Saturday, May 28, 2011 10:39pm CDT

 

59 degrees  Clear  Calm

 

 

The loons had a relatively quiet day even with the increased boat traffic.

 

There were several boats and pontoons that came by who were obviously aware of the nest and the LoonCam and had come to check it out.  All of them were very respectful including one that the neighbor asked to move away as they were fishing.  I did not see it as I was gone.  But the neighbor said they apologized and said they didn't know what it was.  Sometimes you have to  give the benefit of the doubt.

 

Tonight I heard yodels and went to see what was going on.

 

The loon was off the nest [obviously it had been the male on the nest] and he was nearby broadcasting his yodel from side to side.  There was no other loon in sight nor any boats nor anything else that was of concern.

 

I have seen this a few times before where the male loon will simply stretch out his neck almost parallel to the water and broadcast his yodel over an arc covering a section of the lake.  Then he turns and does it again to another section of the lake.

 

In these instances, I have not been able to see anything that should cause alarm and it is just as if the male wants to trumpeet to all parts of the lake that he is there and that this is his territory.

 

Some reasearchers tell us that each male has a yodel that is unique to him.  In fact, there are some researchers who believe that the male may actually broadcast how old he is, how strong he is and other information.  It is hard to believe that there is all that information in a yodel and it will be interesting to see what further research reveals.

 

After a few minutes off the nest, the male returned to the nest, turns the eggs and settle down on them.

 

No sooner had he settled back on the nest than 3 loons flew over all the while giving their flying tremolo calls.

 

The male on the nest answered with several yodels of his own but never left the nest.

 

We were talking as we were watching and I said I could only imagine what that loud wail did to your speakers.

 

I have heard it before and it is so loud that the sound system cannot even handle the volume of the call so it sounds distorted.  That is not how it sounded in person.  In person it was  a perfect and beautiful yodel.  I remember when it happened last year someone said they jumped out of their chair and someone else replied that they had to scrape their cat off the ceiling!

  

It is a very loud call in person.  When you realize that it can be heard over a distance of a couple miles, you realize how loud it is.  And then for the loon to make the call right next to the microphone....well, what else can be said.

 

Also, there has been a big spider tonight that decided he wants to be in the limelight right in front of the camera lense and blocking the view.

 

Hopefully he will move on by himself or the weather will move him off the lense.  My fear is that it looked like he was building a web across the lense.  If that is the case, it may trap insects that will additionally block our view.

 

Let's see what happens on its own.

 

As you know, I do not even approach the nest except in the most extraordinary circumstances.  And my position on that has not changed.

 

However, if he totally blocks the lense, I would have to consider when and how I could clear the lense with the least disruption and still give you a better view.  What is it that we have said about the LoonCam?  That is it natural.  And that is what I have tried to maintain at every step and give you a glimpse into the life of loons behaving naturally.  It sometimes seems as if I have gained a measure of their trust.  And there is nothing I want to do to break or harm that trust.

 

So let's take the spider one step at a time.

 

Hopefully we will see two little chicks hatch and leave the nest.  And then no one will care what that "vain camera hog" of a spider will do!

  

Only a few more days to go!

  

 

Questions or Comments?   LoonCam@yahoo.com

Saturday, May 28, 2011 12:25pm CDT

 

 

68 degrees  Sunny  Wind  2mph S

 

 

What a gorgeous spring day.

 

Sunshine.  A light breeze.  Loons on a nest.

 

This makes the long, dark, cold, snowy days of winter all worth it.

 

Right now the loon is in somewhat of a cautious hangover position.  Head lowered but not all the way down.

 

She has been this way for sometime.  

 

The reason is that there is a pontoon boat with a family with several kids fishing not too far away.   They are well away from the nest so they are doing nothing wrong.  I am not even sure they are aware of the nest.

 

But I think it is the large size of the pontoon plus young high-pitched excited voices that makes the loon wary.  But she is ok and shows no signs of leaving the nest.

