Monday, November 22, 2010 6:30pm

 

 

22 degrees  Cloudy  Wind E7mph

 

Winter.

Definitely the feel of it is here.  In the matter of a few days we went from a very mild fall to something that now feels decidedly like early winter.

Ice has started forming on the lakes along the Canadian border and even here the ice was out 100 feet from shore on Sunday morning.

But it was not only on the lake that there was ice on Sunday morning.

Overnight, freezing rain had coated everything.  Everything was a wonderful skating rink...IF what you were looking to do was to skate!  By noon much of the ice was gone.  But as I was coming home from church, I turned onto a side road and all of a sudden I definitely was not in control of my car.  It was going all over the place and there was nothing I could do.  I was sure I was going to slide in the ditch several times.  But fortunately, my 'Minnesota winter driving skills' came back quickly even if they were very rusty.

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready to leave the house, I looked down to the lake and could not believe what I was seeing.

There were four loons swimming about where the nest normally is anchored.

I was surprised to see them.  I had not seen any loons on the lake for a couple months.  But there they were.  Four adult loons.  Swimming and diving.  Seemingly unconcerned by the ice that had already formed along the edge of the lake.

I could not stay to see how long they stayed or where they went.

But at least four loons were still here.

I have been somewhat surprised to see on the USGS site that tracks the loons with the surgically implanted satellite transmitters, that three of the loons still remain on their summer breeding lakes.  This is later than what I would have expected and it will be so interesting to see how long they stay.

With ice now forming, they cannot stay too long without putting themselves in danger of being trapped by the ice and not being able to take off for their flight south.

The Sagatagan Lake male is still on Lake Michigan off the coast of Milwaukee and Chicago.  One of the Wisconsin males has now moved to Lake Erie.  That may be an encouraging sign that he may continue to head east to the Atlantic coastline and stay away from the Gulf of Mexico and away from the oil.

It has been hard to find any reliable news of what exactly is happening with the oil in the Gulf of Mexico.  Has it dispersed to the point that it is no longer a threat.?  Is it lying in wait in the lower reaches of the Gulf?  Is it lying in wait in the food chain?  Or have oil-eating bacteria been able to actually digest and neutralize most of it?  And what will happen to the loons who do go to the Gulf?

All of these questions must wait until we can get more data and until we can actually track loons that make it to the Gulf and see what happens to them....especially this years young who will spend the next 2-3 years on the Gulf.

So continue to check the status of the loons on the USGS migration tracking page and be part of this great adventure.

http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/terrestrial/migratory_birds/loons/migrations.html

This last Saturday also saw a large group of swans stop over on the lake on their migration south.  I estimated that there were at least 150 to 200 swans in what looked to be 4 or 5 distinct groups that spent a good share of the day on the lake.  Then by nightfall they were gone.  Presumably sensing the dropping temperatures and continuing on their way south.

But what a beautiful sight that is to see that many huge, white, beautiful swans gracefully swimming together on the lake.

I expect that this week the lake will freeze over.  That is the normal timetable.  For it to freeze somewhere around Thanksgiving, give or take a week.

And then the use of open water will be done on the lake until next spring.  But there are plenty of rivers for them to find open water for those who really do not want to head south yet.

In fact there is a stretch of the Mississippi River near Monticello, Minnesota where swans spend the entire winter on water that is kept open by a nuclear power plant.  It is striking to see the swans swimming in the rising mist from the warmer water on a cold Minnesota winter morning.

But for now, all animals and birds are in the midst of making that transition from summer to winter and all that means.

Whether finding a place to hibernate, or putting food away for the winter or heading south...or some who seem to revel in the cold and the snow and who now have come into their favorite time of year.

So whether winter is your favorite time of year.  Or summer.  Or fall.  Or spring.

May you revel in the dramatic changes that are now underway and enjoy the wonder of it all.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 11:34pm CST

33 degrees  Cloudy   Wind 3mph NW
 
 
Suddenly the feel of winter has arrived.
 
