Tuesday, July 21, 2009 11:55pm CDT

I am sorry to keep all of you waiting for an update.  I have been gone a lot and so haven't really had a chance to write or to even monitor the loons closely.

It looks like one of the major questions you have is about the other loon parent.  I did not mean to alarm you unduly when I told the story of what went on with the dead snapping turtle.  I think...and I do say 'think' ... that the other loon is just fine.  But with me being gone a lot, I have not actually observed both parents with the chicks.  But that does NOT mean that there are any problems.

I am not concerned - if that helps to allay some of your concerns.

It is not unusual for there to be only one parent with the chicks,  especially as they grow older.  So it is more that I just have not been able to spend the time watching to catch both parents with the chicks.  I can tell you that both chicks look like they are doing just fine.

That is part of the reason also that I have not updated you because I was hoping to tell you that I had seen all four of them together.  And once again I apologize if I unintentionally caused you any undue concern or alarm.  I guess it just points out how much all of us care about these particular loons and chicks and we all hope they are doing ok.  Thank you for your concern!

Can you believe that the first chick was EIGHT WEEKS old today?!!

Where has the time gone?!

They have grown so much.  And now they are very proficient at diving and seem to actually enjoy it.  I assume they are catching some of their own fish now but they still take every fish that one of the parents bring to them.  Some of you have asked me to post pictures of them but unfortunately I do not have the telephoto lens that I need to do them justice.  As I have said before, I am afraid you would be looking at a "black dot" and would be even more disappointed.  (In fact, right now I do not have ANY camera!  I was pick pocketed in Jerusalem a few months ago and they got my camera!!  First time that has ever happened in my travels all over the world.)

In another 3 or 4 weeks, they will begin to fly and then they will truly start to become independent.  At that point, the bond between parent and chick starts to break and both of them start to go their own ways.  And then in September or October the adults will fly south and the chicks will follow them about a month later...October or November.

In what is yet one more amazing thing about loons, the parents and the chicks fly south separately!  The parents leave first.  And then the chicks find their way to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic without ever having been there before!  How do they do it?  I have no idea.  It is another of those "I don't know how you did it but God you done good" moments!

And then even MORE amazing is that the chicks will spend the next THREE YEARS on the Gulf before they come back to Minnesota!

But we have another couple months before these beautiful friends leave the Great North.  So for now we enjoy every loon call that we hear at sunset or in the middle of the night.  We hang onto it and savor it.  And store it away in a special place in our memory to see us through the long silent winter months!

I hope that you get a chance to hear loons before the summer too soon comes to an end.  Enjoy them.  Teach people about them.  Respect them and teach your kids the wonder of loons.  And while you do, know that OUR loons are doing just fine.

Thursday, July 9, 2009 4:56pm CDT

82 degrees  Cloudy and Muggy  Chance of Rain   Wind S8mph

I had just gotten home a short while ago when I heard the loons giving a tremolo call, which is an alarm call.

When I went to look to see what was bothering them, I saw what I thought was the 2 chicks directly out in front.  And one of the adults in close to the dock, not too far from where the nest had been anchored.  Then I saw the other loon even closer in and over to the right a little bit.  It had its head underwater.  The other adult continued its calling.

I could not see any reason that it was disturbed.  No boats.  No fishermen.  No eagles.  Nothing.  But something was definitely disturbing the one loon.  When I looked back at the other one, it still/again had its head underwater.  Only the hump of its back showing.

The adult kept calling that tremolo alarm call.

I went to get the binoculars to see if I could see why it was so disturbed.  The chicks were swimming a little farther out.  Away from the loon that was calling.  But then my heart sank.  The other loon that I had thought had its head underwater watching, was not moving!  It had not raised its head at all.

NO!  Could it be?  Could it be that we had lost one of our loons?!

The other loon kept up its call, over and over and over as it looked at the floating shape and swam not too far from it.

I looked back out at the chicks.  Or was it two chicks?  Or was it one chick and one adult?  It was hard to tell since the chicks are getting so big.  It looked like the coloring of the chicks but I could not be sure.