 

On a beautiful holiday weekend day like this, there are many more boats out on the lake than there have been during the cold, windy days.

 

Earlier this morning there was a big fishing boat straight out from the nest.  Once again, well away from the nest.  But they seemed to be aware of the nest and stayed well away from it.  There was one man and two women in the boat.  What was interesting was how the loon mate appeared from somewhere out on the lake and positioned himself exactly half way between the boat and the nest.

 

He was not upset.  He just sat there and preened.  And watched the boat.  As the boat drifted to the side, he also drifted with it.  Always keeping himself between the boat and the nest.  The loon on the nest never once lowered her head.

 

When the boat was far enough away, the loon silently swam back out into the lake.

 

Yesterday, there was a boat with several fishermen in it that was drifting and fishing.  I watched as they came closer and closer to the swimming raft that is out there to try to keep fisherment away.  They cast their lures near the raft to try to coax any fish that were hiding under it.

 

I was worried that they would come close to the nest thinking they could cast there also. But I don't think they even knew the nest was there.  Until they got to a certain point where the nest appeared from behind the raft which had been blocking its view.

 

The loon was in full hangover position.

 

When the woman spotted the loon, she pointed at it and said something.

 

Immediately the man started the electric motor and quietly moved out farther away from the nest where they resumed their fishing.

 

This is what I have obseved in the overwhelming number of instances.  When someone sees the nest and reallizes what it is, they try to move away from it quietly.  It is gratifying to realize that more and more people are becoming aware of loons and joining in the effort to protect them.

 

This Memorial Day weekend, there will be more and more activity on the lake.  We pay tribute to all of you who have done so much to protect the freedoms that all of us have and enjoy.  And we especially honor the brave heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us.

 

May you enjoy this weekend with your family and loved ones no matter where you are.  Hold them close and tell them that you love them.  If you can watch loons in person, you are blessed.  If the only place you can watch them is here on the LoonCam, you are blessed as well.

 

The weather is forecast to be generally good with scattered rain showers and some thunderstorms.  Memorial Day itself on Monday is the day that is forecast for the greatest chance of rain and thunderstorms.

 

While Wednesday is the 'official' day that the first egg should hatch, I would guess that it might be on Tuesday or even Monday.  But who knows what wonder is going on inside the egg and when the chick will hopefully appear.

 

So close and yet so frustratingly far away.

 

But it is definitely an event that you do not want to miss!

 

 

Questions or Comments?     LoonCam@yahoo.com

Thursday, May 26, 2011 8:54pm CDT

52 degrees    Partly Cloudy   Wind  Calm

It is sunset.

The northwestern sky is painted with muted pinks and oranges.

The high scattered clouds are a deep purple.

The night hawks are just coming out and flying over with their distinctive 'peeeeekk'.

The loon left the nest a few minutes ago.  There were a couple wails and a couple tremolos.  Then more.

There is no obvious cause for any alarm.  No fishermen.  No canoists.  No pontoons.  No people or dogs down by the shore that I see.

The mate comes swimming in from somewhere out in the lake.

More wails.  More tremolos.  Then a number of yodels.

Still no obvious reason.  Other than maybe just wanting to make know to everyone that they are here.

They swim together for a while.  Then one of them starts his take off flight.  And the other one follows.

As they swim over the lake, they are both doing flying tremolo calls.  It is basically a tremolo but a little different.  I have come to call it a "flying tremolo".  I realize I did not mention it when I listed the basic calls.  I will have to go back and add it.  I don't know how to describe it.  It is a tremolo.  Very similar to the tremolos that you are familiar with.  But there are subtle differences.

When you have listened to so many calls, you know it immediately.  You know to look in the air to see the loon rather than loon on the lake.

They made several laps around the lake all the time doing their flying tremolo.

I am not sure what the reason was.  Maybe they just needed to go to the gym after sitting on the nest for so many hours.  They needed to take a couple laps around the lake to exercise their wings.

It seemed like it was just a flight of joy.

