Tuesday June 15, 2010 1:04pm CDT

Now there is just an empty platform.

And an empty place in our hearts.  To not see the beautiful loon sitting there just leaves an emptiness.  A hole.

I just came up from the lake.  I went down to look for the loons with the binoculars.

I don't see them anywhere on the lake.  Now that does not mean they are not here.  I just don't see them right now.  

There are times when even when I know where they are that I have to look and look and look.  And then all of a sudden they surface.  It is hard sometimes to see them.  Right now I do not see either of them.  Nor do I see any of the other loons that have been around.

The loons today acted exactly as I expected them to act.  But I could not be certain they would until it actually happened.  But now the bond with the nest has been broken and they have moved on with their lives.

But it was not without uncertainty and trepidation on my part that this whole thing took place.

When I went down to take the egg last night, I must say that I was more than pleased that there was no calling and no splashing or penguin dancing and no signs of distress.

But then when all of the calling started, my heart was in my throat!

"Oh please, Lord!  NO!!!! We don't need this!!  Please!"

And as the calls grew in intensity, if my heart could have jumped out of my throat it would have!

But then it soon became readily apparent that all the calling was due to another pair of loons and not due to the egg being removed.  Only then did my heart return to where it should be.  Only then did my heart rate go down.  Only then did my blood pressure return to normal.

All in all, I do not think that the taking of the egg could have gone more perfectly with the minimum of stress to our loons.

About 6:30 this morning, after the loon on the nest had left the nest, there were 'flying tremolos' from what sounded like two loons.

I went to look to see if I could see them.  The beautiful sound of the flying tremolos continued.  Getting closer and closer.  Then I saw one of the loons flying from left to right about mid-height up in the sky.  I did not see the second one but both of them continued to call.

It was almost as if they were taking their celebratory flight of freedom!

I did not see them land but some time later I saw both of them out on the lake.  And then they checked out the nest again a couple times...one time for about thirty minutes!

But now they are somewhere.  Somewhere other than on the nest.  But somewhere doing 'their loon thing' and getting on with their lives.

Let me take this opportunity before everyone scatters too far and wide to once again say THANK YOU!!

You cannot believe how much your kind words and your understanding and support has meant to me.  Words are inadequate to fully express my appreciation for you!

And thank you for being a part of this wonderful 'family' that has developed around this LoonCam!  Who could have ever predicted at the beginning of the season how close everyone would become.

I had to laugh at one point when there was some discussion in the chat room about if there was or should be a moderator and whether any subtle criticisms were warranted or not.  I laughed because it reminded me of the loon settling on the egg!  Everyone discussed the matters at hand.  It was like the little 'tushy wiggle' that the loons did to get comfortable sitting on those big eggs.  And then when they were comfortable, they settled down and relaxed.  And I visualized everyone doing just that.  Everyone wiggling their rear end a little until we all found our area of comfort with our neighbor next to us.  A wiggle here.   A wiggle there.   And then we all settled down and enjoyed the experience.

Now we wait to catch a glimpse of our dear loons.  Those precious fleeting glances over the next few days.

We will leave the cam running for the next few days so that you can catch those fleeting glances.  And I will periodically post an update to the blog to let you know what I am observing of the loons on the lake.  With no chicks this year, there will be less to report but I will try to keep you up to date.

And I will let you know anything I find out from our testing of the eggs.

I would like to say thank you as well to Ron Schara and the whole Minnesota Bound crew, Broadband USA and Wild Earth!

I had been talking with Peter from Wild Earth and unbeknownst to you, he was awake in South Africa at the time that I took the egg...just to make sure that the camera did NOT go down at the most inopportune time!  Thank you, Peter!

And  last night I got a phone call from Tony from Broadband about an hour before I was going to take the egg.  He was  wondering if I wanted to 'kill the feed' before I took the egg so that I was 'protected'!  Tony, thanks for your concern for me!  But I told him "NO!!  We HAVE  to make sure the feed remains LIVE and solid!  If it goes down now you will hear a howl from around the world and you won't need a loudspeaker to hear it!!!"  lol

But once again, in the strongest possible terms I would like to say THANK YOU for all your wonderful expressions of love and appreciation!  You are AMAZING!

Almost as amazing as our AMAZING LOONS!

Tuesday June 15, 2010 6:26am CDT

Both loons are swimming together halfway out to the middle of the lake.

Has she told him that there is no longer an egg on the nest?

Will either or both of them come back in to the nest?

Waiting.  Learning.

