Monday, May 31, 2010 10:06pm CDT

The loon just got up and readjusted the eggs.

It looks like both of the eggs are intact but it was hard to get a good or a full view.

Are we close?  Let's hope and keep watching.

Twenty eight days will not be up for the first egg until Wednesday morning and the second egg on Friday night.

Is she sensing anything?  Movement in the eggs?  Sound from the chicks?  Anything?

Oh, if only we could know what is going on inside each of the eggs.  Night vision has been great.  But what we need now to satisfy our curiosity is X-RAY VISION!!!

The suspense is almost too much to bear.

Memorial Day, May 31, 2010 9:53pm CDT

66 degrees   Clear starlit sky   Calm

I just got home after being gone much of the day.  My first reaction when I turned the picture on was that we had a chick!  Maybe I have the same wishful thinking that many of you have been talking about.

After my initial excitement and taking a 2nd and 3rd and 4th look, I am not so sure.

I keep looking at the same things that you expert loon watchers are looking at.  It has changed but I do not see anything that definitively says we have a chick.

The loon seems to be "sitting higher" and holding her wing higher.  But I do not see the "twitching" or movements that would indicate a chick hatching.

So once again we can only watch and wait.  And HOPE!

Monday, May 31, 2010 7:21am CDT

The loon left the nest for about 22 minutes.

 

My first reaction is to be worried for the chicks in the eggs in this chilly morning air.  But by now if everything has gone well,  they are generating some of their own body heat to keep them warm.  They would be in more danger of overheating if this was later in the day and the sun was beating down on them.

 

The reason for the loon being off the nest is something that I do not like to see.

 

Both of "our" loons were swimming with a third 'intruder' loon out in the middle of the lake.  Or is it even fair to call it an intruder loon?  There was no fight.  No attempt to drive the other loon off.  No calling.  No territorial yodeling.  No excited diving.  They were just swimming together.

 

But this presence of a third loon had definitely gotten the attention of the loon on the nest and had drawn her off the nest for 22 minutes.

 

During that time a couple small birds took a tour of the nest...looking for whatever they were looking for.  They did not approach the eggs.  But had this been a crow or a raven or a seagull that landed on an empty nest, very quickly those eggs could have been breakfast!

 

So those times that the loon is drawn off the nest, even if they are totally "natural", can be very dangerous for the eggs and the  chicks that we hope are inside them.

 

So today, 'traffic' becomes very important.

Whether it be speedboats or jet skis or fishermen or eagles.  Or even other loons becomes very crucial to our little loon chicks still safely sheltered in the eggs.

 

It is an opportunity for you to remind those you are with when you are out on a lake.  To be aware of loons and to give them their space.  If you stay 200 to 300 feet away from a nesting loon, you will have very little impact on it.  And they can be about their 'loon thing' of taking care of the eggs in their nest.

 

So the vigil continues!

Monday, Memorial Day, May 31, 2010 6:37am CDT

47 degrees  Clear  Calm

The loon on the nest lets out a single wail.

It is as if it is saying to its mate, "OK, I am ready for you to come and take over nesting duties for a while."

The other birds are in full song on a clear, calm and cool Minnesota morning.  Somewhere from across the lake a goose honks as if to say 'I am here, too!'

Little wisps of fog dance about the lake in the morning sun.  The front that came through yesterday has dried out the air and cooled it off.  There is a definite chill in the air on this beautiful Memorial Day morning!

So far there has been no new chick.  Only the promise of one.  Will today be the day that brings the hatching of the first egg?  Anticipation and hope build.

The forecast for today is another stunningly beautiful day with a high in the mid-70s Fahrenheit.

With this being a holiday for most people, the lake will probably be very busy today.  The threat of rain yesterday helped to keep the activity down a little bit.  But today you will probably see activity from a lot of boats and fishermen.  The loons will take it in stride unless people decide to approach too closely to the nest.

There are a couple boats on the lake but more are at the landing putting their boats in right now.

Will this be the day that the first egg hatches?  It very well could be!  So it becomes even more important that a chick struggling to hatch is not left in the full sun for extended periods of time.  It would give us a wonderful view.  But hatching itself is enough of a battle without adding a blazing sun to it.

Once again here is what you can watch for if hatching is imminent.

Everything will look 'normal' on the nest.

The loon sitting there like she has always done.  Looking around for any sign of danger.

But then if you are watching closely, there is that almost imperceptible movement.  You ask yourself if you even saw something.

