Thursday, April 29, 2010 12:06pm

 

59 degrees    Cloudy    Wind SE 19mph

 

 

The big question on everyone's mind is "When are the eggs going to be laid?"

 

That is the $64,000 question!

 

I am surprised that they have not been laid yet with all the activity that we saw on Monday and subsequent activity since.

 

Even as I am writing this, the loons came in off the lake as if on cue.  They swam around the nest just out of camera range although you may have heard some of their soft calls.  Now they have gone back out into the lake.

 

I guess only they know why they have not laid eggs yet and we have to trust them for the 'right time'.

 

One of these trips in off the lake things will happen very quickly.  The nest building will become very serious.  And then an egg.

 

I will have to go back through my notes and see how many confirmed matings we have this year.  Someone asked the question of how soon after the mating the egg is laid.  That is sort of hard to answer since, as you have seen, they mate multiple times.

 

Once again last night they were on and off the nest and there was additional nest building activity.  I know you are anxious for them to nest.  And so am I  (remember my 'paranoia'?!?!  lol).  But all I can do is counsel patience for all of us.  We are still ahead of when they laid the first egg last year.  Last year the first egg was laid on April 30th.

 

I do not see anything at this point that causes me any great concern.

 

Later today there is a possibility of thunderstorms...some severe.  Let's hope that the severe storms stay away from our loons and their nest.  But storms are a part of their life.

 

One of the reasons that nesting platforms, like this one that floats, have been helpful to loons is that they can ride up and over waves or boat wakes.  Many nest failures are due to eggs being washed out of 'natural' nests when a wave washes up and over them.  Also a nest like this is far enough from shore to protect it from natural predators like raccoons and mink and skunks and other animals.  

 

Although as we have seen, we have had a muskrat that has decided it is his duty to check out the nesting platform every so often.  If he comes up on there when the loon is on the nest, he will be taking his life in his own hands.  The loon could easily kill a muskrat with one strategic stab from its sharp bill.  But hopefully we will not see much more of the muskrat.  For the loons, it is just one more part of nature that they have to deal with.

 

So the anticipation continues to build.  Welcome to the real world of loons.

 

 

PS  Just after I posted this, the loons were back swimming around the nest at 12:28pm.  I had to laugh because they sat just out of view of the camera for much of the time and sat right by the microphone making their quiet calls...as if to say they just wanted to tease us by letting us hear them but not see them.  Let's see if they get up on the nest this time.

 

And she DOES get up on the nest and sits and does a very little bit of nest rearranging.  But the two loons mainly make the quiet calls back and forth to each other.

 

Only time will tell what comes next.

Monday, April 26, 2010 7:07pm

 

I think we are getting VERY close to the first egg being laid!!

 

The loon has visited the nest a number of times in the last two hours.  She has gotten much more serous about nest building.  Already there is a very nice nest bowl that she has formed.  And she has tried it on for size in just about every position conceivable.

 

It is important that it is "just right".  It will be "home" for them for the next month and they will almost never leave it during that time.  One of the loons....either the male or the female....will be on it all the time.  The eggs will very rarely be left uncovered for any length of time.

 

The male and the female share nest sitting duties almost equally.

 

Even as I am writing this now, [s]he came up on the nest from the backside 'like a bullet'.

 

Within a minute the male was also up on the nest and they mated.  I have to look back for my count but this is either the 5th or 6th time they mated.

  

I am still not out of my "paranoid" phase and will not be until they have actually laid the first egg.  But each visit to the nest eases my paranoia a little bit and strengthens the probability that they will use the nest again this year.  Part of the 'paranoia' comes from knowing that less than half of the nesting platforms put out are ever successful! [I will look the exact figure up for you sometime.]

 

And with this nesting platform I have been fortunate enough to have them use it for eight years....EVERY year that it has been out there!  That is something that is almost unheard of.

 

Folks....we are getting CLOSER to the first egg being laid!  This is NOT the time to leave your computer!

 

 

Monday, April 26, 2010 4:11pm

63 degrees    Partly Sunny    Wind  NNE@12mph

I have been gone for a couple days so when I came home a little bit ago I appreciated reading what all of you had posted.   Thank you!

Many pairs of eyes are much better than one pair of eyes in documenting what is happening.  So thank you very much.

I was surprised when I walked in the house.  What was coming over the speaker sounded like a good-old fashioned Minnesota BLIZZARD!!  

I almost expected Laura and Pa Ingalls to walk in the door and stomp the snow off their feet and exclaim, "It ain't a fit night out there for man nor beast!!

Trust me, the wind is not nearly as bad as it sounds sometimes.  It just depends on how it hits the new microphone.

As you have seen, the microphone is very sensitive and even picks up the sound of so many birds.  Most of those birds are some distance away from the nest but you can hear them clearly.  A couple of you also mentioned you hear talking and music yesterday.  Obviously I can't tell you what that was since I didn't hear it but my guess would be that it was someone in a boat on the lake or someone somewhere along the shore with a radio.  If I hear it sometime when I am here, I will let you know what I see or hear.

I went down to the lake to see if I could spot the loons since they were nowhere near the nest.

I 'think' I saw them all the way across the lake.  They are hard to spot sometime under even ideal conditions.  But today with the waves and with them diving, it was even more difficult.  But it is a good illustration of the fact that they are around even when you don't see them.  

