May 7, 2011 2:48pm CDT

 

76 degrees  Partly Cloudy   Wind  4mph E

 

It is a spectacular Minnesota spring day.

And we have had far too few of them this year.

But today makes up for it.  Light breezes.  Scattered sunshine.  And nature starting to belatedly burst forth.  Trees that should be mostly leafed out are just starting.

But one of the advantages of the cool and even cold spring is that the brilliant beauty of the yellow daffodils has lasted longer than normal.  So even when there are things that seem negative, they are offset by other things which are positive.

One of the biggest positive things we have today is the arrival of the second loon egg!

So now the loons can get down to the serious business of incubation of the eggs.  There is a slim possibility of a third egg, but I do not expect that to happen.  Three eggs certainly are not unknown but they are relatively rare.

If everything goes well over the next several weeks, we should expect to see chicks by June first.  I would expect that we may see them a day or two earlier than that.

It was amazing to watch the difference in the delivery of the two eggs.  The first egg was laid with what looked like great difficulty.  And to watch the reaction of the loon after she laid the egg, it must have been difficult.

I have never seen a loon take that long to recover after laying an egg.  I was beginning to fear that she may have even suffered some damage when she did not move for so long.

But the second egg was the exact opposite.

It happened so quickly and easily that I was not even sure she had laid an egg!

I wrote a blog entry saying that she had laid an egg....but I held onto it for  a while before posting it because I was not 100% positive.  When she did a quick egg turn, I "thought" I saw a glimpse of 2 eggs.  But even then I could not be sure.  So I thought I should post the note and apologize later if I had been wrong.

Fortunately she did not prove me wrong!

There were now two eggs.  The second egg was laid at 7:34am CDT.

Some have questioned the "tapping sound" on the microphone.  What is it?

Along with you, I wish I knew.  I have wondered the same thing.

The best answer I can come up with is that it may be one of the tiny willow branches tapping against the microphone in the breeze.  It is just a guess but it is the best one I have right now.  Obviously there is no way to go out to the nest to investigate.  It does not seem to be causing any problems other than being slightly annoying.

There is another sound I have heard a few times in the last couple days that does concern me.  It is almost a static sound.  I do not know what it is either but I fear that the muskrat may have gnawed some of the insulation off the microphone cable.   And once again there is nothing that can be done until after the loons have left the nest and we can inspect it.

Other than those minor problems, the microphone, camera and nest seem to be holding up quite well in the wind and rain.  Now only another month to go!!

You have seen and heard the many sounds and distractions that go on around a heavily used lake.

This is not a 'pure wilderness lake' that we so often associate with loons.  People live around the lake.  People are on the lake.  They use it heavily.  For fishing.  For skiing.  For sunbathing.  For all the normal things people use a lake.  And life goes on around the lake and on the lake.

Even fireworks!

Yes, I have confirmed that the noises you heard last night were fireworks.  Apparently one of the neighbors has friends here from out of state.  And those friends brought fireworks with them.  Apparently there were three or four blasts that were set off.  Surprisingly in the house with the computer off, we only heard the largest boom.

But it was fireworks.  Not anyone shooting a gun nor was it the beaver trapper.

Speaking of beavers, they are still VERY active.  And the trapper is planning to come out tonight to set his traps.

I for one wish that they did not have to trap them.  But there seems to be no other choice.  There has already been a lot of erosion and shore damage from the high water.  And if left unchecked, over the next couple years the lake would rise probably at least  a couple feet causing more damage and even potentially destroying some houses!

Some times one species takes precedence over another.  In this case, it is man over beavers.  Unfortunate but true.  Hopefully some of the other beavers in the lake and the area can be left alone if they do not cause undue damage.

So, many aspects of life go on around the loons.  

Some affect them directly.  Others not so much.

Many of you have been correctly identifying the sounds of the birds in the area, including a pair of sandhill cranes that may have taken up residence not too far from the beavers.

But the most important ones to us here, are the sounds of the loons.  And the 2 precious eggs that now grace the nest!

 

 

Questions or Comments?  LoonCam@yahoo.com

 

 

Saturday, May 7, 2011 7:35am CDT

 
 
As if on cue, we have a SECOND EGG!
 
Without much fanfare.
 
Without any delay.
 
The egg was laid very quickly and it does not seem to have been as exhausting for the loon as the first egg on Wednesday night.
 