Just a tiny twitch that is a little bit different.

There it is again.

Then you are sure.  She is moving differently.  It is as if she is getting poked with something from below!

Finally, you may see her slightly lift a wing.  

This whole sequence may last for several hours.  But then....there it is!  There is something moving under her wing!  Our breathing stops and our heart skips a beat.  Could it be?  Am I really seeing this?  Dare I believe that there might be a living breathing chick hiding under her?

And then it happens!  A little black downy head appears from beneath the wing!  It is!!  Or was it just a black feather I saw?  NO!  There is an eye!  And a beak!!  It is a chick!!

So prepare yourself for that magical "AWWWWWW" moment.  If everything has gone alright in the hidden mystery within the eggs, that is a sight that we should see very soon.  There is no way to adequately prepare yourself for the wonder of that moment.  It is one of those memories that is indelibly burned into your permanent memory.  That in some small way changes your life and affects how you view the world.

Could today be the day?

Sunday, May 30, 2010 6:56am

60 degrees   High Clouds   Wind  South 2mph

High hazy clouds turn the sky to a grayish blue.

They are the forerunners of a weather front that is along the Dakota/Minnesota border that promises to bring rain this afternoon.  One forecast says 'slight' chance of precipitation and another says 'scattered' showers and thunderstorms and yet a thirds says '50%' chance of rain and thunderstorms.

So take your pick!

We need the rain so bad!  You can hear it every time the loon moves or get on and off the nest.  Everything on the nest is so dry it is crisp.  It is amazing the plants have survived at all or that the iris are actually able to bloom.

But the loons keep the eggs in the perfect environment.  A little water brought to the eggs on feathers is just enough to moisten them without cooling them too much.

The loon has just returned from a shift change and is now once again settled on the eggs.

Today should be a little cooler than the last couple days and make it a little easier for the loons.

Highs today are forecast for the mid to upper 70s.  And as I said, that chance of rain or thundershowers this afternoon.

As you saw yesterday, there was a lot of activity on the lake.  And the same is in store for today on this Memorial Day weekend .... unless it rains.  Minnesotans love their time at the lake!

It is something that loons put up with everywhere they are.  Except in the deepest of wilderness areas.

But even though they are sensitive to human presence or disturbance, they are remarkably adaptable.  This nest is a perfect example of that.  As long as humans do not approach too close to the nest, the loons go about the business of laying eggs and hatching chicks and raising the next generation of loons.

This is probably as good a time as any to say THANK YOU to everyone who makes this LoonCam possible  It would not be possible without the understanding and support of family and friends!

Later today we will have many family members gather for a Memorial Day picnic.  And as hard as it may be for them, the kids know that as long as the loons are there they cannot enjoy a day of swimming.  Or boating for the adults.  Or canoeing.  They cannot play in the lake as they usually do.  So for those of you who want to do a nest like this, consider what is involved.  You will give up the use of your lakeshore while the loons are on the nest.

And without understanding and supportive neighbors on either side who are also willing to limit their activities for a month or more in the spring, the loons would not nest successfully.  And so to all of them, on your behalf, I once again say THANK YOU!

And to Ron Schara and the wonderful Minnesota Bound staff, they have done so much to make this possible.

But the thing that makes this all worth doing and watching is what is happening under the loons right now.

New chicks!  Chicks growing and developing inside the eggs.

The normally accepted incubation period of 28 days will be up on Wednesday and Friday of this week for each of the two eggs.  I would expect them to hatch by then.

But it is not out of the realm of possibility that an egg may hatch as early as tonight or tomorrow!!!

It is also not out of the realm of possibility that they may go to 30 or 31 days.  That would mean they would not hatch until next weekend.  If they go much longer than that, there is reason for concern about whether they will hatch or not.

But let me go out on a limb....I would think that the earlier dates are more likely than the latter dates.  I think it is entirely possible that we may see an egg hatch tomorrow...or even tonight!!

But the practice of predicting what the loons will do is very risky.  So feel free to go ahead and make your own predictions.  As with everything else, it is totally out of our hands.  We simply watch.  And marvel.  And enjoy this unique look into the life of these wonderful birds!

So today, may you have a wonderful day and for those of you in the United States,  may you enjoy this Memorial Day weekend.  Now is the time to let your family and friends and kids know about what is happening here on the LoonCam.  The event that we have waited for could happen at any minute!

The sight of two little loon chicks is definitely worth the wait!!