Wednesday, May 26, 2010 6:00am CDT

 

57 degrees  Clear  Calm

 

 

After record breaking heat and humidity the last several days, a front has come through bringing some relief to our loons.

 

The forecast for today is for sunshine, low winds and temperatures about 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  Much more comfortable than what they have been having to deal with.  Many areas received good rain as the front moved through but here it was just enough to tease us.  Fortunately there were only scattered reports of any severe weather.

 

The end is now definitely in sight for the loons.

 

One wonders if they are able in any way to sense it.  It was three weeks ago today that the first egg was laid.  If we take the normally quoted incubation period of 28 days, that would mean that the first egg would hatch one week from today.  Most sources put the incubation period at 28 to 30 days, with some saying a day or two shorter.

 

However, over the last few years with the advantage of having the LoonCam, we have been able to document at least two occasions where an egg has hatched at 25.5 days.  So to a certain extent, the LoonCam has been enabling us to understand better and to even rewrite some of what we know about loons.

 

Stop to think about it.  Previously researchers were hard pressed to tell exactly when an egg was laid.  If they were lucky enough to be out in a boat observing from a distance, it was unlikely that they were lucky enough to actually see the egg laid.  And they were also hard pressed to tell exactly when the egg hatched.  With the LoonCam, we have been able to document to the minute when the egg was laid.  And we have been able to tell within a couple hours of when the chick actually hatched.  So the precision is much greater.

 

So the 'normal' incubation time would put the hatching at one week from today or later.  My guess [and understand it is only a guess] would be that it would hatch earlier than that.  In fact if I had to guess, I would guess that it could very well hatch on Memorial Day....Monday.

 

So now we wait.

 

Along with the loons, we wait.

 

But stop to think of the miracle that has been happening over the last several weeks.  If all has gone well, within those eggs under that loon that you are watching right now there is a chick!  Now having developed far enough that you could tell that it was a loon chick.  Bones and beak.  Skin and black down.  Internal organs and eyes.  The characteristic big feet of a loon.  

 

And a heart that is already beating!!!

 

What scientist could create life like this?!  None could even come close.

 

We can only stand back and marvel at the miracle of creation that we are watching.

 

If you haven't already done it, now is the time to tell your kids and your grandkids and the neighbor kids to watch.  To tell your friends and neighbors and co-workers of what is happening and let them join you in this miracle.   Now is the time when the excitement begins to build.  Who can even describe that magical moment when you first see the head of a little black ball of down peek out from underneath its mother's wing?  To see a new baby loon chick moving under the wing.  It has been known to bring a tear to more than one eye.  To be able to be such an intimate part of the wonderful web of life.

 

But alas, that time can be too fleeting.

 

For within 24 hours of hatching, the chick gets off the nest and into the water.  From that point on he is in his element that he was born for.  He is a waterbird.

 

Someone asked if the warmer weather could speed up the hatching of the chicks.  It is possible but the effects are not clearly understood.

 

The times when we have been able to document hatching at just over 25 days were during periods of cooler than normal temperatures.  There have been some that have speculated that cooler temperatures keep the loon on the nest more and therefore actually provide ideal incubation conditions that speed up the hatch.  Who knows?  There is so much that we do not know and are just learning about loons.

 

There is also something called 'egg speed up' or 'catch-up' where the second egg hatches faster than the first egg.  Even though the egg this year was laid 2 1/2 days after the first egg, it will probably hatch within a day of the first egg hatching.  It will literally 'catch up'.

While it is not well understood, scientists have documented that chicks will actually communicate with each other by peeping while they are still inside the egg!  Whether that is part of what speeds up the development of the first chick or whether it is that the first egg is not incubated as much initially is open to speculation.  So many questions yet to be answered.

 

But for today, our loons continue the long vigil.

 

Ever alert.  Always faithful.  Always there.

 

Other things can wait.  Today there are little chicks inside those eggs that need tending!