[I have held off posting this because, after I wrote it as it happened, I was not sure of what I actually saw.  When she got up to turn the egg(s), I "think" I saw two eggs but she did not give a clear view.  I keep waitng for her to get up again to be able to verify it.  But she is not cooperating.  So I will post it and do a mea culpa if I was wrong.]

Saturday, May 7, 2011 7:00am CDT

 
48 degrees   Partly Cloudy   Wind Calm
 
 
A yodel comes from the male swimming near the nest.
  
From somewhere across the lake comes the answer of another male.
 
But the loon on the nest does not seem concerned.
 
I do not see any obvious reason for the yodel other than just saying, "Hey everyone.  Who ever is listening, this is MY territory!"
 
Along with everyone else, I get concerned each time the loon leaves the nest.  And this pair of loons seems to leave the nest more often than I have seen before.  The pair last year did the same thing and that is one of the reasons I think this may be the same pair as last year but possibly not the same pair as in previous years.
 
Early in the incubation period, the first egg can stand being left uncovered for relatively long periods of time before serious incubation begins.  But that doesn't mean I have to like it any more than you or that I don't get concerned about it as well.
 
I have to keep reminding myself that they loons know so much more than I do.
 
But the second guessing about what is best is still hard to keep at bay. 
 
Last night there was one loud "boom".  I thought it was fireworks and actually went outside to see what was going on.    I do not know what it was.
 
I see in looking at the chat room this morning that a number of people thought it was a gunshot and that there were several of them.  We were in the house and we only heard the one boom.
 
So I am sorry that I cannot tell you what it was.
 
I had not even thought that it might have been something related to the beavers until someone in the chatroom mentioned it.  But I cannot rule it out unless and until I find out more.  If it was related to the beavers, it would have been almost half a mile away.
 
I do know that the DNR had okayed a permit for a trapper to remove the beavers as a nuisance.  Whether he will do that with traps or with firearms, I don't know.
 
It is not unusual to hear gunfire during hunting season.  But it is unusual to hear it this time of year or at night.  I guess that is why I thought someone had set off fireworks.  Plus hunters do not hunt after dark.  But if I find out any information, I will try to let you know.
 
It was a little surprising that the loon left the nest but then as I said, this pair seems to be more apt to leave the nest for reasons known and unknown than previous ones.
 
So now the big question is will there be a second egg?
 
Loons usually lay 2 eggs.  Sometimes they will lay just one and rarely they will lay 3 eggs.
 
The second egg typically follows the first egg by 2 to 3 days.
 
Last year it was 2 1/2 days between the eggs - almost to the hour.
 
If there is going to be a second egg, I think the chances are better than even that it will be today.  And possibly this morning.
 
But as with so many other things, we are not in control.
 
We are merely observers. 
 
Today should be partly cloudy, warm, with only a 20% chance of rain.
 
So pull up a chair.  Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.  Sit back.  Relax.  
 
And enjoy the show.
 
We don't know the ending.  But previous performances promise that it will keep you at the edge of your seat.
 
 
Questions or Comments?  LoonCam@yahoo.com
 

Friday, May 6, 2011 7:36am CDT

 
49 degrees   Partly Cloudy   Calm
 
 
Several tremolos and a couple yodels ring out across a lake that is like a sheet of glass.
 
There is not a ripple.
 
The trees from the far shore are reflected perfectly in the calm surface.
 
If one wanted, you could stand on your head and see no difference between the views.  Other than the blood rushing to your head!
 
Whatever it is the loons see that are causing the tremolos and yodels are unseen to me.  Although I do hear the answer of a yodel from far across the lake, I cannot spot where he is.
 
But it is enough for the loon on the nest to leave.
 
It does not seem like a matter of great concern though.  Maybe just the need for a break from the nest, because both loons are swimming near the nest, seemingly unconcerned about anything now.  They are rolling on their sides, preening and looking underwater for a possible meal.
 
There are sometimes one just cannot see or explain what they see or are feeling.  Mysteries that are known only to them.
 
I was in the Twin Cities for an event last night and did not get home until late.
 
I got home just in time to hear a couple tremolos from the nest about 12:30am.  A couple tremolos that were caused by Mr Muskrat once again being up on the nest and being very inquisitive!  And the loon was not liking it at all.'
 
For those of you not familiar with muskrats, they are a water dwelling rodent that is mainly a vegetarian although some say they will feed on shellfish as well.
 
