Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2012 4:44am CDT

 

66 degrees F     Rain    Wind Calm

Sunrise  5:30am     Sunset  8:50pm

 

With another couple inches of rain overnight and more possibly on the way, I have reluctantly made the decision that I may have to go out to the nest and lengthen the anchor rope.

 

I will wait until it is light enough to see in order to more fully evaluate the situation.

 

But with even more rain overnight to add to such high water already, I have to believe that the nest is about at its limit right now.  Fortunately there has not been any wind or waves overnight.  So that is a plus.

 

I know the loons are not going to be happy with me going out there.  And I am not going to be happy to have to do it.  But unless daylight surprises me, I am not sure I am left with any other choices.  I already have a section of rope ready to go here.  And that will hopefully minimize the amount of time that I have to spend at the nest.  I only hope that the loons do not misunderstand my intentions and see fit to attack me.

 

Of all times for the server for the cam to go down, I have no way of seeing with the night vision what things are like on the nest this morning either.

 

So I will wait until dawn light gives me enough to see by and then I will make a decision of what needs to be done.

 

But I would be very surprised (and relieved) if I do not have to go out there.

 

If any of you in other parts of the country or the world need rain, give me your address and I would be happy to send you all that you want!

 

I will give you a full report later this morning.

 

  

Sunday, May 27, 2012 9:53pm CDT

 

We have had some intense storms moving throught the region once again tonight.

 

Apparently the storms have knocked out the server for the LoonCam.

 

I have been on the phone with BroadBand and together we have tried several different things.  But nothing has worked to bring the LoonCam back up.

 

Unfortunately, if it is the server, I am not sure how much can be done quickly on a holiday weekend.

 

I will be talking to them again tomorrow to see what if anything more can be done.

 

I am so sorry that this has happened.

 

I appreciate your understanding.  Some things are just out of everyone's hands.  And Mother Nature is way more powerful than all of us put together. 

 

The good thing is that we are not on the verge of the eggs hatching and won't be for several days.  The bad thing is that you are missing anything at all.

 

It is too dark for even me to see how the loon is doing.  But shortly after the LoonCam went down, at the height of the storm s/he was sitting firmly on the nest and seemingly doing fine.

 

I or Broadband will try to keep you up to date.

 

But for now, it looks like the LoonCam is down at least for the night.  Maybe we all can finally get some sleep!

 

God Bless!

 

 

Sunday, May 27, 2012 7:27am CDT

 

The loon has finally returned to the nest after just over an hour off the nest.

 

There have been a LOT of wails as the loon sat just out of view near the nest for the last half hour.  Every part of me screamed get back on the nest.

 

There is a lot that took place during that hour off the nest.

 

The loon originally left to join its mate just out beyond the buoys.  They swam peacefully together for a few minutes.

 

Then there were flying tremolos as a third loon came flying it.  It is "Pencil Neck" (sorry for the unflattering name.  It is one of the few times that I give loons names but this one is distinguishable by its smaller size and long 'pencil neck').

 

Our pair swam out to meet him and the three of them swam together and circled with some splash diving.  But no major confrontation.

 

Then Pencil Neck took flight and circled around the lake.  Within a minute or two, both of our loons also took off.  They circled the lake 3 or 4 times with lots of flying tremolos before they landed near the nest.

 

While they were flying around the lake, there were two eagles circling just north of the lake.  But the eagles were not the reason for the loons flying nor was there any interaction between the loons and the eagles.

 

I am not sure where the other mate went but the one loon stayed just outside the buoys giving the wail call over and over.  

 

But finally the loon has now returned to the nest and the eggs.

 

 

 

Sunday, May 27, 2012 5:58am CDT

60 degrees    Cloudy    Wind  1mph E

Sunrise  5:31am     Sunset  8:39pm

The loon sits quietly this morning on the nest.  Ever alert.  Always looking around.  Aware of any danger.

The lake is quiet this morning, too.  Just a small breeze stirs the surface of the lake.

Clouds mask the rising sun.

But that sun will have its way today.  The temperatures are forecast to rise to 90 degrees or above.  But for now it is very comfortable for both man and loon.

You can expect to see the loon panting a lot today - sitting with its beak open.  It is much like a dog panting on a hot day.  A way to get rid of excess heat.  Loons are not made to sit on land in the hot sun.  They are made to be in the cooling water where they can dive whenever they want.  But they sacrifice all of that comfort to incubate and protect their eggs.

The lake level is at very high levels which puts the nest at risk from large waves or wakes from boats.  Today it should be somewhat protected from the wind.  But with the high temperatures on a holiday weekend, there probably will be many waves from boats.  Hopefully they will not be too large or too close.

Today in the sunshine look for one other thing about the loons.

We think that a loon is a simple black and white.

But their coloring is much more complex than that.  And in just the right light you can see the subtle effects.

Their head is overlaid with an iridescent green to in just the right light just glows.