The thoughts raced through my mind.  Would it be worse to lose a chick or an adult?  If it was one of the adults, what would happen.  It would mean that the other adult would have to do double duty in feeding and protecting the chicks.  And the chicks need for food at this stage is like a teenager at your house!!  They can feed themselves maybe some but for the most part they are still dependent on the adult.

I went down to the lake as the loon's calls continued.  It watched the floating shape.  It swam not too far away.  And it called over and over - continuously.

As I walked out toward where the carcass was floating, I became more and more concerned.  It definitely was not moving.  Had it been hit by a boat over the busy weekend and died?  My mind raced to think when I had last seen both adults.

As I got closer, I strained to see it better.  It didn't look like there was black and white plumage!  It was a mottled brown color.  Could it actually be one of the chicks?  I was still too far away from it to tell.  The loon kept calling and watched as I walked out.  It did not move away or become alarmed.  It simply kept calling.  Then it dove and came up not too many feet away.

Could all of the loons work and faithful parenting and protecting actually come to this?  To lose one of the chicks.  There were thoughts that I just wanted to put out of my mind.  And in the meantime the carcass just floated.  And the loon kept calling.

I wondered to myself what I should do.  I was prepared to retrieve it, bag it and freeze it until I could get it to scientists who could determine what had happened.

Finally I was close enough to make out some of the details of the carcass.

It is hard to describe the flurry of thoughts that went through my mind.

For what I could not make out from even 25 feet away was now obvious.  It was NOT an adult loon.  It was NOT a loon chick!  It was the bloated carcass of a snapping turtle floating half submerged!  A wave of relief washed over me.  But the loon still sat very near watching me and still calling.

It continued to call until I made it all the way back to the dock.  And then it stopped.  I am fascinated to think about what may have been going through its mind.  Did it finally stop calling because if I was satisfied that there was no danger, it could also be satisfied?

For about the next 10 minutes, it was quiet but it stayed between the carcass of the snapping turtle and the two chicks.  And then finally the three of them swam away.

I had to smile to myself after it was all over.  A smile of relief that it was not a dead loon.  A smile at how the mind can conjure up the most detailed stories of "what might be".  And especially a smile of relief that the two chicks are still doing fine and one of the parents was there with them still watching for any danger.  Even if the danger was the floating carcass of a dead snapping turtle!!

Friday, July 3, 2009 11:47pm CDT

68 degrees   Dark with chance of rain overnight    Calm

I know some of you may be wondering how the loons are doing since it has been almost 2 weeks  since I have updated you.

The short answer is that they are doing very well!

They are already just over 5 weeks old.  The first chick hatched 5 weeks ago Tuesday noon and the second chick hatched 5 weeks ago Wednesday night.  They are at the point now that they will probably make it to "semi-adulthood" and will be able to fly south this fall.  That is barring some tragedy or some disease.

They are already probably 3/4 the size of an adult loon.  It is so hard to believe that they have grown so fast.  Five short weeks ago we first saw them as the little balls of black down peeking out from under the adult loon on the nest.  So cute.  So vulnerable.  So full of life.

But now they are looking more and more like a loon every day.  They have the familiar general body shape.  Their bills have lengthened markedly since we first saw them with the short bills when they hatched.  They are sort of in their "teenage" stage.  Definitely looking like a loon and yet with the wild "tously hair" which is still gray down instead of feathers.  It will be another five to seven weeks before they will make their first attempts at flying.

Once they are able to fly, they will then become more and more independent from their parents.

Both chicks are able to dive quite well now.  And that bodes well for tomorrow - the Fourth of July.  Because tomorrow there will be a lot of boat traffic and fishermen and water skiers and jet skis all over the lake in celebration of the holiday and of summer.

Once again the loons will have to be careful and ever alert for boaters who will not necessarily be alert for them!  But unlike earlier this summer, the chicks can now dive to get out of the way of boats.  They still are not nearly as proficient at diving as their parents are, but at least they stand a chance of getting out of the way of boats.

I saw them - all four of them - out in front of my place earlier this evening.  And I thought of so many of you who watched the LoonCam and took the loons into your heart and your thoughts.  So I wanted to give you a report of how they are doing.  They were sitting on a calm lake on a beautiful Minnesota summer evening.  They were relaxing.  They were diving and still bringing fish to the chicks.  They were preening.  They were just being loons.  And it was a wonderful scene to behold!

