Friday, May 18, 2012 6:30am

The loon has just returned to the nest.

Much has happened since my blog earlier this morning.  Although I guess it is only an hour ago.  It seems MUCH longer than that.

Shortly after I finished my blog, the loon on the nest left about 5:46am.

There are some calls.  I go down to the lake to see what is going on.

I am surprised to see five loons - yes, you read that right, FIVE loons - all the way across the lake swimming and circling and diving.  Then one of the loons takes flight and flies away from the lake.  To where?  One can only guess.  Or is it just a desire to exercise its wings?

Then among the remaining loons, a chase breaks out between two of them.

Which loons are 'ours'?  Which ones are others?  Who is who?  It is impossible to tell.

But right now one loon is chasing another across the surface of the water.

This is a full blown chase.  Not just one loon trying to escape from another.

Both loons are rowing/paddling as fast as they can across the surface of the water.  Not swimming.  Not flying.  But that strange combination in between where they never leave the surface of the water as the zip across the surface at breakneck speed, as fast as they can go.

When one loon stops and nervously peers under the surface of the water, he suddenly is off again as the chasing loon appears right next to him or surfaces right under him.

Off they go with tremolos ringing across the lake.

This chase goes on and on, with only short breaks, as the chase covers a good area of the surface of the lake.

It seems like it will never stop.

Chase.  Stop momentarily.  Peer underwater.  Spot the chaser right next to you.  And take off again, with the chaser in full pursuit.

Which one is which?  Once again, it is impossible to tell.

I assume - but it can be only an assumption - that the chasing loon is one of ours since this part of the lake is 'their territory'.  But it is impossible to tell who is who.  We can only watch and try to understand.

This goes on for a full 35 minutes.  I have totally lost track of where the other two loons went.  I do not see them anywhere.

Two loons come back to the general area of the nest.  Then suddenly there is a short chase (or escape) of one of those loons.  I still don't know who is who.  They are the only two loons I see now.

But after that very short chase, one of the loons comes back and swims next to the nest for a couple minutes before it gets back up on the nest at 6:29am.  It turns the eggs and settles down on them.  It has been a long 45 minutes with a lot of activity.

Now would you please stay  on the eggs?!

Friday, May 18, 2012 5:30am CDT

 

66 degrees F     Scattered Clouds    Wind 2mph SW

Sunrise  5:39am     Sunset  8:40pm

 

 

Today promises to be a hot and windy day for the loons with temperatures reaching 90 degrees.

 

I had hope this morning to write about something other than the unusual goings on with the loons this year.

 

But those unusual goings on continue and I want to give you a little bit of a glimpse of what is going on  out of view of the camera (for whatever small comfort it may be, even if the camera had a wider view of the lake, you would not have been able to see all these activities).

 

About 7am yesterday morning,  after I wrote yesterday morning's blog, the loon left the nest to swim out to two other loons that were circling each other.  I think - but I cannot be sure - that two of the three loons were 'our' pair.

 

They circled and dove and splashed but there was no major fight.  But it definitely was a confrontation.

 

Then a fourth loon came flying in!

 

The four of them circled and followed each other all the way to the other side of the lake.  After some minutes of continued circling and diving, they divided into two and two and one pair swam  a little further away while the other pair watched.

 

Then one of the loons takes flight with its long running on top the water take off and flies away.  I can hear the flying tremolo call as he circles around the  lake.

 

But now when I have been watching him, I cannot find the other three loons anywhere, no matter how hard I look through the binoculars or the telescope.  It always amazes me how one minute you can see several loons and the next minute, no matter how hard you look, they are no where to be seen.

 

Now I hear multiple flying tremolos as it seems there are a number of loons flying a short distance from the lake.

 

I even hear an answering call from down low that sounds like it may be coming from the area of a channel off the lake where another pair nested last year and there have been reports that they are nesting there again this year.

 

As I am looking for the 'other three' loons, an amazing sight comes into view.

 

THREE loons flying in formation heading straight toward me as they come in for a landing!

 

One of the three loons is a loon that I have come to call "Pencil Neck".  I usually don't name loons because I find it almost impossible to tell who is who.  But this one is a somewhat smaller loon with a long thin neck.  And so in my field notes, I have come to call him Pencil Neck since his profile is fairly distinctive.

