11:07 am CDT Good Friday, April 6, 2012

 

50 degrees F   Sunny   Wind 2mph South

 

First of all, the important thing.

On this Good Friday, may I wish all of you a Happy Easter and a Happy Passover.

May your time with family and friends be a blessed and very special time.

Now, on to the other thing on your mind - the loons and the LoonCam.

It looks like it will still be a few days before the cam can go live.

But rest assured that at this point, you are still not missing any of the "action".  The loons have not yet been real near or up on the nest.  From the time they first start getting up on the nest, it is usually a week or two before they lay the first egg.

So you are not missing anything yet.

All of us want to get the cam live for you.

Yesterday the technicians were here working all afternoon and well into the evening.

At one point they thought they were almost ready to go 'live'.  But one piece of equipment out of many decided to fail.  And it isn't a piece of equipment that can be purchased 'off the shelf anywhere'.  It has to be special ordered.

It has been ordered but with the Easter Holiday weekend, it is questionable whether it will arrive before early next week.  So that is the good news but also the bad news.  We are close but still probably a few days away.

Shortly before 7am this morning, I saw both loons come in and swim in the general area of the nest.  Just to put your mind at ease, even if the cam had been live you would not have been able to see them.  They were far enough away and in an area that the cam would not show.

But for about 5 minutes they did swim in the area of the nest.

This is the first time that I have been here to see the two loons together although the neighbors had seen them together a couple times when I have been gone.

This is also the first time this year that I have seen them in the area of the nest.

So it is a very hopeful sign.

As many of you LoonCam veterans know, every spring I go through about 2 weeks of paranoia and worry.

What if we put the nest out and they don't use it?

What if everyone gets excited and is watching and the loons never come near the nest?

The fact they they came into the area of the nest early this morning is a very hopeful sign that at some point they may become more interested in it.

Because this spring has been so early and so mild, it is anyone's guess what effect that will have on the loons.

I don't know what to predict.

If you have checked the USGS site (http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/terrestrial/migratory_birds/loons/migrations.html), as of yesterday fully half of the satellite transmitter loons are still down on the Gulf of Mexico or on the Atlantic Coast.  They have not even started migrating yet, let alone being close to nesting.

Maybe you want to start a contest to see who can predict when they will nest and lay their first egg.  Your guess is as good as mine!

But for today, may I wish you a very Blessed and Happy Easter and a Happy Passover!

 

Comments or Questions?  LoonCam @yahoo.com

 

12:59pm Thursday, April 5, 2012

 
54 Degrees F   Sunny   Wind 3mph East
 
 
I just got a call from the good folks at BroadbandMN.
 
They are on their way here right now to do some more work on the camera and getting things ready to go.  They have had to replace all the cables and do a lot of other work.
 
We still have quite a way to go so the camera will not be online immediately.  But I wanted you to know what was happening.
 
When I have been home (which is not much lately), I have not seen the loons up around the nest at all.  So you are not missing anything.  Although the neighbors have said that they have seen a pair swimming in the general area several times.
 
I  still have some more work to do on the nest itself as well, when all the other cabling is done.
 
We are getting closer!
 
Stay patient.
 
 
Comments or Questions?  LoonCam@yahoo.com
 

11:06 am Monday, April 2, 2012

 
56 degrees F  Mostly Cloudy  Wind 3mph East
 
 
Thank you to all of you who attended the sessions at the National Eagle Center yesterday.
 
Thank you also to the good folks at the National Eagle Center for the invitation to speak about our beloved loons.  Thank you especially to Scott Mehus, Bridget Befort and Bucky.
 
It was so good to meet some of you.
 
As I promised you, here is the address for the USGS website that gives the current location of the 20 loons that they implanted with satellite transmitters last summer.
 
Even though a number of loons are already in the North Country, over half of the loons in the USGS group were still on the Gulf of Mexico as of last Friday.  I think we will see a lot of them having taken off to fly north by the time they update the page again.
  
If you have not looked at this USGS page before, be sure to click on the "All Migrations Summary" link in the center of the page.
 
You will see the location of all 20 loons beginning last summer.
 
As it plays, you will see the loons as they begin their flights south last fall and it will show you where the loons spent the winter.  Then you will see the dots representing each loon start to move north as they begin their migration.
 
I think you will find it very fascinating and informative as you watch the movement of the loons for the last 7 months.
 
Check it out.
 
I will also give you an update on preparations for the LoonCam as soon as there is something new to tell you.  There have been loons on the lake.  Whether they are "our loons" or just other loons that are passing through, only time will tell.
 
Until then, we will wait with anticipation until we can see our loons once again.
  
