December 6, 2010 4:19pm

14 degrees  Cloudy   Calm

Minnesota is now socked in with snow that will almost undoubtedly stay through the rest of the winter.

Various parts of the state got upwards of a foot of snow this last weekend.  It was the real dry, light fluffy kind of snow that is so easy to shovel and sparkles like a field of diamonds in the sunshine.

The previous snow earlier last week was the wet heavy snow that came as rain turned to snow.

But the nice thing about that snow is that it was wet enough to stick to the trees and bushes and branches.  And it is still there.  A number of my pine trees are 'decorated' with that snow in the most perfect way.  It truly is a winter picture postcard.  And now with Christmas lights being turned on at home after home, 'it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, here and everywhere!'  

What a beautiful time of year.  And what a beautiful feeling it is as our attention turns to family and friends and neighbors.  Caring about them and showing that love and concern that sometimes gets lost the rest of the year.

I received two emails from Kevin Kenow from the US Geological Service about tracking the loons.

I had asked some questions about the data and he replied in an email yesterday morning.

Then just an hour ago, I got another email from Kevin telling us that the Sagatagan Lake male from Minnesota has finally left Lake Michigan and is on his way south.  The website tracking the loons has been updated as of today.

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

Kevin has said that they are going to try to update the site a little more often now that everyone is moving.

The Sagatagan loon left Lake Michigan and made it all the way to southern Kentucky yesterday [probably still in flight].  That leaves only one loon 'still on Lake Michigan' (#55485) who has not been heard from since October 22.  At first Kevin told me that it could be either transmitter failiure or death...but now it seems as if they have determined that it is transmitter failure.  So if that is the case, all loons are now on their way.

So here are the two emails from Kevin Kenow that I think you will find very interesting....

"Sunday, December 5, 2010 8:54 AM

Hi Larry, 

There are a few loon transmitters that report infrequently.  Often I only get data from a single transmission...enough to know the loon is warm and alive, but these do not come with a location estimate.   Infrequent transmissions are likely the result of a bent antenna with the end dipping into the water.  The signal is attenuated and the antenna is not often in position to transmit a signal to the satellite receivers passing overhead at an altitude of 528 miles.  55487 was the first loon with this issue and we confirmed that a bent antenna was the problem.  Twice we tried to recapture the bird while it was still on its breeding territory on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage in northern Wisconsin; we got close a couple of times but were unable to capture him.   

I was receiving consistent data on 55485 and then observed a similar pattern of infrequent transmissions...and then nothing.  I never received any low temperature values for this loon.  However, 55485 last reported in just west of Beaver Island on Lake Michigan, an area that has seen quite a bit of botulism-related mortality this fall.  It is possible for a loon to die and not receive a mortality signal if the carcass is floating upside down.  I'm still hoping to get a reassuring 'blip' from this loon before concluding mortality.   

55489 is another loon with a transmitter that is received infrequently.  The last location for 55489 was on 26 November, but a single transmission indicates the loon is still alive as of yesterday. 

No news on the geolocator-tagged loons.  We will have to wait until next spring to learn of their adventures. 

Hope you are enjoying the winter weather! 

Best regards, 

Kevin "

and.....

"Monday, December 6, 2010 3:24 PM

If you have checked the loon migration web page this afternoon, you will see that the Sagatagan male (55480) reported in at noon yesterday from southern Kentucky.  The transmitter was transmitting while he was still on Lake Michigan at 4:50 a.m., and at 8:19 a.m. he was in flight about 109 miles SSE of the earlier location.  A couple of the intervals between locations indicated an average ground speed of about 75 mph.  The last location was received at noon, about 360 miles from the 4:50 a.m. location.  I suspect he was still in flight, but his location was only about 5 miles east of Barren River Lake (loon 55479 stopped there while migrating to the Gulf Coast). 