 

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 5:47am CDT

64 degrees  Clear  Calm

The familiar and reassuring silhouette of a loon outlined against the pink glow of dawn reflected in the surface of a northern lake says that all is still well with our loons.

One more night under the belt.

One day closer to the expectation of two new baby loons.

The promise that the faithfulness of our loon parents will pay off with a new generation. 

While we were asleep, they did not have the luxury of 'sleep'.  At best they could nod off for a few seconds at a time.  But they needed to always be aware.  Always on guard.  Who knew what could happen at a moment's notice?  Everything could be for naught if they let down their guard for even a little bit.  

All the work and energy of producing the two eggs.  All the time spent sitting on the nest.  The interminable hours in the hot sun.

It could all be gone in a moment if they let down their guard.

And so this morning, the loon is still there.  Still on guard.

I have been doing a study over the last several weeks of their "sleeping" while they are on the nest.  If you can call it sleeping.

I don't think anything like it has ever been done before.  Because until the LoonCam and the nightvision, no one has ever had a chance to observe a loon up close during the night.

What I have found so far, after hundreds and hundreds of measurements, is that the longest the loon ever closed its eyes at one time was 47 seconds!  47 seconds!  And then the eye would be open again looking around for any danger.

Imagine how you would feel in the morning if the longest time that you closed your eyes at night was 47 seconds!

That was the longest!

Most of the time the loon's eyes would close for only three to six seconds!  And then it would be open again.  Watching.

Talk about faithfulness!!

Now these measurements are brand new.  But there have been hundreds of them so I think that a very reliable pattern is emerging.  And the average time that a loon has its eyes closed all night is only 3 to 6 seconds!

I don't know about the loon that is floating out on the lake all night.  If their sleep pattern is any different than the one on the nest.  But I have no reason to believe that it would be different.  It is just that there is no way to verify it.

Just one more amazing fact about our amazing loons.

Watch for something else today.  We always think about our loons being a stark black and white.  But our loons could not settle for something so mundane even if it is beautiful.

When the light strikes the loon at just the right angle, amazing COLORS appear!  Watch for it.

There is a distinct iridescent green to the black feathers of the head.  The first time you see it you do a double take and think that your eyes are playing tricks on you.  They are not.  The color is actually there.  A beautiful green overlaying the deep black of the loon's head.

But even more striking is another color that emerges in just the right light.

The "collar" around the loon's neck will glow a bright turquoise green!!  The collar that we had only seen as black, glows turquoise.  Yet one more amazing fact about our beloved loons.

A couple days ago, we talked about how a loon's leg is positioned so far back on their body that it is very difficult if not almost impossible for them to get around on land.  We even did an exercise with our arms so that we could feel what it is like for the loons.

That is the reason that loons need up to a quarter mile of open water to be able to take flight from a lake.  They will run across the surface of the lake with their big webbed feet while they mightily flap their wings to gain enough lift to get their heavy bodies airborne.

But that is also a great danger for loons.

If they come down on land, they will not be able to take off and they will die unless they are rescued!  Or if they come down on a body of water that is too small, they will not be able to take off and they will die.

I was part of the rescue of a loon a few years ago that had landed on a small pond in the pasture of a farm.  It was not able to take off.  And it would have died if it was not rescued.  Fortunately we were able to rescue it and bring it to a nearby lake where nothing was injured but its pride.  We think it may have been forced down during a thunderstorm the night before.

There have been instances of loons landing on highways or parking lots that look like rivers or lakes on a rainy day.  And once on the ground they are trapped unless someone can rescue them.

There was a tragic story of a two loons last fall that did not make it off their lake in northern Minnesota in time.  Ice formed and soon there was not enough open water for them to take off.  And they froze in the ice.  One loon was rescued and flown to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota but unfortunately it could not be saved.

So many dangers.  So many challenges.  So many things that we are unaware of.