 

Pencil Neck has been involved in several of the chases over the last few weeks - usually being the chasee rather than the chaser.

 

The three loons circle each other and finally Pencil Neck moves off to the east, while the other two follow at a distance and keep a careful eye on him.

 

Finally he moves far enough away that one of our loons returns to the nest.  Twenty six precious minutes off the nest.

 

In my notes I had written, "Right now, peace has returned."

 

Then at 7:56pm last night, I hear yodels.

 

I go to see what is disturbing the loons.

 

One loon is still on the nest.  But what is obviously the male is a short distance away broadcasting his territorial yodel to anyone who will listen and who is in listening range.  And that range covers a large area since a yodel will easily carry for a couple miles.

 

The loon on the nest swims out to join him.

 

There is some circling and a small splash dive.

 

Suddenly the loon on the surface flaps away as it tremolos.

 

The other loon surfaces where the first loon had been.  It follows low in the water, then dives.

 

The second loon once again calls and flaps away as it quickly rows across the surface of the water.

 

This happens four or five times before one of the loons returns to the nest.  Each one is not really a 'chase'.  They are more of an 'escape'.

 

I cannot help but wonder if this is a confrontation between our two loons.  I see no other loons anywhere in the area during this whole time.

 

I still have trouble believing that some of these confrontations are between a nesting pair.  But I have no other explanation for some of the behavior that I am seeing this year.  I don't want to believe it.  I don't believe it.  But the facts seem to indicate that there may be a conflict there.

 

In my notes I had written, 'if this is happening as it seems, this is one dysfunctional couple.  It does not bode well for the future of this marriage.'  

 

But we can only watch and learn.

 

Who knows all that goes on every day that we never see.  Or notice.  Or understand.

 

Only by watching carefully what is going on around us, can we even hope to begin to understand.  And even at that, our understanding is so limited.

 

Maybe the most positive thing out of all this unusual activity this year is the realization that right now we have an abundance of loons.  Something that people all around the country would give anything to have ONE pair of loons near them.

 

What will today bring?

 

That is a script yet to be written.

 

But we can guarantee that it will be full of suspense and drama.

 

Maybe too much drama sometimes!

 

 

 

Comments or Questions?  Add them to the list!   LoonCam(at)yahoo(dot)com

Copyright  2012     Larry Backlund

Thursday, May 17, 2012 5:35am CDT

 

54 degrees F    Cloudy    Calm 

 

Sunrise  5:40am     Sunset  8:39pm

 

 

Today is Syttende Mai, Norwegian Constitution Day.  With Minnesota's large Scandinavian population, there will be some Syttende Mai celebrations today.  Years ago there was a couple of radio people here on one of the largest radio stations in the country that used to call the day "Sit In Da Pie"!

 

This morning our loon sits faithfully on the nest.

 

The silhouette of a loon on the nest is always reassuring.

 

It indicates that the eggs are still there and still ok and that for now everything is calm.

 

After the incident with the eagle targeting the nest yesterday, calm is very good.

 

It also seems to have been a very calm night for the loons with no intruders or other problems.  With all the different things that have gone on this year, one sometimes yearns for normality.  But when it comes down to it, anything that happens in nature is 'normal'.  We don't always see things and therefore we think they are abnormal when we see something new.

 

But I still have the feeling that this year is an 'abnormal' year in so many ways.

 

From the early spring weather and early arrival of the loons from their wintering grounds.  To the territorial battles.  To visits to the nest by eagles and muskrats and beavers and even raccoon.

 

I got a note yesterday from Carol Jansky at St John's University, where we implanted satellite transmitters in two loons in 2010.  She reported that there are new chicks there as of yesterday!

 

"I thought you might be interested in this “birth announcement.”  Big John and his mate hatched two chicks within the last 24  hours.  This morning, Big John, was on daddy-duty (chicks swimming nearby or riding on his back) while his mate went out for some breakfast.  This hatch is about 2 weeks earlier than last year and the year before."

 

That is very good news.  And the early hatch is what I had really expected for the LoonCam nest.  But we are still aways away from a hatch here.  It was just one week ago today that the second egg was laid - after the first egg had been laid one week ago last Monday night.

 

So the loons here have a ways to go.