Whatever the reason, after a few laps around the lake they both landed near the nest....in their characteristic "skid landing" or "controlled crash"!

There still was no hurry to get back on the nest even with the chilly night air settling in.

After 13 minutes off the nest as I write this, one of the loons climbs back on the nest and goes through the ritual of rolling and adjusting the eggs, and then the characteristic wiggle as the loon settles on the nest just perfectly.

Once again, the eggs are warm and safe.

And the loon is settled in for darkness to come.

We now count in days and hours for the arrival of the chicks....not the weeks that we have been counting before.  The suspense builds.

All the questions about the eggs flood in.  Are they fertile?  Are they developing?  What does the chick look like now?  Obviously the heart is beating.  The nerves are in place.  The big feet are already big.  Is the black down already there in some form?  How about the eyes?  The beak?  So many questions.  So few definitive answers.

But the whole process is almost overwhelming.

Creation of a little chick.  Creation of life where there was none just a few weeks ago.  LIFE!  The miracle of life itself!  I want to see the world's smartest scientist create a little loon chick on his own!  My background and training is as a scientist and engineer.  I wouldn't know where to begin to engineer and create a little loon.  Let alone one that could live and grow on its own.

Things too wonderful to behold or especially to understand.  So we just stand back in awe of this creation.

This weekend when our little loons may very well hatch is Memorial Day weekend.

The start of the summer season.  The time when Minnesotans 'head up to the lake' en masse.

The first really big weekend of boating and fishing and recreation on our beloved 10,000 lakes.

The first big challenge for the loons.

This is a good time to remind ourselves and to remind our friends and family about "loon etiquiette".  Be aware of and on the lookout for loons.

If you see a loon on a nest, we all want to get close and look.  Get 'close' with binoculars.  Usually if you stay at least 300 feet away from them, there will be very little stress or impact.  If you see the loon go into 'hangover position' on the nest, just slowly and quietly back away and the loon will soon return to normal.

If you are in a speedboat, be aware of loons swimming, especially if they have chicks.  The adult will usually be able to dive out of danger but the chick will not.  Many chicks are killed this way and even some adult loons are killed by boats.

By following these simple rules of 'loon etiquette', we will be able to enjoy loons for many years to come and pass them safely down to the next generations.

This may also be a good time to talk about some basic things to look for that will signal hatching.  I will try to go into more detail in the next couple days.

The first clue to look for is that the loon is 'sitting lighter' or 'sitting higher' on the nest.  Not snuggled down into the nest bowl like they usually are.

The next thing to watch for is for "flinches".  A wing may flinch or jerk.  The whole body may flinch.  They are reacting to the movement of the egg and the chick under them.

So watch for some of those signs a few days from now.

It gets closer.  It moves faster.  

It gets more exciting!

Questions or Comments?   LoonCam@yahoo.com

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 10:02pm CDT

[For some reason this did not post correctly last night so here it is again.  Sorry.]

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 10:02pm CDT 

POSTED ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 AT 10:02PM

55 degrees  Clear  Wind 5mph NE

 

Today the loons have dealt with wind and waves.  Even whitecaps.

 

They have dealt with worse but today the cold wind just did not let up all day long.

 

Unbelievably tonight there is a frost and freeze warning for far northern Minnesota!  We may get down into the mid-30s tonight but hopefully no frost here.

 

However we can be thankful that we have not been having the tornados that have been in OK, MO, AR, IN and other states in the last couple days and the high death toll.  Our hearts go out to those people who are so devastated.

 

Other than the wind, the worst that the loons have had to deal with today has been an eagle that has been fishing on the lake several times today.  It has not come near the loon but it has been enough for it to be very concerned and to go into hangover position without leaving the nest.

 

The eagles are definitely a threat to baby loons.  In fact, they can be a threat to loons that are many weeks old.  There have been reports of loons preying on adult loons but confirmed cases of them actually taking an adult loon are rare.