But today our loons are there.  Ready for anything.

Except maybe the heat.  Today promises to be another day of high heat and high humidity.  Not the kind of weather that is ideal for loons to be sitting on a nest under a hot sun.  But they have done it before.  And they will faithfully do it again today.  To keep their charges safe and to keep their own rendezvous with destiny.

May we do the same!

Monday, May 24, 2010 5:46am CDT

 

71 degrees  Clear  Wind SSE 2mph

 

 

There is a haze in the air this morning.  It is a steamy, sticky tropical feel in the air this morning.

 

The loons have just had their morning shift change.  They are now in the midst of the long, interminable hours of sitting on the nest.  Hour after hour.  Day after day.  Boredom.  But at the same time needing to stay alert for danger and disaster that could strike at any moment.

 

Now is not the time to let down their guard.

 

They already have so much time and energy invested in this nest and these eggs.

 

Other birds begin their songs in the early morning light.  A goose honks its greeting and warning.

 

The loon on the nest has its head slightly lowered even though there is no apparent danger.  I am sure by now you have noticed that one loon seems to be much more wary and skittish than the other.  Where one sits with its head held high most of the time, the other loon is much more ready to lower its head into a defensive posture whether there is any obvious danger or not.

 

I have yet to figure out if it is the male or the female.  Most of the time I think it is the male that is more wary.  But just when I think I have it figured out which one it is, there is something that makes me think otherwise.

 

So whichever one is on the nest now, it sits with its head slightly lowered even though there is no threat that I can see.  But it obviously senses something that I can't see.

 

Already this early in the morning it is sitting with its beak slightly open.  Panting.  Trying to get rid of some of the excess body heat even this early in the morning.

 

Today and the next several days you can expect to see a lot more of this behaviour.  Each day the high temperature is forecast to be in the upper 80s to lower 90s Fahrenheit.  The high temperatures, combined with sitting in the sun, will take its toll on the loon.  They very much prefer cooler temperatures and the relief of swimming in cool to cold waters.

 

You will probably see the loon leave the nest more often today to just take a quick dip in the water to cool off.  It is a very thin line that the loon walks.  During cool weather being off the eggs too long can cause damage from the cold air.  During weather like this, if they are off the eggs too long the hot sun can literally bake the chick inside the egg.  So they have to be careful either way.

 

If I have one area of concern about the eggs this year it is from several weeks ago when the eggs were only a couple days old.

 

You will remember that it was an unusually cold morning.  Frost covered the whole nest around the loon.  The temperature was only 27 degrees.

 

And then the loon did an unusual and worrying thing ... it left the nest for over half and hour.  The eggs sat exposed to the cold morning air with frost all around them.  Both of our loons were off confronting a pair of intruder loons all the way on the other side of the lake!

 

Was there any damage done at that time?  Who knows?  We can only hope not.  But the possibility remains.

 

I personally hope that it was early enough after the eggs had been laid that there had been no damage even if the eggs chilled significantly.  I have checked with several wildlife experts and they feel the same way....or are at least hopeful that no damage was done on that frosty morning.

 

But now the eggs are very vulnerable to too much heat or too much cold.  Hopefully there is a chick developing inside each egg.  And the loon is very careful to provide it with just the right environment for it to continue to live and develop inside the egg.  Not too hot.  Not too cold.  Like Goldilocks, "just right"!

 

In a few days, the chick will probably be producing enough of its own body heat that it could ward off a chill.

 

But the next few days heat is going to be the greater problem.  So the loon will bring some cooling water on its feathers each time it gets back on the nest.  The water helps to keep the egg from drying out.  And the loon will roll the eggs often.  This keeps the chick from sticking to one side of the egg and being deformed.

 

Such profound simplicity in all that is necessary to produce the next generation of loons.

 

And today you have the privilege to have a front row seat as you watch this miracle of life!