 

Today promises to be a rainy day for the loons.  Rain and possible thunderstorms are forecast throughout the day today.  Even though the lake is still high from the amount of rain we have had this spring, we could use some rain.  The pansies on the nest could use some rain.  They have been tossed from one place to another as the loons have continued to rearrange everything.

 

But one of them still has its rootball attached and it will be interesting to see if a little rain and moisture revive it or if it is gone completely.  The iris that was so rudely excavated and then completely torn out by its roots and pulled closer to the nest is hanging on better than I had expected.  A little rain will probably refresh it also.

 

Today's forecast high temperature is supposed to be in the upper 70s so you may see the loon panting today, even though the rain will keep it cooler than it otherwise would be.  There is also a forecast for quite a bit of wind today.  The next two days are forecast to be very warm.

 

So many have commented on what an unusual year this has been.

 

It certainly has been different than most of the other years that I have done this loon nest.  It simply proves once again how little we truly know.  The LoonCam gives us the privilege of observing the loons up close like has never been done before.  So we are allowed a very intimate look into loon behavior that people have never been able to see in this much detail.

 

Yesterday something happened that raised questions in my mind that I have never thought about.

 

And I find I have very few answers.

 

Yesterday forenoon one of the loons got up on the nest and sat beak to beak with its mate.  Then the loon that had just gotten on the nest seemed to give the loon on the nest a couple nips.  I and a number of others had seen this a few times before and they had commented on it.

 

I had tended to minimize any significance to it.

 

The loon on the nest left and the other one followed.

 

A short time later I heard a couple tremolo calls and looked down to the lake to see what what going on.  A loon was calling as it rapidly 'rowed' with its wings to get away from the nest.  There must have been another intruder loon near that I had not seen and our loons were chasing it off.

 

The loon called and rowed.  After it had gone some distance it stopped and looked around.  It peered below the surface of the water.  Neither of our loons were in sight.  Obviously he was watching for  a loon coming at him from below.  He was on high alert.

 

Suddenly he jumped and quickly started rowing as fast as he could and calling as he went.

 

Another loon, obviously one of 'our' loons, surfaced right near where the loon who was now making a hasty exit had been sitting.  Had I seen an attempted 'stab' when I saw the loon jump?  I have to think so.  It was so sudden and such a surprise to the loon that it must have been something like that.

 

I watched and watched with the binoculars.  Only one loon surfaced other than the 'intruder' loon.  Where was our other loon?  The 'intruder' swam further out into the lake while our loon quickly returned to the nest and settled down on the eggs.  Still no sign of 'our' mate.

 

Slowly and reluctantly it began to dawn on me that there was actually the possibility that what I had witnessed was a fight between the male and female of our pair.

 

I didn't want to believe it.  But there was no other explanation.  I know loons can remain underwater for a long time.  And they can swim a long distance underwater.  But this time there was no sign of another loon in the water.  Could it be that I had actually witnessed a fight between a nesting pair.  I was having trouble getting my mind around that concept.

It certainly could not be that an 'intruder' had actually gotten up on the nest.  It had to be 'our' loons.

 

I had never seen anything nor heard of anything like that.  I have never read about it in any of the scientific literature or studies.  It was hard to believe.  But there seemed to be no other explanation

 

There have been some very different behaviors exhibited by this particular pair of loons but this was the most extreme if it was true.  I will stop short of definitively saying that it was a fight between the male and female of our nesting pair.  But I have to put the odds at least at 90% that it was since there seemed to be no other loon anywhere around and there seemed to be no other explanation.

 

It also called into question one or two other times when I thought there had been an intruder.  I know there has been an intruder loon in the area because I have seen all three loons on several occasions when there has been a confrontation and/or a chase.  But once or twice I did not actually see all three loons and assumed that it was an intruder.

 

But now this incident raised all kinds of new questions in my mind.  Questions I did not want to entertain.

 

If this was a confrontation between the PAIR, that did not seem to be good.  And I still do not want to admit that is what it was.  But right now I have no other explanation for what I saw.

 

Does it explain some of the other behaviors we have witnessed?  Does it explain why one of the loons seems to be doing most of the time incubating the eggs, maybe the male?  

 

Loons normally share nesting duties almost equally.  Research has shown that normally the female spends a little more time on the nest.  Maybe 60% to 40%.