 

The eagles would not be a primary predator of the eggs but potentially could take or damage them if they are left unguarded.  Gulls, crows, ravens, raccoon [especially raccoon], skunks and mink would be more likely to eat an egg if it is left exposed.  So if people or eagles or anything scare a loon off the nest, the eggs do become vulnerable to predators.

 

And right now with what is hopefully going on inside that egg with a new little chick growing, it would be a tragedy to lose the egg.

 

Yesterday I promised that I would explain why loons are so clumsy on land.  Whereas they are so graceful in the water, they are almost helpless on land.  You have seen some of that clumsiness as they get up on the platform and 'walk' to the nest.

 

I am going to ask you to do something and follow along as you read this. 

 

Hold your arm out in in front of you.

Spread your fingers.  Think of your arm in terms of a chicken leg.  [I know it sounds silly but I think it will really help you understand and remember why loons are clumsy on land.]

 

Your spread fingers and your hand are the foot of the chicken.  Your forearm is the lower bony part of the chicken's leg.  And your biceps are the drumstick of the chicken.

 

Now move your arm all around.  You can move it very freely can't you.  Pretend you are a chicken walking and you can see how their leg moves and how they can walk easily.

 

Now hold your "drumstick" tight up against your body.  Do not let it move away from your body.

 

Do the same thing you did with the "chicken walk".  Keep your upper arm tight against your body.  You can only move the lower part of your arm and your hand and fingers.  It is a whole different feeling, isn't it?

You don't have nearly the mobility nor can you 'walk like a chicken' any more.

 

This is what makes a loon so clumsy on land.  For you see, the whole drumstick portion of the loon's leg i is totally encased within the body skin.  They cannot move it away from their body.  Now you can see and feel how hard it is for a loon to walk on land.

 

Because the upper part of their leg is encased within body skin, their leg actually is positioned at the extreme back end of their body.  While it makes them clumsy on land, it makes them very powerful swimmers.  They are able to swim very fast and they are very maneuverable underwater, which is important for them to be able catch fast, darting fish that can change directions on a dime.

 

Also helping them to swim are their large feet.  No, HUGE feet.

 

Someone has figured out that in comparison to body size, a loon's foot is comparable to you wearing a 46 Triple R shoe!

 

That is the disadvantage of them trying to walk on land.  But it is a great advantage to make them powerful swimmers.

  

Inside those eggs are hopefully two little chicks developing with impossibly big feet.

 

Now is the time to encourage your family and friends to join you in watching.  We are getting close to the hatch date.

 

The "normal" hatch date for the first egg should be Wednesday night of next week....one week from right now.  But I would guess that the first egg will hatch maybe a day or two before that.  This is not a time to miss any of the action.

 

There is nothing as special as getting that first glimpse of an impossibly cute loon chick peeking out from under its parent's wing and looking around at a big new world for the first time.

 

Don't miss it.

 

 

Questions or Comments?  LoonCam@yahoo.com

 

Larry Backlund | Post a Comment | Print Article | Email Article

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 10:45pm CDT

62 degrees  Partly Cloudy  Wind 4mph NNE

The loons have had a fairly quiet and uneventful day.

After all the rain of the weekend, it was nice to have some sunshine.

In fact this afternoon while I was doing some planting, I just stopped, looked around and drank it in.  I said to myself 'Does it get much better than this?

There were some of the white puffy clouds against a blue sky.  The kind of clouds that I can remember as a kid wishing that I could go up there and just bounce around on them.  I knew that they would be soft and bouncy just like a marshmallow or a big cotton ball!  Ahhh the things a kid's dreams are made of!

There was a little breeze.  Not too much.  Not too little.  Just the right  amount.  And comfortable temperature.  Not too hot.  Not too cold.  Just right.

Apple trees in bloom.  And pears.  And plums.  And rhododendrons.

The silhouette of a loon sitting on its nest.  How could it get any better?

For many years, that silhouette of the loon on the nest has become almost a touchstone.  The first thing I check in the morning.  The last thing I check at dusk.  The first place I look whenever I come home.