Tuesday June 15, 2010 5:13am CDT

 

59 degrees   Light drizzle   Wind SE 3mph

 

 

Two loud wails from the nest pierce the haze over the lake in the early morning light.  A drizzle falls on our loon as she sits on the nest, just like she has for so many mornings before.  Except there is one big difference this morning.

 

There is no egg.

 

But so far it doesn't seem to matter.  It is almost as if the habit is so deeply ingrained by now, that she continues so sit.

 

Even after being off the nest briefly, she once again got back on the nest and tried to roll the egg that wasn't there.....the 'ghost egg'....before she once again settled back down on it.  Complete with the moving of the feet and the wiggle of the tail to get it just right.

 

It is as if she knows that something is not right, but that she is just not sure of exactly what it is.

 

Last night as I began walking out to the nest to retrieve the egg, the muskrat swam across a few feet in front of me.  I could barely see his wake in the reflection of what little light there was in the sky.  I had been worried about whether one of the loons would attack me, but for now I was more worried about the muskrat in the water with me.

 

Fortunately,  he kept swimming and I kept walking. 

 

Many of you were watching as the loon silently slid off the nest.

 

In fact, she left so silently I did not even hear her leave even though I was only feet away.  I was surprised that the nest was empty when I got there because I had not even heard her go into the water.  But then I saw her silhouetted against the same reflection of the sky that had let me see the muskrat. 

 

She was some distance from the nest already, silent.

 

I took the egg and hurriedly left the nest feeling it as I walked.  Just to make sure that there were no cracks, no holes, no sound, no movement of a chick trying to get out.  There was none.

 

In fact, as I mentioned last night, there is the faint but distinct odor of a rotten egg.

 

There was no doubt that this egg was not going to hatch.

 

Fortunately it had been the right decision to take it and to free the loons from the nest.  X-rays may help to determine if it started to develop and then stopped.  Or if it is possible that it was not fertile from the beginning or never started developing.

 

But all of that was forgotten last night when a whole chorus of wails and tremolos and yodels started.  A full 5 to 10 minutes AFTER I had left the nest.

 

My heart sank when those calls started.  I thought to myself, "Oh please NO!  We do not need this!"

 

And they continued on and on and on.

 

But then it quickly became apparent as well that they could not be in response to me taking the egg.  It was challenge calls from our pair of loons to another pair of loons that was about a quarter of the way around the lake.  It could not have been from taking the egg because they did not even know that the egg was gone.  At most it was that their heightened sense of alert also made them alert to the presence of the other pair of loons and their call.

 

But for those first few heart-stopping moments, the calls tore at my heart!

 

Now as she sits on an empty nest, one wonders how long she will stay there.  She has been off the nest already once this morning and returned.  And when she returned she went through her normal 'egg turning behavior and her wiggle to settle down on the nest.  So much that is ingrained.  So much that seems to be habit.

 

I would expect in the daylight, that she will eventually see and understand that there is really no egg there.  Something that she probably had trouble comprehending in the dark last night when she turned and moved numerous times before finally settling down to sleep for several hours.  And I would expect that as the realization that there is no longer an egg on the nest dawns on her, she will gradually leave the nest for longer and longer periods of time.  But this is new territory.  I am not sure if any one has ever seen before exactly what a loon does under these circumstances.  When a "predator" has taken the final egg and there is nothing left on the nest.

 

So we will watch and learn together.

 

She spent a restful peaceful night on the nest with no apparent distress.

 

And for now, she sits on the nest surveying her kingdom in the haze and the morning rain like she has for so many mornings before.

 

One would never guess that this morning was different than any other morning.  But it is.

 

Once again a wail pierces the early morning air.

 

There is no answer from the mate.

 

What will happen when he returns and also finds that there is no longer an egg on the nest to carefully protect and incubate?

 

We can only wait.  And watch.  And learn.

 

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 12:01am CDT

WOW!

Who could have predicted all that has happened in the last hour!

Absolute silence for the longest time.  And then wails and tremolos and yodels like I have not heard in a long time!

My heart sank when it started.

But then I realized it could not be in response to the egg being gone!  They didn't even KNOW it was gone!

As I listened, it was apparent that half of the calls were coming from a quarter of the way around the lake.  There was another pair of loons over there.  And they were the ones that started the first wail call.  I thought it had been the mate.  But then the wails and tremolos and yodels came from near the nest as well!  From TWO loons!  "Our" loons.  

And the answers came back from across the lake.  Wail for wail.  Tremolo for tremolo.  Yodel for yodel!

FOUR loons calling in the middle of the night!  Staking out territory.

