Friday, June 12, 2009 9:08 pm CDT

64 degrees  Sunset    Wind S3mph 

The sun has just slipped below the horizon and God is painting the canvas of the sky with reds and pinks and golds and purples.

The colors are reflected in the waters of the lake that are almost completely calm.  There are only a couple boats on the lake fishing.  Everyone else has gone home.

And there are OUR loons!  All four of them.  Mom and dad and the two chicks.  Swimming and diving and eating.  Or just floating calmly on a peaceful, colorful northern lake.  They are home.  They are doing well.  And they are relaxed.  Right now all is almost perfect in their world.

Today they have spent more time on this side of the lake than I have seen for the last several days.  It is good to see them a little closer where you can see more detail with a pair of binoculars.

A neighbor on the other side of the lake told me last night how surprised she was by how big the chicks were already.  She said, "They must be at least six inches long!"  And I agree with her.

Seeing them on this side of the lake today only reinforced that assessment.  They do have to be at least six or seven inches long already.  They are no longer the tiny little balls of fluff that we saw on the nest.  But they definitely are still very much chicks and still covered with the black or dark gray down.  They are still almost completely dependent on their parents for food.

But we have just passed one of the most important landmarks in their survival and development.  Once they have passed the two week mark, which they did on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, their chances for survival increase significantly.

They are almost safe from predators like northerns and bass and muskies.  A little more vulnerable to snapping turtles but increasing their chances with turtles, too.

The two biggest dangers they now face are from the air and on the surface of the water.

From the air, they are still very vulnerable to bald eagles.  An eagle can easily take a chick.  In fact, an eagle is one of the few predators that can even take an adult loon.

But it is on the surface of the water that the most danger comes.  And that is from man.  Speeding boats and jet skis can run over and kill a chick (or even an adult) without even being aware that they have done anything.

So as summer now begins and more and more people are out on the lake in their boats, the loons have to be ever aware of what is around them and what is coming at them.  And they must be prepared to dive quickly to get out of the way.  But that is where the chicks are still at a disadvantage.  They can do some diving.  But they are far from proficient at it.  Even if they do dive, they may not be able to get deep enough to escape the hull of the boat or the propeller of the motor.

So their odds of survival have gone up significantly with the passage of the two week anniversary.  But they are hardly home free yet.

This afternoon I heard numerous alarm calls from out on the lake.  When I went to see what was upsetting the loons, I saw two young kids in a kayak or canoe.  Obviously they had come too close to the loons.  And the loons were not shy about letting them know.  There was calling.  Yodeling.  Splashing.  Diving.  Half flying half walking on water.  Aiming directly for the kayak.  Then splashing and yodeling.

Unfortunately the kids did not speak "loon".  They did not realize what the loons were trying to tell them.  All they knew was that this was pretty cool.  Loons so close to them.  Making so much noise.  Doing all their acrobatics.  And the kids were loving every minute of the show!

Two other loons even came from across the lake to investigate all the commotion.

This was the stuff of dreams for kids.  To see so many loons.  To see them so close.  To see them splashing all around.  To hear their loud calls.  I am sure they were convinced that the loons were putting on a show just for them.

And in a way that is true.  But from the loons perspective, it was not a "good" show.  It was a show of fear and danger and concern and aggression to drive these intruders away from their chicks.

I remember many, many years ago having the same kind of encounter out in the wilderness before I could "speak loon".  I remember how cool I thought it was that the loons came right up to us.  How wonderful it was that the loons did that for us.  How special it was to have that encounter.  How amazing it was to see them and hear them right next to the canoe.  So I do not fault the kids at all.  When you do not know what is going on, it is a very special experience.  But it just points up the need for continuing education.  Once you know what the loons are saying, it takes on a whole new meaning of what is going on.

And if you simply and quietly leaving the area, they will soon calm down and take care of their chicks.  And if you stay more than 300 feet from them, you will not disturb them at all in most cases.