So you can relax in knowing that OUR loon family is doing well.  But for those of you who will be out on lakes in loon country, encourage whoever is driving the boat to be aware of loons and to give them their space.  And well all will be able to enjoy loons for many generations to come if we take care of the ones we have now.

For those of you in the United States, have a wonderful Fourth of July holiday!  Enjoy your friends and your family and everything that God has placed in your life.  Including loons!

Saturday, June 20, 2009 9:28pm CDT

74 degrees   Twilight    Calm

The sky is on fire with scarlets and crimsons and golds and pinks and reds.  And the surface of the lake is also ablaze with the reflection from the sky.

The sun set less than half an hour ago and we are now in the wonderful "in-between" time that is so typical of summer in the north.  And a time that is so special.   It is not a fast, harsh time between light and dark.  But a gentle, gradual change.  When the sky first wraps you in a coat of many colors before the dark finally envelopes you.

Most of the boaters have gone home.  There are just a few boats still on the lake, all of them just gently floating and enjoying the beauty of the evening.  There are three families of geese and their growing goslings swimming out on the lake.  And over there, in the middle of the lake are our loons!

The temperature was in the 90's today.  So there were boats all over the lake as people came out the enjoy a long delayed summer day.

And with it, our loons were in a traffic jam, caught between boats and water skiers and jetskis.  They had to watch out for boaters that possibly were not watching out for them.

But they have made it through the day.  They are safe.  They are healthy.  And they are growing so very much.  They are still covered in a gray down.  But their heads seem to be a little darker.  Is it the development of the first fine smooth feathers that cover a loons head and neck?  And they also seem to be developing some tail feathers

They are developing so rapidly.  It is hard to believe how much they have changed in only three-and-one-half weeks.

But they have a long way to go before they are truly independent.  They still rely on mom and dad for most of their meals although they are probably catching a few things on their own.  They are becoming more adept at diving and they try out their skills more and more often.  They can easily dive and stay down for 15 seconds or more.  It would be so fascinating to be able to see what they actually do when they are underwater.

But for now, they simply float.  And enjoy a gorgeous evening.

So tonight you can relax.  YOUR loons are safe and growing.  The most famous loons in the world!  And hopefully many thousands of others across the US and Canada are doing the same or will be doing so soon.

Monday, June 15, 2009 11:28pm CDT

70 degrees  Calm

Right now the lake is still.  Like a sheet of glass.  There is no moon and not many stars because of some of the sky being covered by clouds.  Lights around the lake reflect in the perfectly smooth surface of the lake.  The frogs are in full song and surround you with their croaks and chirps and 'ribbits'.

It is then you hear the sound that stands out from all others.  The sound that captivates you!   A loon!

And then another one answers.

The calls echo back and forth across the lake.  How beautiful is that sound.  It awakes something primeval in you.  A connection with all that is good and has gone before.  A feeling of being part of something so great and magnificent.  A world of wonder and discovery. 

In the darkness, one just hopes that all is well with the chicks.  Without being able to see, you just have to take it by faith that they are ok.

Yesterday was the chicks first day on the lake with a lot of boats and jet skis and water skiers.  In fact, I don't think it is stretching it too far to say that there were more boats on the lake yesterday than have been out there all spring.  Yesterday was the first warm sunny day and everyone headed to the lakes to let off all the pent-up desire that had built over the winter.  And they took advantage of it.

But it meant that our loons had to carefully thread their way through all the traffic and stay out of the way of all the speeding boats.

And they did it!

Today they have been swimming mainly on this side of the lake and enjoying the relative quiet of a Monday.

They are doing well!  It is amazing how fast the chicks grow.  Now they are two-and-a-half weeks old and they are looking more and more like loons, albeit miniature ones.  Their silhouette is now definitely that of a loon.  The body has lengthened.  The bill has gotten longer like a real loon.  They look like a loon, just much much smaller.

It is so hard to judge size from a distance or through binoculars.  But I would guess that they are at least 7 inches long if not even 9 inches.  They are growing up!

And every day that goes by increases their chances of surviving to adulthood and flying south later this fall.

So for those of you who wonder about them but can't see them, just know that tonight they are still doing very well and becoming loons and all that that  means.