 

Everything I have seen in all these years of doing this and observing loons has showed that the loons tend to have a nest exchange every two to three hours.  With this pair, the time between nest exchanges has been much longer.

 

If there is conflict between the pair, it raises all kinds of questions as well of what happens after the chicks are hatched.  Will they put differences aside and protect and feed the chicks as is needed?  Will there be other impacts?  If it is true, it does not bode well for this 'marriage'.

 

There definitely seem to be differences in behavior that force me to believe that this is a different pair than the one that used the nest last year.  Or used the nest in previous years.

 

For the first number of years that I did this nest, the pair seemed to be the same from year to year.  But the last couple years seems to indicate that different loons have used the nest.  Without bands on them, we can never be sure.  But the behaviors this year have definitely been different.  From the "sitting on the head" to the nips, to the long times on the nest by one loon.  All different behaviors.

 

All we can do is watch carefully and learn.  It is possible, maybe even probable, that all of our questions will never be answered.

 

So today we can only hope that the loons remain faithful to the eggs that they have on the nest.  And that they have a calm day ahead of them.

 

And we can only sit back and be amazed at what we are able to watch and be a part of.

 

And be amazed once again at the wonder of nature around us and all the miracles that happen around us every day.  If only we take time to stop long enough to see them.

 

 

 

Comments or Questions?   LoonCam(at)yahoo(dot)com

Copyright  2012     Larry Backlund

 

 

 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 6:33am CDT

 

 

There are WAY too many things that are very interested in the nest this year!

 

For those of you watching right now, you heard those excited calls and saw the hasty exit the loon made from the nest in one big splash.

 

I immediately looked to see what was bothering her.

 

And I saw nothing more than a crow flying over.  And a pair of geese and 5 goslings on my lawn (which alarmed ME!).

  

But I could not see anything else that should have alarmed the loon.

 

But then it appeared from behind the trees.

 

An eagle with a crow in full pursuit!

 

The eagle swooped down toward the nest and the loon beat a quick exit into the water with a loud splash and a loud call.

 

Three separate times the eagle swooped down toward the nest!

 

There was no doubt that it was targeting the nest and the eggs which now lay exposed.

 

This is the closest that I have ever seen an eagle come to the nest.  At most it was only 10 feet above the nest on each of its swoops.  And each time the loon called loudly from the water and splashed as it went toward where the eagle was.

 

My heart was in my throat.

 

Would we actually watch an eagle take the eggs?

 

It was  a distinct possibility!

 

But after three swoops right toward the nest, the eagle flew off.

 

I think the willow branches more than did their duty this morning.  If they had not been there and if the eagle had been able to land on the nest unobstructed without tangling it huge wings in the willow branches, we may not have had two loon eggs on the nest right now.

 

So much for what I said earlier this morning about this promising to be a more peaceful day for our loons!

 

This is the perfect example of why loons are so concerned anytime an eagle is in the area.  They will react immediately to an eagle whereas they will not react to other birds of similar size like osprey and great blue herons.  There is a long history between loons and eagle that goes back into the mists of time.

 

And the loons have learned well that when they see an eagle, it means danger.  Danger to them.  To their nest.  And too their eggs.

 

But for now, peace has returned to the lake.

 

The loon is safely ensconced on the nest.

 

Looking like it doesn't have a care in the world.  

 

But that is deceptive.  The loon is EVER alert for danger that can strike at any moment!

 

Let's hope that there are not any more incidents like this today.  Or any other day.

 

 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 5:45am CDT

40 degrees F   Clear     Calm

It apparently has been a quiet night for our loons.  Thank you to those who have kept watch all night.

Today also promises to be a quieter day for them with much less wind than they faced yesterday.

Shortly after 11 o'clock last night, repeated wails and tremolos from the nest signaled that something was upsetting the loon.  It was the muskrat.

He decided to make a return visit to the nest but sat well out of reach of the loon.  He sat only partially in the picture on the lower right hand side for about 3 minutes.  With only part of his body showing, I could not see what he was doing.  But the only thing there that might interest him is what little is left of the willow branches on that corner of the nesting platform that the beaver left after he gnawed them off a week or more ago.