But the days they are there are all too fleeting.  We barely have a week left before the expected hatching dates of the chicks.  And then within a day or two they are gone.  Off to explore their new wide world of water.

The two chicks will usually hatch within a day or so of each other.  They will stay on the nest for a day or so and then they follow their parents into the lake and swim away.

They generally stay in the same area of the lake where the nest is for the first week or two.  But seldom do they come back to the nest.  I will leave the cam on for a little while after they have left for you to hopefully catch a glimpse of them.  But I do not want to hold out unrealistic hope that you will see them up close.  That will also give some of you a chance to 'break the bond with the nest'!  Which is hard to do at times.  Only after that will I shut the cam down for the year.

But I will try to periodically update the blog to let you know what is happening with them.

Young loons will be fed exclusively by the parents for the first several weeks of their life.  Gradually they will learn how to fish and try it once in a while.  But they will still accept food from the parents as long as the parents will give them food.  It is not until they are about 11 to 13 weeks old that they really start to become independent of the parents.  This is also about the time that they try to take their first flights.

They still do not have the black and white plumage of an adult loon at this point.  They are a drab borwnish gray which they will keep for the next several years before they get their first spectacular black and white plumage.

But the first couple weeks is the time when they are so cute.  The "awwwwwww" moments!  The times when they climb up and ride on the back of the adult.

This riding on the back of the adult is believed to have a couple of advantages.

First it helps protect them from predators both from above and below.

From below it helps protect the chick from northerns and muskies and bass and snapping turtles.

From above, from eagles and gulls and other birds of prey.

But who has not been stopped and captivated by a picture of a little black loon riding on the back of a parent and been filled with warm fuzzies?

I mentioned that we had torrential rains over the weekend.  The lake level has come up significantly.  This is a perfect illustration of the advantage of a floating nesting platform like the one you are watching.

Loons normally build their nests very close to the edge of the water.  The reason for that is that they are almost completely helpless on land [I will maybe explain why in the next day or two].

When the level of the water rises like this, many loon nests are lost because of the rising water.

Or loon nests can also be lost because of large wakes from speedboats that can just wash right over the nest and destroy it or wash the eggs out of the nest.

But with a floating nesting platform like this, the nest can rise or lower with the level of the water.  And the loon is completely safe.

Loons do not seem to mind the rocking motion of a floating nest like this at all.  After all, they are normally bobbing up and down on the waves out on the lake all the time.  Plus being a floating nest away from shore it gives added protection from land based predators.

Yesterday afternoon some of you were watching when the loon let out a cry and literally bolted off the nest and halfway walked across the water as it frantically beat its wings.

What scared the loon was an eagle that was looking for a meal of fish.  But the loon did not know that the eagle had spotted a fish.  All it knew was that there was an eagle flying high overhead, which caused it concern, that all of a sudden was diving directly down on the nest.

I watched as the eagle slightly folded back its wings and started plunging toward the lake.  Its legs and talons were fully extended in attack mode.  As it plunged downward it moved its wings to 'rock back and forth' to rapidly lose altitude.  It looked like it was heading straight for the loon.

And the loon apparently thought the same thing because it went off the nest in a panic.

But the eagle swooped down on the surface of the water not very far from the nest.  As it started to rise again, it held a fish in its talons.  This had been a successful fishing trip!

If we can make it safely through the next few days, hopefully we will see two new loon chicks.

The first egg is due to hatch on Wednesday night, June 1st.  But if I had to guess, I think it might hatch a day or two earlier than that.  But then I have never been very good at being able to predict what they are going to do.

So the only way to know for sure is to watch along with all the rest of us.

Encourage your  kid's or grandkid's teachers to use this as a wonderful teaching tool for their students.

Because these special moments never last long enough!

Questions or Comments?  LoonCam@yahoo.com

[For some reason this did not post correctly last night so here it is again.  Sorry.]

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 10:02pm CDT 

POSTED ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 AT 10:02PM

55 degrees  Clear  Wind 5mph NE