Monday, June 7, 2010 7:16am CDT

Did you ever think that you would be a part of some much drama and discussion when you first started watching the LoonCam?!?!?

Another day.  Another egg off the nest!

I know that this happens in nature.  Probably more than we will ever know.  But this is the FIRST time that I have seen an egg go off the nest with this particular nest.  Let alone TWO times!

I was able to spot the egg floating quite some distance from the nest.

So once again, it was back out in the lake to retrieve it.

As I reached it, I quickly noted that it was floating pointed end up.  I remember thinking that was unusual.

As I held it in my hand, I struggled with what was the right thing to do.

Return it to the nest yet one more time?  Or remove it from the scene and face reality.

There was absolutely no cracks in the egg.  No holes.  No sound from within.  No detectable movement.  I even carefully felt to see if I could detect any warmth from a developing chick inside.  Nothing on all counts.

So I made the difficult decision to NOT return it to the nest this time!

But as I walked with the egg in my hand, I was still torn.  I would never forgive myself if later research showed that there was a chick inside that could have survived.

But then I also told myself that if I had not seen it, it would not have survived in the water anyway.

But troubling decisions to make.

If there had been ANY sign of a chick....a crack, a hole, a pip, a peep, warmth, movement.  ANYTHING! - I would have disturbed the loon on the nest and returned the egg.  But there was NO sign of a chick.  And even as I have the egg here now, there is NO sign of anything.

I even floated it in water.  Slowly it went from floating on its side to floating small side up.  As if the egg materials slowly settled down to one side of the egg.  Certainly not what one would expect with a chick in the egg.

So after a difficult decision, I have one egg here and will be talking to the DNR today.

The other egg remains on the nest.

Monday, June 7, 2010 6:01am CDT

 

46 degrees   Clear      Wind NE 4mph

 

 

A single wail from the nest stands out from all the other bird calls.

 

There is no mistaking a loon call.  It is so different and unique from any other calls that once you hear it, you never forget it.  This is the second call in the last few minutes.   But this morning there is no answer from the mate.  So she sits on the nest and patiently waits.

The dew lays heavy on the grass.  There is almost a fall-like chill in the calm, clear air this morning.  But it is predicted to get into the mid-70s today.  This is the feel of being in the "north woods".  A morning chill and then warming to a perfect day.

 

Today is day 33 for the first egg and day 31 for the second egg.

 

There is still a possibility that both eggs might hatch.  But with each passing day, the chances of a successful hatch go down.  Last night a couple of people were convinced that they had seen movement indicating a chick was hatching.  But then haven't we all at one time or another.  We have wanted so bad to see a chick that sometimes we have convinced ourselves that something was starting to happen.

 

There are no obvious indications this morning from the loon on the nest that she has a chick underneath her.  But things have surprised us before.  So once again there is nothing we can do but wait and watch.

 

If we do not have a chick that hatches in the next couple days, then we are at the point that there probably will not be a hatch this year.  But until then we can hope.

 

We have had a successful hatch on this nest every year except the first year.

 

That first year they went almost 2 weeks beyond the expected hatching date before something took the eggs....probably an eagle.  

 

There are so many questions to be answered this year.

 

Is this really the same pair of loons or is it a different pair?  There are so many behaviors that have been different this year compared to previous years.  My mind keeps going back to the long, extended chase between two loons that I talked about early in the season.  Was that indeed a territorial chase that ended in the previous pair (or at least one of the pair) being chased off the territory?

 

Or are there other things that explain the differences this year?

 

I do not think I have ever seen as many times when both loons were off the nest at the same time nor have I seen as many times when both of them were flying while there were eggs on the nest.

 

But now is the time to remain hopeful.  There is still a chance.  

 

But it is also the time to be realistic.  We may not have a hatch this year.

 

For now, the loon continues to sit on the eggs.  Faithfully.  Patiently.  

Sunday, June 6, 2010 9:10pm

62 degrees   Partly Cloudy   Calm

 

 

I wish I could fully describe the scene right now!

 

The sun has just set thirteen minutes ago and the lower edge of every cloud is an amazing color of scarlet and magenta and purples.  And beams of gold flare up into the sky from below the horizon.  It is stunning and too much for words.

 

Some have been questioning why the loon is off the nest.  I have just come back when I read all the messages and questions so I went down to the lake to look.

 

I do not see the loons anywhere on the lake but that does not mean they are not there somewhere.

 

But then I hear 'flying tremolos' far off in the distance.  It sounds like there are two calls.

 

Apparently both loons are flying somewhere.  That is a behaviour that I have not seen in past years....for the loons to take off and fly so much when there are eggs on the nest.  I do not know the significance of it.  But it is different from what we have seen for so many previous years. 

 

It sounds like they are getting closer so they must be coming back to the lake.

 

And then there they are!  Both of them!  Two loons flying in over the trees.  They make a long sweeping curve, their wings extended and still, their feet trailing behind them and their heads held slightly below the level of their bodies.  A typical profile of a loon in flight.

 

Then in a long sliding controlled-crash landing the come to rest on the lake.

 

Where were they?  Why did they leave and fly?  Why did they leave the eggs unprotected for so long?  There is absolutely no obvious reason nor apparent threat why they would have left the nest or why they flew.  There are a couple boats and fishermen still on the lake.  But nothing close to the nest nor any other reason that I can see why they would be off the nest.