As long as the muskrat was there, the loon was not a happy camper.  Repeated wails and yodels reminded the muskrat, as if he needed reminding, that he was not welcome there.

But at least it was not the beaver or the raccoon.

The beaver concerns me much less than the raccoon.  Raccoon are notorious egg predators and are responsible for the destruction of more shore-based loon nests than almost any other predator.

Someone asked me if we have mink on 'loon lake'.

The answer is yes.  Although you rarely see them.

Amazingly I saw the first one that I have seen in years only a few weeks ago.  The good folks from Broadband were here and we were working on installing new cable for you to see and hear the LoonCam.  One of them said "What is that down by the lake?"  

I turned to look and there was one of the biggest mink I have ever seen casually loping along the shore of the lake!  Like I said, I know they are here but I had not seen one for many years and never one that large.  Mink are also known as vicious predators and are also known to take loon eggs.  They are also strong swimmers but as far as I know, one has never been seen around this nest.

We can only hope that all of them stay away!

This might be as good a time as any to review the different calls that loons make and the meaning is of each of those calls since there are so many new people now coming on to view the LoonCam, many for the first time.  We welcome you!

Loons make four basic calls.

1.  Wail     2.  Tremolo     3.  Yodel     4.  Hoot

The Wail

This call is probably the most common call that people hear and is the call that many people think of when they think of loons.  It is a long, undulating, mournful call.  It stirs something deep within us and is so representative of being by a lake in the great wilderness areas of the north.

There is something so primeval about it and so haunting.  Once you first hear that call echoing out over a northern lake, you never forget it.

Most of the time it is one loon simply trying to locate its partner.  "I am here.  Where are you?"  Often you will hear the other loon answer from across the lake, "I am here.  Where are you?"

The Tremolo

This call is an alarm call.  Made by both the male and female loon, it is used when a loon is concerned about something.  It is a call that signifies danger or distress.  It may be an intruder loon in the area that is causing distress.  It may be a boat or a canoe getting too close to the nest.  It may be a predator.  It may be an eagle overhead.

But something is causing the loon to be concerned.  

Many times both loons will tremolo at the same time in response to some perceived danger.

Sometimes it has been referred to the 'crazy laughing call'.  You can see why when you hear it.

The Yodel

This is the most extreme of the distress calls made by loons.

The yodel is ONLY made by the male loon.

So if you see a loon making a yodel call, you know you are looking at the male.  It is one of the few ways that you can definitively tell which loon is the male.

This call is used many times by the male to establish their territory.

They will lower their head with their neck stretched out almost parallel to the surface of the lake as they rotate almost like an air-raid siren or a tornado warning siren and broadcast their yodel to anyone within hearing.  It is a very loud call.  And the yodel travels well over water, sometimes being heard miles away.

Here is a great picture by Gerrit Vyn showing a loon making the yodel call.  http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00009Rb6F2TplN4/s/650/Common-Loon-Vyn-100421-0062.jpg

The Hoot

This call is a very quiet call and one which few people ever hear.  But you have heard it here on the LoonCam.

It is a call that is used when two adults are close to each other or when the parents are near the chicks.

I usually classify the calls as two "good" calls and two "bad" calls.

The tremolo and the yodel are calls that are made when the loon is upset or under stress.  That is why I call them "bad" calls - although there really is no such thing as a bad call.  It is simply part of their language.  The wail and the hoot usually are used when a loon is usually not under stess and therefore are "good" calls.

You can hear good examples of all four calls here  http://blog.syracuse.com/indepth/2008/07/audio_hear_the_calls_of_the_co.html

There are some variations of the calls that we can maybe talk about sometime but now you know the four basic loon calls.

And now you know what the loons are saying when you hear each of the calls.

I have to admit that I enjoyed all of the calls much more before I learned that the tremolo and the yodel were telling me that the loon was upset about something and was under stress.

But even knowing that, they are still beautiful.

And each time I hear them, I am sitting around a campfire at night at a campsite along a lakeshore in the wilderness of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  Or I am at a cabin on some northern lake.

They immediately bring back such wonderful memories of beauty and wilderness and all that is good in the world!

May they bring back wonderful memories for you as well.

Comments or Questions?   LoonCam(at)yahoo(dot)com

Copyright 2012     Larry Backlund