It is more a return to 'normal' but it feels like winter because of the very mild weather we have had.
 
Most of last week I was up along the Canadian border.  I could look across the lake I was on and the other side of the lake was Canadian soil.  Two countries so similar and so close.  And yet completely different countries.
 
The whole time I was there, temperatures were very mild and in the 50s and it was very enjoyable.
 
But then Friday night hit with a vengeance in the Twin Cities.  Parts of the metro area got 12 inches of snow!
 
All of a sudden it really did feel like winter.
 
I have been surprised to see the loons, in which we implanted satellite transmitters, still staying around.  The commonly accepted view is that the adults start their migration south between mid-September to mid-October and that the young start their migration south between mid-October to mid-November..
 
If you have been following the progress of the loons on the USGS website, you have seen that four of them have remained on their breeding lakes in northern Wisconsin and the others are still on Lake Michigan.  None of them have ventured farther south yet.
 
I keep wondering if it is the unusually mild weather that has kept them from migrating further.
 
That is possibly supported by the fact that one of the four still in northern Wisconsin finally made his way to Lake Michigan on Saturday, November 13....just as the weather turned colder and snow arrived.
 
It will be very interesting to watch to see if the other loons follow him to Lake Michigan now that snow and cold have arrived.  And if the loons that have been on Lake Michigan will now begin their migrations further south.
 
You can follow the migrations of the satellite implanted loons at:
We now have five of the "satellite loons" on Lake Michigan and three still on their lakes in northern Wisconsin.
 
When will they leave?  How soon will they leave?  Will they all leave together?  Which route will they take?  Will they go to the Gulf of Mexico?  Or will they go to the Atlantic coast?  Will any of them succumb to botulism on Lake Michigan?
 
So many questions.  And so few answers as of yet.
 
But you get to be a part of watching and tracking and learning.
 
The more we learn, the more we realize how little we actually know.
 

Friday, October 22, 2010 11:43pm CDT

45 degrees  Full Moon [Harvest Moon]   Absolutely calm
 
 
We have been sitting out enjoying the brilliant full moon, the Harvest Moon, and the absolutely clear sky.
 
There is a nip in the air.  But with it being perfectly calm, it is quite comfortable.  The lake is like a sheet of glass with not a ripple.  The far shore is reflected perfectly in the mirror surface of the lake.  The outline of the trees.  The lights from homes where people are still awake.
There are a couple bonfires on the far shore and the sound of voices of people enjoying the night as well.
 
What a beautiful night after an equally beautiful day with warm sunshine and stunning blue sky.
I have not seen any signs of loons on the lake for almost 2 months now.  Oh, it would be so interesting to know where our loons went and where they are now.
 
I hope that you have been following the loons with the implanted satellite transmitters on the USGS website.
As you probably know by now, both Minnesota loons that had transmitters implanted have made their way to Lake Michigan.  The first one left unusually early and was subsequently found dead on the shores of Green Bay.  He had died from aspergillosis, commonly just called asper.
 
The second loon left Lake Sagatagan, his home lake, last weekend and made his way to Lake Michigan near Racine, Wisconsin.  His last location was off the far northern suburbs of Chicago.
 
Four of the other Wisconsin loons have also made their way to Lake Michigan.
 
Now it gets really exciting as we watch to see which routes they take and where they end up for their wintering grounds.  So check the website often.  The USGS personnel are going to try to update the website a couple times a week.
 
We have had an unusually mild fall so far.  The last few weeks have been warm and dry and with bright blue skies.  There have been a couple light frosts but no freeze here so far and many of the flowers are still blooming.  About half of the trees have lost their leaves and the red oaks are brilliant reds and burgundies and maroons.  It has been just spectacular.
 
But we savor each day because it will not be long before the temperatures drop and the first snow flurries fly.  In fact, the latest forecast is for the temperature to begin to drop next week with the first possibility of snow flurries.  We can get some heavy snow this time of year but that is unusual.  We usually do not get our first snow that stays on the ground until Thanksgiving.  That is also the same time that the lake usually freezes.
 