Muskrats used to be trapped for their lush fur in the early to mid 1900s.
 
In fact, I remember as a little kid that my dad and my uncle trapped hundreds of them each season.  The pelts were valuable for their fur.
 
Our muskrat has seemed to like to gnaw on the willow branches that are placed on the nest to help keep eagles from swooping down directly on the nest.
 
Although I do not like him gnawing off those willow branches, for the most part I do not think he is a danger to the loon or to the egg.
 
But he spent some amount of time gnawing loudly on something just below the camera.  That I did not like.  The gnawing was very obvious as the microphone picked up the sounds very well.  He can have the willows.  But my concern is if he would gnaw through one of the video cables or the audio cable!  We would lose picture and/or sound and there probably is not much that could be done to replace them for this season!  So for that reason alone, I would not be unhappy if he just decided to leave completely.
 
One of our faithful viewers GG captured some of the action with the muskrat last night that you can watch here.
 
After watching him for about 20 minutes, I needed to go check on something else.  So let me digress with a little story but one which very much affects our loons.  It involves beavers!
 
I mentioned a few days ago watching a beaver swim back and forth near the nest several times.
 
We have a number of beavers on this lake and they are starting to become a nuisance.  They have started damming up a creek that empties out of the lake.  We are working with the DNR as to how to control the beavers.  If they keep damming this creek, the lake level will rise to unnatural and unacceptable levels. 
 
Yesterday afternoon we had removed part of the end of the dam to see how actively they were building it.
 
So after watching the muskrat on the nest for a while and seeing that there was no immediate danger to the loon, I walked down the creek to check on the beaver.
 
While I was walking over to the creek, I heard tremolos from the lake.  And then yodels.  And more tremolos.  And answers to the tremolos and yodels.
 
In the dark and far from the camera, I could only wonder what was happening.
 
It was obvious that the male must have come up to the nest in response to the females tremolos. 
 
My mind could only conjure up images of what was happening out on the lake.  Was there a battle between the loons and the muskrat?  I was torn.  Do I continue on my expedition to check on the beavers or do I go back and check on the loons.  The tremolos and the yodels continued for sometime but finally died down.
 
When I reached the creek, sure enough.  There was a huge beaver busily repairing the end of the dam that we had removed earlier in the day.  Water was rushing through the opening and beavers seem to be drawn like a magnet to any moving water.  It seems to be in their DNA that if the water is moving, they want to dam it up.
 
With a loud slap of his tail and a huge wake, he swam back up the creek toward the lake.
 
He swam back and forth.  Wanting to come back to finish his work on the dam.  But he would only come so close with me standing there.  I am sure he was frustrated with me.  All of that rushing water getting away from him and me standing there preventing him from doing his 'beaver work' to plug the leak!
 
There were numerous big splashes further up the creek in the lake where obviously another beaver was working feverishly on something.  Although it was far enough away that I could not see around the bend in the creek to see what he was doing.  I could only hear the big KERPLUNK every so often as he slapped his tail on the surface of the water.
 
I removed a few of the new branches the beaver had place in the opening in the dam and then walked back home.  I have not been down to the dam this morning to see if they have repaired the opening or not.  But I assume they have.
 
When I did get back home, the loon was off the nest.  And according to notes in the chatroom of when she left the nest, she was off the nest for 24 minutes until she got back on at 1:27am.
 
There have been a number of questions about how long the loon can be off the nest before it endangers the eggs.  That varies depending on which stage of incubation they are in.  In the early days like we are at now, they can be off for extended periods with no apparent damage.  As long as the temperatures are not freezing.
 
Many birds and even chickens will lay large numbers of eggs over a period of days.  And those eggs can be uncovered during that time with no ill effects.  Only when they have laid all their eggs do they begin their incubation.
 
Loons are similar but obviously they usually only lay two eggs.
 
It is after the laying of the second egg that incubation begins in earnest.
 
So the egg that we have now can stand to be uncovered for some time with no apparent damage.  But we all become concerned any time the loon is off the nest.
 
We should see the second egg arrive in the next 24 to 48 hours if she follows the accepted timing that "we" set for her.  But ultimately it is up to her.
 
So if you missed the laying of the first egg, you will probably have a second chance.  Watch carefully and in the next couple days you may see the second egg being laid. 
 
 
 
Questions or comments?  LoonCam@yahoo.com