Also the collar around their neck is not a simple black.  In the right light, it can be a bright turquoise green.  It is hard to believe when you see it, but it changes from a basic black to a very bright green.  At other times that same collar can be a deep, rich and sparkling blue.

Today if on this hot summer day the sun shines just right on the loons, look for those amazing color variations.

As if the formal black and white that the loons usually aware were not elegant enough, they dress it up with emerald necklaces and beautiful deep green hats.

How much more beauty can the loons add to our lives?

Today look at something else.  This illustrates how difficult it is to judge distance and perspective on the LoonCam view of the nest.  Remember that from the camera to the far corner of the nest is well over 5 feet.  The iris in the foreground that the loons literally pulled out by the roots is doing its best to put down roots where they planted it and is even sending up flower buds.

This iris looks so much bigger than the iris on the far edge of the floating platform.  In reality, the iris on the far edge are well over twice as big as the struggling iris in the foreground.  That is hard to believe because the iris in the foreground looks at least as big or even bigger than the other irises.  But because of perspective and distance, looks can be so deceiving.

The iris on the far edge are at the verge of bloom.  Unfortunately the flower stalks rise up just beyond the view of the camera.  But their yellow buds will probably burst into full bloom today.

Beauty all around us.

If only we will take the time to stop and look and enjoy and to smell the roses.  And be grateful for all the beauty that is put into our lives.

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

Copyright 2012     Larry Backlund

Saturday, May 26, 2012 5:44am CDT

54 degrees F    Partly Cloudy     Wind  2mph NNE

Sunrise  5:31am    Sunset  8:38pm

It has been a quiet night for the loons.

And quiet for the last day or so.  Let's hope that continues.

We have had enough drama this year for two or three 'loon seasons'.

We are now officially into the Memorial Day weekend.  And thousands if not millions of people have headed to the lakes all across the country.  This is the first big summer holiday weekend for people here in the United States.

Wherever you are, I hope that you will take a few minutes to stop and remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have the freedoms that we so often take for granted.  Whether you are here in the United States or anywhere around the world remember what others have sacrificed for you..

Here at the loon nest the forecast today is for more thunderstorms throughout the day.  While that will help to keep down the boat traffic on the lake, the last thing that we need right now is more water.  We have had enough to last us for a while.

We have passed the mid-point 'hump' for the eggs and we are now on the downward slope toward the expected hatching.

Let me go out on a limb here and make some predictions - a very dangerous thing to do!  Especially this year.

The 'normal' expected hatch dates would be the evening of June 4th for the first egg and the morning of June 7th for the second egg.

However, if the eggs hatch, I would expect those dates to be earlier.

I would expect that the hatching will take place sometime between June 2nd and June 4th.  There I have said it.  How silly is that of me to even speculate on when it will be when everything else has been so different this year?

Let me give you a broader range of dates as well.

I would be very surprised to see any hatching before June 1st.  And I would not start worrying about a potential hatch until we reach June 9th or 10th.  If we get to the 9th or the 10th and there has been no hatching, then concern would start to build as to whether the eggs will hatch.

But this morning, the loon once again sits on the eggs, ever so patient.

I often ask myself if I would ever be willing to do something like that.

But the loons do it day after day.

One thing this year that is so different is that you have to give the male credit for the amount of time he has spent on the nest.  He has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Normally the male and the female loon share nesting duties almost equally.  Some studies have shown that the female spends slightly more time on the nest than the male.  Maybe 60% to 40%.

Bu this year on this nest, the male has spent much more time on the nest than the female.

Tomorrow the forecast is for the temperatures to reach 90 degrees and sunny for most of the day.  That means that many people will come to the lake tomorrow and it will be a very, very busy day on the lake.  

Boaters, fishermen, water skiiers, swimmers.  Just about any activity you can imagine.

So even if the wind is calm tomorrow, you will probably see waves from the boat wakes hitting the nest.

This floating nest can normally ride up and over those waves.  But natural nests can be washed away by high boat wakes.  The rise in the lake level because of the heavy rain and the length of one anchor rope is still a concern.  There are no easy answers of what to do, if anything, about that.

But we will watch it closely.

All of you know how very averse I am to ever approach the nest while the loons are on it.

So let us hope for the best.  No more significant amounts of rain out of these thunderstorms today.  And no large boat wakes tomorrow and Monday.

If you are going to be out on the lakes or if you have friends and family that will be, a very gentle reminder to be aware of boat wakes near shore or especially near loon nests would be in order.

Today, we can think about the miracle that is going on inside each of those eggs.  The miracle of life itself.

Such things are too wonderful and too big to even try to understand.  How a living breathing little loon chick comes from egg white and egg yolk.  The very things that we so blithely eat for breakfast on so many mornings.

Yet that is what is happening right now.

And we have the privilege to be ringside spectators of this miracle of life itself.

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

Copyright  2012     Larry Backlund