Bob Kratt is trying to update the web page as often as possible while the loons are on the move.  Within a week the transmitters will be changing over to their winter duty cycle and will transmit for 6 hrs on:96 hrs off instead of the current 8 hrs on:24 hrs off cycle.  Consequently, location information will be less frequent and we will update the web page less frequently.  The duty cycle is scheduled to change back to 8 hrs on:24 hrs off on about March 1st. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Kevin"

So there you have the very latest information as of only an hour ago.

We now have three loons on the Gulf of Mexico, two on the Atlantic and three in migration.  Of the three in migration, I think that their route would indicate that they will also probably end up on the Gulf of Mexico.  We will have to wait  and see what happens.  Loon #55490 is the one that is farthest west in the GUlf and it would be the one most likely to come in contact with and be impacted by the oil spill if there still is residue of it.

Let us hope the best for all of them.

I hope that you are watching and learning with the same sense of wonder that I am!

Can you imagine that even not very many years ago this would have been something that we could not even begin to comprehend ... being able to follow the loon's migration like this.  How wonderful is this?!  And our thanks go out to Kevin Kenow and his staff for all their countless hours of hard work to make this a reality.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.  We can hardly begin to guess what will happen next.

With any luck, we are hoping that the transmitters will still be working next spring when the loons begin their migration north.  And we can only hope beyond hope that they will still be working next fall for the 2011 fall migration!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 11:23pm CST

 

16 degrees   Cloudy   Calm

 

It is a winter wonderland here!

 

Overnight and today we got about 4 inches of new snow and it has decorated every tree and bush.

 

All the trees and bushes look like the finest flocked Christmas tree that you have ever seen.  It is gorgeous.  And it is even more gorgeous if you do not need to get out and drive in rush hour traffic.

 

There is still one very small section of the lake here that has not frozen over yet.  It probably would have frozen over except that the weather warmed up ahead of the snow arriving and then we had heavy rain on Monday.  The rain melted most of the snow that was already on the ground.  But now everything is white again.

 

As is normal with winter storms like this, there is colder weather that is predicted to come in behind the storm in the next few days so I think the lake will finally freeze over completely.

 

If you check the loon migration website, you will see that the loons continue to move.  There has been a lot of movement over the last few days.  The arrival of winter is definitely motivating them to migrate.

 

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

 

Loon #55479 is now on the Gulf of Mexico near Apalachee Bay south of Tallahassee.  He arrived on November 29th after making stops on Barren River Lake, Kentucky, Tims Ford Lake, Tennessee and Lake Guntersville, Alabama.

 

Loon #55489 stopped on Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee north of Chattanooga on Friday, November 26 and that is the last sighting of him.

 

Loon #55487 has now made it to the Atlantic Coast of South Carolina near Charleston as of Monday, November 29th.  

 

Loon #55488 is still on Albemarle Bay, North Carolina.

 

Loon #55484 moved to Brookeville Lake, Indiana from Lake Michigan on Friday, November 26.  He then flew from there on Saturday, November 27 and arrived on the Gulf off the Florida coast near Loon #55479 on Sunday, November 28.

 

Loon #55490 moved from Lake Michigan to Lake Monroe, Indiana on Sunday, November 28th which is his last location.

 

Loon #55480, the loon from Lake Sagatagans in Minnesota remains on Lake Michigan as of Monday, November 29th.

 

So to summarize, we currently have two loons on the Gulf of Mexico and two loons on the Atlantic Ocean.  So far they are supporting the hypothesis that loons from the Upper Midwest go to the Atlantic and the Gulf on about a 50/50 basis.  Let's see how that ratio ends up when all of the loons make it to their wintering grounds.

 

There are 3 of the loons still on Lake Michigan and two that are in their migration....one in Indiana and one in Tennessee.

 

When and where will all of them go?

 

That chapter remains to be written so stay tuned and keep checking back.

 

Friday, November 26, 2010 7:25pm CST

 

11 degrees  Clear  Wind NW 1mph

 

First of all, I hope that all of you had a wonderful Happy Thanksgiving yesterday!

