of injury. But it usually lasts for 5 to 10 minutes and as soon as it started, it stops. Never to be repeated as far as what I have observed.

What is the purpose of it? Add it to your list of questions to ask God the next time you talk to him. Some scientists feel that establishing a dominance is important in times when food is scarce. That the survival of one chick is better than losing both. But there is a part of me that says that there is even a deeper meaning. One too deep for me to understand.

On a personal note, let me apologize for not being available when the cam went down yesterday afternoon. Reading the messages this morning I know that many of you were panicking. Yesterday I had some minor surgery and so if people had been able to find us, I would have been totally out of it and of not much help anyway. So I am glad that Travis and the neighbors were able to be very creative and get the problem fixed for you. This is one of the few times this year that the problem could only be fixed with the video server  here on site. So I apologize.

Now for what to expect over the next few days.  I would guess that by the end of the day the second chick will be off the nest and in the water.  If not before.  They may return to the nest but it will be rare.  You will see them swimming into view around the nest once in a while but will gradually venture farther and farther away.  We will leave the cam running for a while so that you can get that occasional glimpse of our wonderful loon family.  And to give you a chance to go through withdrawal.  But we are coming close to the end of the saga on cam for this year.

What a wonderful experience it has been.  And how wonderful each of you has been to share it with us and to share it with your family and friends.  God bless each and every one of you!

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

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 9:05pm CDT

Well, as many of you already saw when she got off the nest shortly before 9pm

WE HAVE CHICK #2!!!!

The first chick has made it through the first night and is doing well inspite of challenges along the way.  Now it faces its second night with a new brother or sister!

And the new chick is new enough and still wet out of the egg that it will probably stay safely under the adult all night long.

But now as darkness falls, I do need to alert you to one thing....or even warn you about it.

I would guess that  sometime tomorrow you will see a fight between the two chicks!  A knock-down-drag-out fight!!

I have seen it almost every year that we have had two chicks.

It is hard to watch because it looks like they are going to kill each other.  But in each of the instances I have observed it, both chicks have survived.

As best I can guess, I think it is what we so nonchalantly call "the pecking order".  Although in this case it is literally the PECKING order.

I will maybe say something more about it in tomorrow morning's blog.  But I wanted to give you a heads up so that it didn't shock you when you saw it.

So now we have the wonder of TWO LITTLE LOON CHICKS!!!  How amazing is that?!?!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:41am CDT

46 degrees Cloudy Wind N 8mph

Was yesterday enough of a roller-coaster ride for you?!!!

After all that happened last evening, I thought I would be able to relax. Knowing the chick was safe and both parents were there. But little did I know that shortly after darkness fell, the alarm calls from both loons would start again. They called over and over. Endlessly.  My mind immediately thought the worst.

They must have lost the chick in the darkness. To who knows what great evil that lurked in the black night!

And they called and they called.

At least in the light I could see what was going on!

In the darkness I could not see anything. But I sure could think the worst.

I finally could not take it any longer and shut the window and the door to shut out the sound. I told myself that it was because the wind had picked up and because it had turned colder. But as much as anything, it was to shut out the sound of those calls. To try to forget what might be happening out on a dark, cold, windy lake. To a little loon who had not even spent a full day in this new world yet.

To a little loon who had already seen more than was fair.

So you can imagine what a relief it was at first light this morning to catch that first glimpse of our new little chick.  And to see that he had made it through the long dark night!  That he was alive and ok.

One loon was on the nest.  And the other loon was swimming next to the nest with the little chick swimming next to it.

Almost immediately the loon on the nest, who had probably spent most of the night there, seemed very anxious to get off the nest.  So (s)he dove off and the other one got up on the nest.  But instead of staying with the chick, the loon dove and swam far away from the nest!

Our little chick was once again swimming around the nest.  Around and around.  Trying to get up on the nest and not being able to.  And the loon on the nest once again started calling.  Over and over as the chick swam on his own.

NO!

No, no, no!

I cannot go through this again!

What is this?  The movie "Ground Hog Day"?!!

Are we doomed to repeat this scenario and concern over and over and over?

The swimming loon seemed to pay no attention.  What kind of a parent are you?  Get over here!  Let this little chick ride on your back before some big fish gets him.  But no matter how much I thought that thought, it didn't help.  I guess my loon clairvoyance was not working this morning, because the loon sure was not getting the message.

And the calling continued.  And the chick kept swimming.  And I was sure that bass and northerns were lurking nearby.  Just waiting for breakfast.

And our chick swam and swam.  All on his own.  So lonely.  So vulnerable.  So heart-breakingly cute.

But then as if by an unseen hand, he was on the nest!  A combination of a jump and an opportune wave coming along at just the right time, up he went on the nest.  And he scampered under the wing of his parent!  Safe and sound.  And hopefully warm and protected.  And able to get some well-deserved rest!

Now will you all just stay there?  I can't take much more of this.

And NOW the other loon comes swimming up to the nest.  Oh sure, NOW you show up!  Where were you when the chick needed you just a few minutes ago?!?!

How we project our feelings onto the loons.  How we think we know what they should do.  How we know better than they do of how they should respond.  How we anthropomorphize.

So now we have one safe little loon under the wing on the nest.  And also one egg under the wing on the nest.

During the "shift change", I got a partial view of the second egg.

It did not look like there were any holes or cracks.  But it was so quick and so incomplete a view that I could not be sure.

Today may very well be the day that the second egg hatches.  Even though they were laid 2 1/2 days apart, they sometimes hatch closer to each other than that.  It is sometimes called catch-up.  Where the second chick develops quicker than the first.  Once again, one of those great imponderable questions!  How can that be?  How does that work?

A friend of mine, who is one of the bird experts with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, has been an invaluable help in this whole project.  And he feels that the chicks actually communicate with each other while they are still in the eggs and that it somehow may speed up the development of the second chick.  Sort of like your second child learning to talk and do so many other things earlier and quicker than the first.  Because he has a "small teacher" who speaks his language!

Who knows if that is the reason.  But sometimes the second egg hatches sooner.

Just simply based on when they were laid and when the first one hatched. one would expect the second one to not hatch until tomorrow night.  But I would not be at all surprised to see it hatch even yet today!

Once again we wait.

Once again we watch.

And once again we try to keep our heartbeat in check.

Several of you have talked about you need some medication for your mental well-being in this whole drama that is unfolding before our eyes.  So have it handy today.  Who knows what today will bring.

Who would have thought last night that we would have had the drama we had after a perfect day for a perfect little chick to be born into a perfect world?!  And then an eagle and some wind and some cold and some things that go bump in the night turned the chick's world upside down for a while.  And in the process caused our hearts and our minds to do unbelievable flip-flops and contortions!

But through it all, we are once again reminded of the wonder of it all.  The magnificence of life.  The amazing work of creation of life out of nothingness.   But how sometimes that life hangs by such a fragile strand.

So today, buckle your seat-belts.  It may be a bumpy ride.

But bumpy or not, it will be enough to take your breath away!  With wonder.  With fear.  With amazement.  With surprises.  With heart-stopping concern.  With unbelievable joy.  With a renewed sense of awe of life and creation and the beautiful world that we live in and with all that we are given.

Questions or Comments or Observations?  Post them here or in the Chat Room or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com.  I am trying to get through all of them and respond where a response is called for.