Could all the calling be just a coincidence?  And odd, unbelievable coincidence that happened so close to the taking of the egg?

As now an hour has passed, I think the calling WAS a coincidence.

For the loon eventually came back to the nest.  Settled down as if there were a "ghost" egg.  Tried to even turn it.  Again and again.  Each time settling back down, feet doing their normal shuffle, and the rear end wiggle!  Exactly what we have seen a thousand times before!  Unbelievable.

And then off the nest again and some more calling to the other loons.

But now in a slight rain, the loon is sitting there as if nothing ever happened.

I think she HAS to know that something is different.  But I don't think she knows what yet.  I don't think she can see much better in the dark than I can.  And I know something is different here!  With the egg laying next to me on the desk, there is the unmistakable 'natural gas' odor...the odor of a rotten egg. Not overpowering.   Slight but very distinctive.  And very telling.

More tremolos from across the lake.  But she sits unconcerned for now.

I still can't believe that that was a coincidence with all the calling shortly after the egg was taken!  But there is no other logical explanation for it.  I think it was pure coincidence.  One could not write a screenplay with that in it and still have it be believable.  But we all saw it.  And heard it.  And know that it was real.  That it was unscripted.

I think in the morning in daylight, she will realize that indeed the egg is gone.

I would expect that they will return to the nest a few times and sit for a little bit.

And the times in between will grow longer.  Until they indeed are free of the nest.

But we will leave the camera on for a few days so that you can watch as much as you can of her on the nest now.  And catch the glimpses of them as they periodically return to the nest.  Until the are gone.  After a few days we will probably shut the cam down and bring this season to a close.

But what an AMAZING hour this has been!

I have to admit that it went as good as could be expected.  MY heart sank as the calling started until I realized it was in response to the other pair of loons and NOT to the egg being taken.  Now I feel better.  I was devastated for a few minutes though.

So we wait for the loons to write the next chapter.

We are merely chroniclers!  

[PS  I may be up most the night chronicling what is happening with this amazing turn of events!  I, like many of you, cannot tear myself away.  And I have already filled PAGES of notes in my field manual of what has been happening!]

Monday, June 14, 2010 11:09pm CDT

OK that was not a pleasant trip out to the nest.

Everything went fine and as planned.  I was a little surprised that the loon was off the nest when I got out there.  I kept waiting to hear the splash of her going in the water.  And I never heard it.  She was already off the nest!

I could vaguely see her swimming some distance out from the nest.  Totally silent.  No calls.  No alarm.  No diving.  No splashing.

I quickly made my way back up to shore with the nest while I felt it for any cracks or pips.  There were none.  I held it to my ear to listen for any sounds.  There were none.

But I noticed a natural gas or propane smell!!  It took a second for it to register.  And then it did!!

What do they always say about a gas leak!  It will smell like rotten eggs!  They put a chemical in the gas that smells like rotten eggs to help people know if there is a gas leak.

And it was then I realized that while I was holding the egg to my ear to listen for any sounds, I was SMELLING the egg.  I put it up to my nose.  There it was!  Faint but definite.  The slight smell of a rotten egg.

When I got to shore, I used the flashlight to examine the egg more carefully.

It is a beautiful egg!

But there are absolutely no marks or cracks or holes that would in any way indicate a chick.  Our suspicions had been right.  This egg would not have hatched.  I could even feel it cool slightly in my hand as I walked up to the house.  Cradling it.  Handling it like it was a valuable as pure gold and as fragile as thin crystal.

Once again as I am typing this, I can smell the faint 'natural gas' odor.

But then it started. 

With two wails.  Then tremolos.  Then yodels!

Just what I did not want to happen!

How could they know!  They had not even been to the nest to see that the egg was gone!

I went back outside to listen.  There was one pair of loons near the nest.  And there was another pair of loons calling from partway around the lake.

They were reacting to another pair of loons in the area, NOT to the egg being gone.

Coincidence?  Possible.

In fact, I think MORE 'coincidence' than anything because they still do not know that the egg is gone.  I am sure that a 'predator' [ME!] scaring the loon off the nest contributed to it.  But it seemed to be more the other pair of loons that started calling and then 'our loons' answered!

I know some are probably thinking right now that the loons are expressing loss over the egg.  We have to be careful about putting human emotions on them.  They still do not know the egg is gone.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to come back to the nest.  Or if they do.

I have to believe that they will come back to the nest.

But then it will be interesting to see what their reaction will be.

A few raindrops fall.  Is it too much to believe they are 'tears'?