Fortunately in this case, I heard an adult on shore call out to the kids and tell them to come in.  And the loons almost immediately calmed down.

So tonight you can relax.  And know that our loon family is doing well and the chicks are healthy active and growing so much.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 11:32 pm CDT

Since I may have raised your concern about our loon chicks because of my slight concern, I thought I should at least give you an update.

Early this evening I saw one of the adult loons with the two chicks just casually floating near some rushes.

All seemed well.  The chicks seemed healthy and even tucked their little heads under their little wings and took a little nap.

So they are doing fine. 

I didn't see the other 3 loons that were on the lake earlier today nor did I see the mate to this adult.  But everything looks like they have made it through another day in good shape.  There is always the danger with other loons killing the chicks so that is why I was a little concerned earlier today.

But our loons are good.

Tomorrow will already be the two week "birthday" of the second chick!  You will remember that it was hatched just at dusk and we got our first view of a wet chick escaping the eggshell just before it got dark.  How quickly the time has gone.

Someone asked if they had their "pecking order" fight or not.  Since they left the nest so quickly, you were (maybe fortunately) not able to see if they did or not.

Shortly after they left the nest there was a very short fight that I saw.  Mercifully short.  Now whether they had another longer fight I am not sure.  If they did, I did not see it.  Usually they just have one fight and then it is all over and they get along very well.

I will try to update you again in a couple days.  Or sooner if there is anything of interest.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 1:28pm CDT

61 degrees   Overcast   Calm

Just another quick update.

The whole lake is still.  Like a mirror.  The early morning fog has lifted. 

And way out near the middle of the lake one of our loons floats with two little chicks.  The first chick now almost exactly two weeks old.  Weeks that have gone so fast since it first pecked its way out of its sheltering shell.

While I am watching, the other adult  loon appears  a little ways away.  Or is it one of our loons?

The loon with the chicks dives and comes up over by this other loon.  It may be an intruder loon.  I am not sure.

And now the chicks are swimming all by themselves.  It had been such a relief when I saw them.  It always is.  To know that they are still ok.  The chicks are doing some diving of their own.  They are able to stay down for about 5 or 10 seconds before they resurface.

But now they look so all alone and vulnerable swimming all by themselves while one of the adult loons swims out to this other loon. 

Then yet a third loon comes flying in and lands a ways away from the other two.  OK, now ONE of these loons is not "our loon".  But which one?  Or are two of them not "our loons"?  Sometimes I just wish they would wear nametags or something!  It would make it so much easier to identify them.

There is no fight.  But there is some excited diving.  And yet sometimes they seem to just swim together peacefully.  So many things that raise questions.  There should be a big fight.  There isn't.  The chicks swim all by themselves over there swimming in closer to shore.

Now when I check on them half an hour later, there are five loons - yes, you read that right, FIVE loons - swimming together out in the middle of the lake!

There still is no fighting that I see nor any alarm calling that I hear.  But there is a lot of diving and a little bit of splashing.  So it is not an entirely peaceful "congregation".

I have often wondered if some of the "extra" loons that we have seen this year are the young from previous years.  But there is no way of knowing for sure.  Does that explain the lack of an all-out fight?  Or is it completely unrelated?  So many questions.  So few answers.

I don't see the chicks at all now.  So my level of concern rises slightly but I have no reason to believe that they are not ok.  I assume that they are just swimming somewhere in the rushes off to the left.

Anyway, through all of this I can report to you that our chicks were healthy and active a little bit ago.  And that I think they are still ok.  But the activites are just enough to raise the level of concern slightly.  Sometimes I wish I didn't see as much as I do.  Or at least when I see activity, that I knew without a doubt exactly what was going on.  But such certainty is not to be always found in real life.

Stay tuned!  I will try to periodically give you an update on what I see.  And to hopefully tell you with each report that the chicks are thriving!  And for anyone else on the lake, feel free to post what you see in the Chat Room.  That is helpful to all of us.  More eyes, more information!