 

I hope you have enjoyed the fellowship of family and friends and those who are special to you, or memories of Thanksgivings past,  as you reflected on all the good things and gifts in your life that you have reason to be thankful for.

 

Thanksgiving definitely marks the start of the holiday season here in Minnesota.  That wonderful lead up to Christmas.  We have now had snow on the ground for a few days and it looks like it will probably stay for the rest of the winter.  Although that could change.  It is supposed to be up to 40 degree tomorrow.

 

There is still one small spot of open water on the lake here.  The rest has frozen over.

  

For the last couple days there have been 40 or 50 trumpeter swans here on the lake.  For the most part, they have remained sitting on the ice along the edge of the open water.  But now today they are no longer here.  Have they left for good on their way south?  Or will they be back if the water remains open for a few days?

 

How do you ever predict what they will do?

 

Just like our loons.

 

The USGS website has been updated.

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

 

Two more of the loons (#55479 and #55489) are now  on the move.  #55479 reached Tims Ford Lake near Winchester, Tennesee on Thanksgiving Day.  And #55489 was tracked in flight over Indiana on November 23rd.  That puts him on track also heading toward Tennessee.

 

With this direction of migration, I think that it is a 50/50 chance of whether these two loons will end up on the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Coast, with a slight probability that they will end up on the Gulf off the coast of Florida..

 

Which way will they go?  Who knows.  Now we watch and wait and once again learn.

 

It now looks like all of our magnificent loons will be on the move in earnest in the next few days.

 

Look and listen and learn along with all the rest of us.  And enjoy watching this miracle of nature!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:36pm CST

15 degrees  Clear  Wind N1mph

The cold has finally started to get the loons into action.

The three loons that were still on their summer lakes a few days ago have now all moved to Lake Michigan.  So now all of the loons with satellite transmitters have begun their migration.  As I mentioned before, I am a little surprised at how late their migration has begun this year.

Only time and more research will tell us if the commonly accepted wisdom that adult loons normally start their migration between mid-September and mid-October is correct or if we will learn something new from these loons.  Or if it is the mild weather we have had this fall that has delayed the start of their migration.

The lake here that you watched on the LoonCam will probably be frozen over by morning.  If not tomorrow, it will freeze over for sure within the next few days.

I keep wondering about the four loons that I saw swim by on Sunday morning.  Wondering where they are right now.  Are they also on the move?  Have they also made their way over to Lake Michigan or will they take some other route?

Now as cold weather is moving in across the north country, it will be interesting to see how long the loons will stay on Lake Michigan before they continue on their migration.

One very interesting piece of information is that one of the loons really is on the move.  It took him a while to get going but once he started to move, he put it in overdrive!

Check out the migration for Loon #55488.

He started on Lake Manitowish  in Wisconsin.  On September 19th, he flew from Lake Manitowish to Green Bay of Lake Michigan.  He stayed on Lake Michigan until November 17th at which point he flew to Lake Erie, just east of Detroit.

Then on November 19th he flew all the way to the Atlantic Coast off North Carolina where he was as of today, November 23.  He is at the eastern end of Albemarle Sound near Edenton, NC.

So those of you who live in North Carolina or near the Sound may be able to spot this particular loon.

If you go to look for him, look for an adult loon (although he will have finished much of his molt by now and may be fully gray rather than black and white) with an antenna sticking out of his back.

The antenna looks very much like the thin, flexible whip antenna that you would see on one of your kids radio control cars.  It is 8 to 10 inches long and will be located at the extreme back part of the body of the loon on the right hand side.

Let us know if you spot him.  Not only will it be exciting for you if you get to see him, it will be equally exciting for all the rest of us to hear if someone spots him and can give a first hand report about how and what he is doing.

How exciting is this now that the loons are on the move?

I would expect that the colder weather will get the rest of them moving very soon.

Where will they go?  And which route will they take?

To be continued soon!

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.