 

Once again, questions questions questions.

 

 

Sunday, June 6, 2010 6:22am CDT

49 degrees   Clear   Wind W 3mph

The sky is clear and a bright blue this morning.  And the birds are all singing their Sunday best.  A chorus worthy of any choir.

The loon has just let out a single wail.  It is almost as if it is a call to its mate, "I am here waiting.  Where are you?"

But right now I do not see the mate anywhere in sight. 

This is day 33 for the first egg and tonight will be day 31 for the second egg.

So the questions start to mount if the eggs will hatch.  And the short answer is that I do not know!  But we are now at a fairly critical time.  If we do not see the eggs hatch in the next couple days, the chances of them hatching start to go down with each passing day.

But the loons have not given up yet.

They still sit faithfully on the eggs.

Questions have been raised of how long they will continue to sit on an egg that does not hatch.

A couple years ago we had a situation where one egg hatched and the other one did not.  The loon kept returning to the nest, along with the chick, to sit on the unhatched egg.  After about 10 days or 2 weeks, it was obvious that the second egg was not going to hatch.  So in consultation with several experts, we decided that the right thing to do would be to take the egg off the nest to break that bond and to let the loons and the chick get on with their lives.

It was a controversial decision and a number of people were very upset with me that we would do such a thing.  But in hindsight, I think it proved to be the right decision.  It almost immediately broke the bond with the nest and the parents could teach the chick what it meant to truly be a loon.  And that was to be in the water fishing rather than on an artificial nest with an egg that was not going to hatch.

We x-rayed the egg and found that the chick had died inside the egg about halfway through its development.  This fit perfectly with a time that the nest had been completely filled with cold water during a storm when an eagle had chased the loon off the nest.

One egg survived.   The other one did not.

But this morning it is too early to contemplate something like that.

There is still a chance that our eggs might hatch.

But I have to be brutally honest that now my concern begins to mount with each passing day.  A while back I said that if we went significantly beyond this weekend without a hatch, that a successful hatch starts to become questionable.  I still feel that way.

There is still a lot of hope.  But it begins to dim with each passing day.

There are documented cases of loons sitting on eggs for well over 60 days before finally abandoning the nest.  So the loons are faithful in doing their part.  And beyond!!

But in most cases of a natural nest along a shore, if an egg does not hatch, eventually a predator will take it.  Raccoons are the biggest predators of loon eggs from nests on shore.  So nature has a way of breaking that bond with the nest as well.

There is a 50% chance of rain or thunderstorms later today.  So the loons will be cooler as they sit on the nest.  And we still need the rain since it has been so dry.  But we do not need, nor do the loons need, any severe weather with high wind and waves or especially any hail.

But they take what they get.  And stay faithful in any kind of weather.  In hot weather.  In cold weather.  In snow.  In rain.  In hail.  In stormy weather.  In beautiful sunny, cool weather like it is right now.

For our loons right now, this is just about the ideal.  Like Goldilocks, not too hot, not too cold.  Not too windy.  Not too still.

This is just right!

Saturday, June 5, 2010 11:57am CDT

70 degrees  Light rain    Calm

 

I realize that I left out one piece of important information in my posts yesterday as well as this morning.  So here it is in answer to some of your questions.

 

When I put the egg back on the nest yesterday morning, I wanted to do it as quickly as possible so I had it in my hand only a matter of seconds.  I could not take the time to examine it as much as I would like or to savor the moment.  It was get it back on the nest quickly and get out of there.

 

It was much like when I did the loon rescue that I told you about.

 

So many times since then I have wished that I could have taken the time to ENJOY holding a beautiful loon.  To look at every detail of it.  To examine it in depth.

 

Unfortunately, I could not fully enjoy the experience since the focus was on getting the loon back in a lake as quickly as possible and with as little stress on it as possible!

 

I would love to have been able to appreciate the moment more!  But given the priorities, I guess that speed and focus on getting the loon back in the water was the right one.  But it doesn't lessen the desire to have completely looked at and learned more from that live loon.

 

Now, back to the egg.....what little I was able to see of it as I rolled it quickly in my hand as I rushed it back to the nest, I did not see any pips, holes, cracks or anything else that was indicative of it starting to hatch.

 

I did not feel any movement inside it nor did I hear any peeping coming from inside it.

 

I remember thinking that it felt 'light'.  And that it seemed a little smaller than I had expected.  But I have nothing to base that on.  The only other time that I have had a loon egg in my hand is a couple years ago when we removed the egg from the nest so that the loons and the one chick could get on with their lives.

 

But this handling of the egg was so quick.  There was not any time for any scientific observations or measurements. Speed was of the essence for both the eggs and the loon pair that was there.

 

Let me add one other piece of information that you may find interesting.

 

I mentioned that when one of the loons dived as I was backing away from the nest, I watched him as he came toward me.  I was concerned about getting stabbed in the leg.  I could see him underwater as he swam directly at me.  But then he passed about 2 feet to the left of me.  I could feel the water currents from his powerful paddling as he swam by me.

 

But he swam by me with no attempt to stab me that I could see.  Then he made a turn underwater and  came back up off to the left side of the nest and watched as I continued to back away.

 

What a privilege....and responsibility....to be near such magnificent birds!