 
 
Comments or Questions?   LoonCam@yahoo.com
 
 

11:18pm Thursday, March 29, 2012

 
47 degrees F  Light Rain   Wind E3mph
 
 
Just wanted to give you a quick update.
 
The BroadbandMN people were not able to make it out today.
 
They are still working on the cam and the equipment necessary to bring the pictures to you.  They are hoping to be out tomorrow.  We will see how much we can get done before I have to leave for Wabasha.  I can't promise that everything will be ready before this weekend but I want you to know that we are working and trying our best to bring you the 2012 LoonCam before long.
 
I was here a good share of today and at least during the times I looked, I did not see any loons in the area or investigating the nest.  So I think we are still in good shape as far as time to get everything up and running.
 
From the time that a loon first checks out the nest, it usually takes a couple weeks before they get serious and lay an egg.
 
I got an email yesterday from Carol Jansky from St Johns University saying that "Big John", one of the loons that we implanted with a satellite transmitter in the summer of 2010, was back at Lake Sagatagan!  Earlier in the morning Kevin Kenow from the USGS had gotten a satellite signal that "Big John" was back on his home lake.
 
That transmitter is now almost 2 years old and is still transmitting and providing valuable data.  It has lasted much longer than anyone ever expected.  It also gives us confidence that the loons seem to tolerate the transmitters quite well.
 
Today Carol posted a response to my post from yesterday in which she said, "At St. John's, "Big John" and his mate were making the grand tour of the lake yesterday. We're not entirely sure when he arrived. Ice out was March 19 and some people heard loons as early as March 20 or 21. It was great to see him again."  Thank you, Carol!
  
If I get a chance, I will try to update you before I head down to the National Eagle Center.  I hope to see some of you there.
 
 
 
 
Comments or Questions?  LoonCam@yahoo.com

11:29pm Wednesday, March 28, 2012

 

36 degrees F   Clear   Calm

 

Good news for you.

Tomorrow morning the good folks from Broadband MN are supposed to be out here with the new camera and will be working on all of the technical things that are required to bring a picture to you.  There is a lot of work to be done.  In all likelihood it will still be a few days before we are able to be live with the camera once again but I wanted you to know that things behind the scenes are progressing.

A couple times over the past few days I have sighted a single loon on the lake.  I have yet to see a pair of them but I have been gone a lot, too.  One of the neighbors a couple days ago told me that he had heard at least one loon calling out on the lake.  

I have not hear a call yet but like I said I have been gone a lot.  I am still waiting for that first magical call of spring.

When I have been home, I have not seen a loon investigating the nest yet so I do not think you have missed anything at all.  Many years it has been a couple weeks after they first investigate the nest before they get serious about building their nest and laying an egg.

But with unusually mild spring weather, who knows how to predict what impact that will have on the nesting schedule this year. Or what the loons will do.

It seems like every year they do something that totally surprises us.

If you have not been following the USGS 'satellite transmitter' loons, they are now starting full migration with the 40% of them on their way north as of today.  The loons remaining on the Gulf will no doubt follow soon.

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

What is it that they know?  What goes on inside their brain and their body that says "Now is the right time to start flying north."?  What triggers that impulse to migrate?

And the biggest miracle of all, how do they find their way back to the very same lake!  All without AAA TripTics, maps or GPS.  We think we are so smart but they have had this figured out for thousands of years without any help from us.  Once again I choose to view it as one of countless miracles that are placed all around us that we seldom take time to stop and look and learn and consider.

We know that a number of loons have been up here for almost 2 weeks already.

Why did they come north early and the other loons are still waiting?

So many questions.  So many mysteries.  So many wonders!

But very soon we will be able to once again watch our loons and learn from them.

I hope that I will have the privilege of meeting some of you at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN this next Sunday, April 1 at either 1pm or 3pm.  Invite your family and friends and teachers to come with for a beautiful spring outing in the Mississippi River Valley.  Or let your Facebook friends and your Twitter tweeters and all the other social media know about it.

http://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/live-eagle-watching/march-31st-and-april-1st/

Or if you cannot make it to the National Eagle Center, I would enjoy meeting you at the Sandhill Center for the Arts on April 17th at 11am for lunch.

http://www.stfrancisce.com/insight/registry/classinfo.asp?courseID=4834&catID=1045

What a wonderful time of year!

Daffodils and crocuses and Nankin cherry and apricot in full bloom.  Tulips and apples and pears on the verge of blooming.  Rhubarb leaves already 10 inches across.  Grass turning emerald green.  Leaves bursting.  Trees in bloom.

The evidence and promise of new life all around us.

The only thing that would make it better?

LOONS!

 

Comments or Questions?  LoonCam@yahoo.com