I have mentioned several times that I would go down to do something on the nest when I knew that they were not in the area.  And then out of no where they would just appear!  So they see me even when I do not see them.

Just a minute ago, I looked down there and lo and behold there come both loons swimming toward the nest.  But they have  decided not to come in right now and are sitting a ways out from the nest or maybe even swimming back out into the lake some.

They will return to the nest when they want to!

But just know that they are out there.  Looking as beautiful as ever and doing well.

Once the eggs are laid, then you can be almost GUARANTEED of seeing them every time you look for the next 4 weeks!  I still would guess, based on their behavior, that we would see eggs laid sometime in the next few days.

Someone asked about last year.  The ice went out April 5th.  The LoonCam went live April 22nd.  The first egg was laid April 30th.  The second egg was laid May 2nd.  One egg hatched May 26th and the other egg hatched May 27th.

Hopefully that gives you something to compare this year against.

Keep watching.  Keep telling your kids and your neighbors and relatives and friends to watch.

It only gets better and more exciting with each passing day.

And get some sleep!  Some of you won't get any sleep once they are on the nest with NIGHT VISION on!

Sunday, April 24, 2010 8:05am

39 degrees  Cloudy some rain  Wind NE 6mph NE

The loons have been up on the nest a couple times this morning already and are back at the nest now.  They are hanging around the nest more and more.

This is a very good sign that they are going to use the nest and that we are getting closer to the laying of the first egg.

Many of you have now heard the quiet sounds that they have made while they are near the nest....sounds that are relatively new and may what some in the literature have called 'mewing'.  But they are new sounds that do not neatly fit into the standard 4 calls that are known about loons.

What happens next?  Will they use the nest?  When will the first egg be laid?

Stay tuned!!

Saturday, April 23, 2010 10:43pm

49 degrees  Some rain

Last night and today we have been receiving much needed rain.

But for the loons, rain is no problem whatsoever.  Water is their realm.

I was gone for a good share of the day so I missed a lot of the activities.  I appreciate reading through some of your entries of what has been happening.  I talked to a friend tonight who had tuned in about 3:30 this afternoon just in time to see the loons on the nest mating.  His young sons asked, "Are they doing what we think they are doing?!!"  This is nature.  Uncensored.

That would be at least the fourth time that they have mated.  This is an encouraging sign that they are more and more bonding with the nest and taking ownership of it.

When I came home just before dark, both loons were swimming a couple hundred feet off to the right of your picture.  The fact that they are spending more time in the area of the nest like that is also a sign of taking ownership of the nest and is encouraging that they will probably nest on it again.

Shortly after I saw them swimming there, they gave several tremolo calls which is normally an alarm call. It was shortly before dark and  I went down to look to see if I could see what was disturbing them.  I thought it might have been an eagle flying over.  But I did not see an eagle nor did I see anything else which should be disturbing to them.  But they obviously had seen something.  I am sure many of you heard the calls.

Someone mentioned it sounds like a beaver gnawing on the nest!

I think the sound that they are referring to is actually the squeaking of the foam which helps support the nest.  When there are waves it produces enough movement and the foam rubs making that squeaking noise.

In years past, I have known that the foam squeaked but once the nest was out in the water, it was out of sight out of mind.  When I first started to hear it over the microphone, it was so annoying.  Now it has become sort of comforting in a strange way.

But obviously it is something that does not bother the loons because it has been there every year.

I would guess that we are within a few days of laying the first egg.  But who knows?  It is impossible to predict with any certainty.

There are several things for you to watch for.

The first is nest building activity.

You already saw some of that within the first couple hours that the cam was live.  That was the FIRST of any nest building activity!  And you were able to witness it.

There will be some more of that type of activity when they are on the nest.  Moving material with their feet.  Turning.  Settling down in a different position.  Making sure it is comfortable from every direction.  Getting up.  Turning again.  Using their feet to dig a nesting depression.  Picking up material in its beak and placing it along the sides of its body.

But then one day, you will notice that the nest building becomes much more serious, purposeful and intense.  Almost as if an urgency has come over the loon.  That usually means that egg laying is getting close....possibly even within a matter of hours.

Then when the egg is about to be laid, the loon will sort of climb up on the edge of the nest.  It will spread its wings against the nest for stability.  You will see the body straining.  It is obvious at this point that the egg is moving inside the loon.

Then you will see the end of the egg appear.

And all of a sudden, the egg will just POP out!

The loon will sit there shaking and obviously exhausted for some minutes before it gets back in the water and swims away.  Usually the male will be swimming near the nest when all of this is going on and you may actually be able to see him swimming there....like an expectant father.

I remember the first time I saw an egg laid....it looked like it was made out of pure 24k GOLD!  This was literally the 'goose' that laid the GOLDEN EGG!

So there are a couple things for you to watch for in the days ahead....increased time on the nest, nest building activity, serious nest building activity, the loon up on the side of the nest with wings spread and then finally...the actual laying of the egg.

I am going to be very interested to listen with the new microphone to the sounds that the loon makes [if any] when she lays the egg.  Once again it will add so much to our knowledge about loons.

I appreciate all of you watching and sharing what you see with everyone.  With that many eyes watching, we can document so much more than with just one person trying to watch.  So thank you for that.

Every day that goes by gets more and more exciting!