So if the young loons from this year have not left by then, they are in trouble.
 
Last week I was taking the dock in when I saw an eagle circling over the lake.  I just sat on the end of the dock that remained and watch.  At first I wasn't positive that it was an eagle.  He was high in the sky and it was hard to tell for sure.  But then as he made a turn, the bright sunlight illuminated his dazzling white head and tail against the azure blue sky and there was no doubt.  It was a mature bald eagle.
 
He circled round and round.  And he dove toward the surface of the lake a couple times.  But I did not see him catch any fish.
 
Then I heard the high pitched squeak of another eagle.  I looked but I could not see him.  Then he came over the trees behind me and the two eagles circled each other over the lake.  After about 5 minutes, a third eagle join them in their aerial dance.  I felt so lucky to be able to sit and watch this on such a beautiful warm fall day with blue sky and blue water and bright sunshine.  The things memories are made of.
 
I have never been able to come to terms with the call of an eagle.  Such a majestic large bird needs a call more in keeping with its look.  Some majestic beautiful call.  Not the high pitched flimsy screech that is the call of a  bald eagle.
 
Soon the three of them gradually flew off to the east and out of sight beyond the trees.  But they were mine for those magical moments.
 
i keep waiting for the seagulls to arrive but they haven't yet.  I am not sure if it is because of the mild weather and they are still coming, or if they just flew over us this fall.
 
Every spring and fall thousands of seagulls arrive and stay on the lake for a couple weeks as they migrate.
 
And what a racket they make!
 
All night long, the sound is almost deafening.
 
And then one day they are just gone.  They have moved on.  North in the spring and south in the fall.  But so far this fall they have not arrived.  Oh, there have been the usual couple dozen seagulls that normally hang around the lake.  But not the flocks of thousands that arrive almost like clock work.
 
But for now these beautiful mild days are wonderful for all the fall chores and preparations.  The last produce from the garden.  The delicious fall raspberries.  All stored away for enjoyment in the middle of winter.  And the enjoyment of the flowers that await that night when frost will end their season with a unchangeable finality.
 
May your life be filled with wonder and an appreciation of all that is around you.  And may you enjoy not only this time of year, may you enjoy friends and family like you never have before.
 
And as we watch the loons, may we once again be reminded of the richness of the circle of life.
 

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 11:03am

 

55 degrees  Partly Cloudy   Wind NE3mph

 

Another update on the satellite tagged loon from Minnesota, the one from Lake Sagatagan.

He has now moved to Lake Michigan just east of Racine, WI! 

Here is a map of his migration route [you can get a large view of the map by clicking on the thumbnail below and opening in a new window]: 

Now it gets more and more exciting!

Monday, October 18, 2010 2:19pm

 
60 degrees  Partly Cloudy  Wind N2mph
 
I am sorry that I do not have time for a more detailed update and it has been a while since I updated you.  I will try to say more in the next few days.
 
But I wanted to give you an update that I just received about one of the Minnesota loons that we surgically implanted with a satellite transmitter.
 
He has finally left his home lake [Sagatagan Lake]  and has flown east about 75 miles and was on Forest Lake in eastern Minnesota on Sunday.  [As you will remember from before, the other Minnesota loon with a satellite transmitter was found dead on Green Bay of Lake Michigan.  He died from aspergillosis which is a fungal disease which overwhelms the loons respiratory tract in the lungs.]
 
I assume that this will be just a stopover on his way to Lake Michigan but that is pure speculation on my part.
It will be interesting to see how long he stays on Forest Lake and then if he actually goes to Lake Michigan or takes some other route.
 
Interestingly, in order to get to Forest Lake from Lake Sagatagan, he probably flew right over the lake where you have watched the loons on the LoonCam!
 
And speaking of "our loons", I have not seen any loons here since about the middle of August.
 
I will try to update you more later but I wanted to give you this update.  The loon tracking page should be updated in the next few days and will probably show this movement of the Sagatagan loon.
 
 
May you have a wonderful day and enjoy these beautiful days of fall!