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

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 5:44am CDT

43 degrees   Calm   Foggy

On a chilly morning, the lake lies completely shrouded in fog.

I can see out to the nest, the loons former home, and slightly beyond.  But then everything disappears into a world of white nothingness.  Somewhere out there, the seagulls are calling with their raucous voices.  A single loons swims by with no chicks.

I assume our chicks are out there in the fog someplace, too.  Although I can't see them.  Nor do I hear them.

It is hard to believe that it was two weeks ago right now that we got our first view of a hole being pecked in the first egg.  And then later on that morning, the first chick hatched.  Our chicks are almost 2 weeks old!

So even though I can't see them right now, I assume and hope that both chicks are doing well somewhere out in that fog.

It is about at this stage that the chicks are able to start making their first meaningful dives.  They still are nowhere proficient at it.  But it is more of a dive than they have been able to do before.

They still are not able to dive quickly or deep enough to get away for sure from fast boats or jet skis, but they now stand more of a chance than they did a week ago.  It will still be several weeks before they will be able to catch their own food.

With their rich diet of fish supplied by their parents, they grow quickly at this stage.  They are still covered in black down but they definitely have grown since they were hatched.

So somewhere out in the whiteness of this early morning on the lake, we have to take it by faith that our loons are out there.  Unseen.  Unheard.  But hopefully doing well.

Questions or Comments?  Post them here or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com

Thursday, June 4, 2009 9:52pm

63 degrees  Twilight   Calm

Tonight is another one of those picture perfect evenings.  The kind that take your breath away.

The kind that call you.  That make you just drop whatever you are doing and stop to drink it in.  To savor it.  To let it just seep into every pore.

The sun set a little while ago but now it is that wonderful twilight time.  The lake is still and our loons are swimming straight out from the nesting platform.  They still tend to stay on this side of the lake but they venture further and further away from the nest.  In fact, they spend very little time near the nest now and have not been back on it since that first day.

But for now, they sit straight out from the nest.

The water reflects the pink glow from the horizon and it just surrounds you and wraps you in its glow.  There is a bright moon that is almost full hanging in the southern sky.   And our two chicks are busy feeding.  Once again the familiar routine of the parents diving and bringing minnow after minnow to the chicks.

It was one week ago last night that the second chick was born and one week ago this morning that he finally jumped off the nest into the water.  You remember the scene.  The chick standing at the edge of the nest last Thursday morning as the rest of the family swam nearby.  He just couldn't quite muster up the courage to make that big jump.  But finally he did - never to return to the nest.

Some of you will remember two years ago when one of the eggs did not hatch and the chick kept returning to the nest for about a week or ten days.  The good part was that we got to see the chick growing.  The bad part was that he was not off swimming and learning how to be a loon.

Finally we removed the egg that did not hatch and that broke the bond with the nest.  It is one of the only times...if not the only time .... that I have violated my rule not to interfere.  After consulting with several wildlife professors, zoo experts and DNR experts, we all agreed that it was time to take the egg.  And some people were very upset that we did it.  But it proved to be the right thing to do.

My rational was that we had provided an artificial nest that removed all danger of land-based predators.  And therefore we had already altered what they would normally face.  A racoon or some other predator would have taken the unhatched egg if the nest had been on land.  So after waiting long enough to know that there was no chance it was going to hatch, we removed it from the nest and almost immediately the loons left the nest.  The bond to the nest was broken.

Tonight you could see that the chicks have definitely grown.  It is hard to tell how big they are from a distance.  But they definitely have grown.  They are still the balls of black down.  Just bigger.  I would guess, and it is only a guess, that they are maybe 3 to 4 inches long.

They are still at that stage where they are very vulnerable to predators and boats and jet skis.  And they still ride on the parents back.  This morning at dawn, both of the chicks were riding on the adult loons back.  That wonderful, wonderful iconic view of loons and their chicks!

So tonight I just wanted you to know that our chicks are still alive and thriving and doing well and growing.

Life is good!