 

Share the miracle with the kids in your life.  Give them a sense of the wonder of what they are observing.  The greatness of the miracles that are happening all around them.

 

It is so good to have so many schools using the LoonCam as a teaching tool!  Good morning, kids!  Don't take today for granted.  Look around you and see the all the wonderful things that have been put in this world for you to enjoy.  And take good care of them so that we can all enjoy them for many many years to come.  The loons are doing their part.  And hopefully in about a week, you will see two little baby loon chicks hatch from the eggs!!

 

My hope and prayer is that each of you will have a wonderful day filled with the wonder of life itself.

 

Sunday, May 23, 2010 6:36am CDT

71 degrees  Cloudy   Calm

 

 

There is something oddly reassuring about the scene of the loon faithfully sitting on the nest again this morning.  

 

After having to once again adjust the camera last night because of it having been blown loose on its mounting as the storm moved through yesterday, it is good to see that the loons have taken that interruption in stride as well as all the other natural challenges that they face.  After the camera moving for the second time in a wind storm, I realized that what may be causing the problem is that one of the willow branches on the nest was blowing and hitting the camera and knocking its new mount out of alignment.

 

So after a 'haircut' of the offending willow branch and a few other remedial measures in the pitch blackness, hopefully the camera is securely aimed at the nest for the rest of the saga of our loons nesting for the year.  And that all they and we will have to worry about are eagles and fish and muskrats and "intruding" loons and wind and hail and baking sun and boats and jet skis and a thousand and one other challenges our loons face as they struggle to raise a new generation of loons.

 

All of these challenges are things that loons all over have to face on a daily basis.

 

But because they are out of our sight, they are also out of our minds.  What we do not see, we do not worry about.

 

But because we have seen these loons close-up, we feel like we have come to know them.  No longer are they some nebulous technical description in a birding book or a background player in a novel.  They are "our" loons.  They are our friends.  And we have come to care deeply about them.  To care deeply about what happens to them.  To live their challenges with them.  To understand in a whole new way what really goes on all around us every day in nature's realm.

 

And that is one of the beauties of the LoonCam.

 

To see things that in a million years we would never have the opportunity to see in any other way.  To understand in a whole new way.  And to care about like we have never cared about before.

 

And so the silhouette of a loon sitting on a pair of eggs on a nest on a northern lake in the northernmost state of the 48 states, is somehow "oddly reassuring" this morning.

 

On a Sunday morning with all its own implications of new life and a new start to a new week, the fact that the loon is still there .... faithful .... still dedicated to nurturing the new life that is developing in the eggs beneath it .... is an inspiration and a sermon of its own.  That in spite of all the challenges that each one of us face every day, the promise of new life is there.  That we can make it.  That with all of the evil in the world there is also overwhelming goodness and beauty.

 

May your Sunday be one of mind-blowing, overwhelming goodness and beauty.  Take some time today to stop and see it.  Take some time today to stop and be a part of "causing" some of that goodness and beauty for someone else.

 

That may be the true 'lesson of the loons' this morning.

Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:06pm CDT

58 degrees   Raining   Windy

I just got home from the studio so I will take some time to catch up on what has been going on this morning.

Just now I heard several wails and a couple tremolo calls from out on the lake.

I cannot see anything that is of concern.  The loon on the nest seems to be doing fine.  I cannot see the other loon out on the lake that was calling.

I will take some time to get caught up on what has been happening this morning and maybe post later today.  Thank you to all of you for your faithfulness in posting what you see and keeping everyone up to date on what is happening.

Right now we are getting some much needed rain.  For the loon, that is no problem to be wet.  But there is some lightening and thunder around, too.  I don't think that they are predicting anything severe but this time of year it can develop quickly.

It is windy but once again the sensitivity of the microphone on the nest makes it sound much worse than it is.  Thankfully the whitecaps are on the other side of the lake and not hitting the loons or the nest here.

I will update you later.